The Kola Nuclear Power Plant is the largest energy enterprise and the leader in electricity production in the Murmansk region and Karelia.
Currently, the station operates 4 power units with a capacity of 440 MW each, which is about 50% of the total installed capacity of the region.
The first unit of the nuclear power plant was put into operation in 1973 and became the first generation of nuclear power in the Far North. It is located 200 kilometers south of Murmansk on the shores of Lake Imandra.
Today the station is the main supplier of electricity for two regions - the Murmansk region and Karelia.
The station’s stable operation for 30 years in Arctic conditions in base load mode and the availability of reserve capacity make our region attractive to investors from the point of view of developing production and locating new energy-intensive enterprises.
I admit honestly: I take off my hat to the management of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant and the organizers of our trip.
A minimum of formalities during preparation: you only had to send your own passport details, information about your place of work and a list of photographic equipment.
Almost everything could be photographed. They asked not to film only the physical protection of the station, which is understandable and fair.
For some reason they also asked to remove the cameras on the street. Therefore, there is not a single photo of the station from the outside. They also asked not to take cameras into the dining room.
KoNPP is the northernmost nuclear power plant in Europe. In Russia there is another station in the Arctic - Bilibinskaya, in Chukotka. The station's 4 power units provide about 50% of the region's installed capacity. Konuclear Power Plant is located 12 km from the town of Polyarnye Zori, where about 15 thousand people live. About 2.5 thousand work at the station, not counting contractors.
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant was launched by a woman - Galina Alekseevna Petkevich (pictured on the left, below), the only woman in the USSR who worked for 22 years as a shift supervisor. And the only woman in the world to launch a nuclear reactor!
Our excursion began with a visit to the information center.
The head of the information service, Tatyana Rozontova, told us the basics. How the nuclear power plant is structured, what equipment is used, how much electricity the station produces, etc.
If the Kola NPP reactor could use different types fuel, then to ensure its operation during the day it would be necessary: 60 cars of coal or 40 tanks of fuel oil or 30 kg of uranium!
VVER is a pressurized water power reactor. VVERs are widely used at nuclear power plants not only in Russia, but throughout the world.
As we were told, not all visitors to the station know that the final product of a nuclear power plant is electricity.
The fuel assembly is a huge “pencil”, inside of which there are fuel rods - fuel elements (green cylinders in the photo). Inside the fuel rods there are uranium “tablets” (from uranium dioxide UO2).
It is in fuel rods that a nuclear reaction occurs, accompanied by the release of thermal energy, which is then transferred to the coolant. The reactor fuel rod is a tube filled with uranium dioxide UO2 pellets and hermetically sealed. The TVEL tube is made of zirconium doped with niobium.
In the reactor core, controlled chain reaction.
Tatyana stands on the “reactor” and explains how it works.
Several museum exhibits are dedicated to national culture.
Protective suits for work at the station.
On the territory of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant there is a unique facility, the liquid radioactive waste processing facility - a complex for processing liquid radioactive waste. Kola NPP- the only station in Russia and in the world (!) where the processing of liquid radioactive waste has been established.
And the yellow turtle is made from the final product of processing - non-radioactive salt melt.
It is very good that the Kola Nuclear Power Plant has begun to recycle waste. Reducing the amount of waste produced is the right thing to do. But! The use of such technology does not completely solve the fundamental problem of waste.
Firstly, you still have to store the solid waste obtained at the filtration stage.
Secondly, the problem of spent nuclear fuel is not being solved. He is still being taken to Mayak. And it still affects people's health. The problem of waste is a fundamental point of criticism for the entire industry. How ethical and reasonable is it to produce hazardous waste if no one knows what to do with this waste? While there are real alternatives. And many countries are fully implementing them!
One of the information center facilities intended for children. Protoshka and Elektroshka demonstrate what different devices consume different quantities energy.
KoNPP employees are prohibited from bringing cameras into the station territory.
After the information center we went directly to the station. A brief safety briefing (conducted by the deputy head of the security service), distribution of helmets and we went directly to industrial premises.
We started from the end. Engine room. Turbines are installed here (the yellow cylindrical structure at the top left), which supplies heated steam. The steam drives a generator connected to the turbine shaft, producing electricity. Next, the electricity is transmitted through transformers to the network.
Turbine TA-1
What surprised me in the engine room was great amount all sorts of pointer instruments similar to pressure gauges, valves, antediluvian electric motors, etc.
