'Ninh Thuan nuclear power will be secured'

Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant was built with an environmental-friendly radioactive isolation system, Sergey A. Boyarkin, deputy general director of Russian atomic energy group Rostatom.

- During the seminar on April 13, representatives of Russia said they would take full responsibility for the safety of nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan. Is there any basis to be sure of this?

Mr. Sergey A. Boyarkin. Photo: Huong Thu.

We use the design of 3rd generation power plants with a much safer level than the 2nd generation design. One of the advantages, the most important characteristic of 3rd generation is the guaranteed area. safe in the event of an incident located 800 meters from the factory. It means that when any incident occurs, radioactive substances and radioactive waste must be kept and isolated within the factory, not passing the factory, so 3rd generation plants are guaranteed safe for residents and environment outside the factory area.

According to our nuclear power plant design, radioactive barriers are arranged next, just like a doll in Russia. There is a big doll outside and a small doll inside, all the radioactive materials are in the smallest doll in the interior, these are fuel rods, even tanks. contains used fuel rods located in that area. If the small doll is broken, the big doll will take over the protection function.

In addition, according to our design, nuclear power plant system programs ensure active and passive safety. Passive safety systems do not require external voltage support, nor do the electrical systems still operate. And passive safety systems operate according to natural principles such as gravity principle and natural heat exchange principle.

In addition, passive safety systems operate automatically, the operator cannot intervene in operation, cannot turn off or open those systems. When the temperature in that reactor reaches a certain level, those systems start.

- The incident at Japan's Fukushima plant is causing many people to worry if Vietnam continues to build nuclear power plants. What do you think about this?

- In the case of Fukushima using the second generation design, that is to use the active safety principle, ie the reactor cooling system using electric energy from diesel generators in an emergency. Therefore, when the power is out, the emergency cooling system has not worked, leading to a loss of water, increasing the temperature and pressure of the reactor operating area, causing fire and explosion .

At the Fukushima plant, the used fuel bar tank is outside the scope of the reactor. According to the Russian design, this fuel bar tank is in the protection and radiation class that cannot leak out.

We built a new generation 3 nuclear power plant as mentioned above, with a mechanism to isolate the melting substance, called a melt trap. This design is not available in French or American nuclear power plants. Therefore, Ninh Thuan nuclear power will be safe.

With the assembly and operation of this molten isolation system, no matter the extent of the incident to how it changes, the molten material does not pass through the radioactive reactor. We used this melting trap at a Chinese nuclear power plant and was recognized by the World Atomic Energy Agency as the safest system in the world. The melting isolation system is a major difference in generation 3+ design with 2nd generation used at other factories, including Fukushima.

Diagram of a nuclear power plant.

- How did Russia conduct human resource training for Vietnam nuclear power?

- We started to train the first group of Vietnamese students at Rosatom's training school. Gradually in the construction progress the number of trained Vietnamese students will increase.

We are building 3 training centers for students. In addition, at all the nuclear power plants we built, there is a real-size staff training center model. In this model, there is a command room for operating the plant, console, or control button as in real condition.

We will also build the actual size model at Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant. This training center will be built and operated before operating nuclear power for 2 years. In addition to training students, we also provide training to managers of Vietnam Radiation Safety Department. Hopefully, when the factory operates, Vietnam has the same number of operators as prescribed.

- According to the plan, Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant will operate in 2020, can this be done, sir?

- In recent times, we have put into operation many nuclear power plants in Russia and other countries all according to 3rd generation design, or 3+ with molten isolation system. Our corporation continuously builds nuclear power plants without interruptions, so we will have specific construction plans. We are also the only country with full domestic and foreign construction experience. Therefore, the schedule is guaranteed or not, we know exactly this. In Ninh Thuan, a nuclear power plant will be put into operation in 2020 as planned.

- How are the steps taken for Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant to operate in 2020?

- In the next 2 years, we will complete a thorough evaluation of the construction site, then we will combine the design with the specific construction position, then conduct safety analysis. With the factory, conduct many calculations and safety tests according to specific conditions. In Ninh Thuan as planned, the nuclear power plant will start construction in 2014.

During construction, 40% of external monitoring work, ie each weld in the factory will be censored by the Vietnam Agency for Nuclear Radiation Safety, along with close supervision. of ourselves. With careful considerations at work and the amount of time taken, I am confident that the safety of Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant will be ensured, in 2020 put into operation is practical.

Regarding the location of selecting nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan, we believe that the location of Vietnam selects satisfactory. But when building, it is necessary to determine the location of the reactor layout must have a solid foundation, which is located far away from the geological breakpoint and non-impact protection of the tsunami. According to the experience of location research, the construction of Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant can be moved to 1-2 km, but in general the construction site is good.

- Recently, Germany said it could stop construction and operation of nuclear power plants by 2022. What do you think about this?

- Most of Germany's nuclear power plants are designed according to the 2nd generation. German stopping construction is a German decision. Besides Germany, factories in France still operate but also operate new factories. Finland is also building more nuclear power plants. Therefore, the views of each country are not the same in developing nuclear energy.

Germany decided to stop nuclear power plants, forcing them to import electricity from France or from Czech. Germany is a rich country so they can have money to buy electricity at high prices. However, in my opinion, that German decision will affect German competitiveness and goods, because Germany's electricity prices are high and continue to rise. While nuclear power is the cheapest compared to other forms of energy.