And, of course, the complexity is amazing (by at least, apparent complexity) of the equipment used. It’s interesting how quickly you can figure out this intricacy of pipes if any emergency situation arises.
The turbine room is the noisiest and hottest at the station. In summer, the temperature here goes well beyond forty. Therefore, drinking fountains are more than relevant.
The next room is the block control panel (MCC), with the help of which the parameters of the power unit are monitored and the technological process is controlled. There are cameras installed in many places of the station,
...the image from which is sent to the control room monitors.
Panorama of the control room.
The highlight of the excursion is a visit to the central reactor hall! Reactor shop engineer Alexander Pavlovich Aptakov and head of the public information center Victoria Yuryevna Nigorenko told us about how the reactor works, how rods are loaded and unloaded from the reactor, etc.
Ladder to the reactor lid.
Here it is - the reactor cover.
Each excursion participant was given a dosimeter. I will say right away that at the end of the excursion he showed the same zeros as at the beginning.
In some parts of the station you should not linger. For example, these "racks". If I understand correctly, fuel assemblies are placed here when they are taken out of the reactor.
The assemblies are lifted out of the reactor and lowered back.
An old telephone set in the reactor hall. Was it left because in the event of an accident the digital analogues are more likely to fail or for some other reason?
The lid of the second reactor is visible in the distance.
Upon entering the controlled access zone, we put on protective clothing: gowns, socks, shoe covers and gloves.
When leaving “dirty” premises, everyone is checked using special devices.
Avezniyazov Slava Rinatovich. This person is the head of the waste processing workshop. He took us to the LRW control center itself and showed us the operation of the complex's control panel. The construction of the waste processing workshop was carried out on the basis that it should withstand earthquakes of up to 7 points (the entire station - up to 6 points).
Liquid radioactive waste control panel.
And here is the former waste itself.
In the barrels there is salt melt from which the turtle is made. Of course, turtles are not made on an industrial scale. And you can use the resulting melt. For example, in road construction.
All kinds of grippers for loading barrels and containers.
In many halls of nuclear power plants, there are informative markings on the floor: what, where and what mass can and should be placed.
In general, there are special signs at the station for any work.
The output is control again.
Red rectangle - "dirty" right leg. The girl did not wipe her feet on the special mat.
Radiometer.
Special clothing warehouse.
We leave the controlled access zone.
The next item on the program is the simulator. A training complex where station personnel are trained. Every year, station employees undergo two-week training here.
The cost of the complex is 6 million dollars. The complex has been operating since 2000. The head of the complex, Yuri Vladimirovich Gorbachev, explained what and how. And he even organized an “accident”, after which he “shut down the reactor.”
In the last two photos - back side simulator.
It is also worth noting that after the excursion there was a meeting with Gennady Vladimirovich Petkevich, deputy chief engineer for engineering support of the station. I can’t say that this meeting turned out to be very informative for me. I was mainly interested in social issues and issues of ensuring the safety of residents. Gennady Vladimrovich said that the last time city exercises in case of emergency actions at the station were held two years ago. Victoria Yurievna Nigorenko added that the population is still being informed: on local TV and with the help of special brochures that are distributed in mailboxes.
Other questions like this have been asked:
Average salary at Konuclear Power Plant?
- 70,000 rubles.
Average age station workers?
- 41 years old.
What do you think of the petition signed by the mayors of Norwegian cities against the construction of a new stage of the Konuclear Power Plant?
- I don’t think so, this is their business, and the construction of the station is our internal matter, our interests. The petition has no objective basis.
Cost of electricity?
- 1 kW/h = about 60 kopecks.
A poster in the corridor of the nuclear power plant warns children: if used carelessly, the “peaceful atom” can split the planet!
This month I was lucky enough to visit the Kola Nuclear Power Plant as part of a blogger tour organized by Rosatom.
KoNPP is the northernmost nuclear power plant in Europe. In Russia there is another station in the Arctic - Bilibinskaya, in Chukotka. The station's 4 power units provide about 50% of the region's installed capacity. Konuclear Power Plant is located 12 km from the town of Polyarnye Zori, where about 15 thousand people live. About 2.5 thousand work at the station, not counting contractors.
2. The most difficult thing was the road. More than 30 hours from Moscow to the Polyarnye Zori station, and the same amount back. 
3. At stops of more than 20 minutes, it was allowed to get out of the cars. 
4. Local businessmen at the stations offered smoked fish and cranberries. 
5. The St. Petersburg roofer immediately conquered the freight car. 
7. The endless expanses of Russia. 
8. Early in the morning our company from St. Petersburg and Moscow arrived at the Polyarnye Zori station. 
9. Our excursion began with a visit to the information center, where the reindeer was the first to meet us))) 
10. Kola Nuclear Power Plant is the main supplier of electricity for the Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia.
The nuclear power plant is located 200 kilometers south of Murmansk on the shore of Lake Imandra - one of the largest and most picturesque lakes in Northern Europe. Model of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant. 
11. Technology system Each power unit of the Kola NPP is double-circuit. The first circuit is radioactive. It consists of a VVER-440 reactor and six circulation loops. VVER-440 is a pressurized water power reactor with a thermal power of 1375 MW, operating on thermal neutrons. The fuel is lightly enriched uranium. The coolant that removes heat from the reactor core and the neutron moderator is demineralized water.
The primary circuit water is heated in the reactor core, through which it is pumped by the main circulation pumps. Primary circuit water does not boil at a temperature of about 300°C, as it is under a pressure of 12.5 MPa. The heated water is supplied through pipelines to the steam generators and, through the steam generator tube, transfers heat to the water of the secondary circuit without coming into direct contact with it.
The second circuit is non-radioactive and includes the steam-producing part of the steam generators, 2 turbines, pipelines and auxiliary equipment. Steam generators produce saturated steam at a pressure of 4.7 MPa. The resulting steam is directed to a turbine, where it drives a generator connected to the turbine shaft, generating electricity. Next, the electricity is transmitted through transformers to the network.
The exhaust steam is converted into water in the turbine condensers, cooled by the water of Lake Imandra.
12. Fuel assembly - a huge “pencil”, inside of which there are fuel rods - fuel elements. Inside the fuel rods there are uranium “tablets” (from uranium dioxide UO2). It is in fuel rods that a nuclear reaction occurs, accompanied by the release of thermal energy, which is then transferred to the coolant. The reactor fuel rod is a tube filled with uranium dioxide UO2 pellets and hermetically sealed.
The TVEL tube is made of zirconium doped with niobium. 
13. Room of achievements and history of the Kola NPP.
The Kola energy system has existed for 60 years. Until 1960, the system was based on hydroelectric power plants (HPPs).
About 70% of the electrical energy produced by KNPP is used by the region, 8% is consumed by the station itself.
The rest of the electricity is transferred to Karelia and exported to Finland and Norway. 
14.
15. Protective suits for work at the station. 
16.
17. Head of information service Tatyana Rozontova. 
18.
19. If the reactor of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant could use different types of fuel, then to ensure its operation during the day it would be necessary: 60 cars of coal or 40 tanks of fuel oil or 30 kg of uranium! 
20. Tatyana talks about the automated system for monitoring the radiation situation around the Kola Nuclear Power Plant.
Environmental control is carried out by the laboratory of protection environment Kola Nuclear Power Plant, equipped with the most modern equipment. 
21. The yellow turtle is made from the final product of processing - non-radioactive salt melt. 
22. Fox spotted near the station. 
23. At the station we were instructed again and given helmets. 
24. After going through a serious security check, we found ourselves in the engine room. 
25. Turbine TA-1. 
26. The central hall of the reactor compartment of the first stage of the station. 
27. I couldn’t even dream that I would find myself near a working nuclear reactor. 
28. Sign at the reactor. 
29. At the exit from the reactor hall, everyone was checked for cleanliness. 
30. Liquid radioactive waste processing complex, control panel. 
31. Printed “Emergency Stop” and “Home Position” buttons. 
32. The liquid radioactive waste processing complex (LRW CP) of the Kola NPP is designed to remove liquid radioactive waste from storage tanks and clean them from radionuclides, concentrate radionuclides in a minimum volume and convert them into a solid phase, ensuring safe storage for 300-500 years.
Liquid radioactive waste is passed through special filters, where all radioactive elements (mainly cesium and cobalt) accumulate. The output is absolutely non-radioactive salts. As a result of this process, the volume of radioactive waste is reduced by two orders of magnitude. In other words, one tank yields only four barrels. 
33. Waste processing workshops. And the barrels contain former waste. 
34. In the barrels there is salt melt, from which the turtle was made, which was shown to us in the museum. 
35. We measured the radiation situation after visiting a waste processing plant. 
36. Transition from the “dirty” to the “clean” zone, and again check for cleanliness. 
37. Radiometer. 
38. Joking humor of nuclear scientists.))) 
39. Block control panel (MCC), with the help of which the parameters of the power unit are monitored and the technological process is controlled. 
40. Station layout. 
41. Simulator. 
42. Gym— an exact copy of the control panel of one of the station’s power units; it was mounted specifically for testing scenarios. 
43. An indicator of the environmental cleanliness of the Kola region nuclear power plant is a trout farm that has existed for many years. 
44. Every year, up to 50 tons of trout are grown in its cages, washed by the warm waters of the mouth of the NPP outlet channel. 
45. The results of tests of each batch of fish in three independent laboratories confirm its absolute purity. 
46. The beauty of the Arctic. 
47.
48. Ski complex with infrastructure on Mount Lysaya. 
49. Polar Dawns at night. And night came here for six months. 
50. Moon of the Arctic. 
51. Polar City nuclear power engineers Polyarnye Zori is the youngest city in the Murmansk region. It officially became a city in 1991, and before that it was known as an urban-type settlement. Despite its young age, Polyarnye Zori today is a large industrial energy center in the Murmansk region. 
Kola Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP)- Branch of OJSC Rosenergoatom Concern Kola Nuclear Power Plant. Nuclear power plant located 12 km from the city of Polyarnye Zori, Murmansk region.
Administration
- Director: Omelchuk Vasily Vasilievich
- Chief engineer: Matveev Vladimir Aleksandrovich
Organizational and staffing structure
Main divisions:
- Department of Nuclear Safety and Reliability (OYabiN)
- Electrical Shop (EC)
- Turbine Shop (TC)
- Reactor Shop (RC)
- Radioactive waste management workshop (RWMS)
- Thermal Automation and Measurement Shop (CTAM)
- Chemical shop (CC)
- Centralized repair shop (CR)
- Railway section (RDU)
Description of the NPP
Joint hardware department of the 1st and 2nd blocks. Reactor 1 opened
Machine room of the 1st and 2nd blocks
The station consists of four power units, with VVER-440 type reactors and K-220-44-3 turbines from the Kharkov Turbine Plant and TVV-220-2AU3 generators produced by the St. Petersburg Electrosila plant. The thermal power of the nuclear power plant is 5,500 MW, which corresponds to the installed electrical power of 1,760 MW.
Organizationally, it is divided into the 1st (block 1,2) and 2nd (block -3,4) stages, due to differences in the design of the VVER-440 reactor plants of the V-230 project (block 1,2) and V-213 (blocks 3,4).
In 1991-2005, a major reconstruction of the equipment was carried out at the 1st stage, which made it possible to bring it into compliance with the new requirements of the NSR (nuclear safety rules) and extend the service life by 15 years.
In 2006, a complex for processing liquid radioactive waste (LRW CP) was put into operation. In 2007, work began on the reconstruction of blocks No. 3 and 4.
Communication with the power system is carried out via five power transmission lines (PTL) with a voltage of 330 kV.
- L396, L496- KolNPP - 330 kV substation Knyazhegubskaya (substation-206).
- L397, L398- KolNPP - 330 kV Monchegorsk substation (PS-11) (Monchegorsk).
- L404- KolNPP - SS 330 kV Titan (PS-204) (Apatity).
- L148- KolAES - Cascade of Nivskie HPPs (NIVA-1, ,) - 110 kV.
- L55- KolNPP - electric boiler house in Polyarnye Zori - 110 kV.
An option is being explored with the construction of power lines to the north of Finland, Sweden, and Norway (Pechenga Energy Bridge).
Currently [When?] has an excess installed capacity of ~ 400-500 MW, due to the decline in electricity consumption after 1991 in the Murmansk region and Karelia.
Safety
- Radiation background on the territory of the nuclear power plant is 0.07-0.08 μSv/hour (7-8 μR/hour).
- Radiation background in adjacent populated areas- 0.07 μSv/hour.
- The collective quota for personnel exposure is 3.6 Person*Sv/Year.
Information about power units
| Power unit | Reactor type | Power | Start construction |
Network connection | Commissioning | Closing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean | Gross | ||||||
| Cola-1 | VVER-440/230 | 411 MW | 440 MW | 01.05.1970 | 29.06.1973 | 28.12.1973 | 2018 (plan) |
| Cola-2 | VVER-440/230 | 411 MW | 440 MW | 01.05.1970 | 28.12.1974 | 21.02.1975 | 2019 (plan) |
| Cola-3 | VVER-440/213 | 411 MW | 440 MW | 01.04.1977 | 24.03.1981 | 03.12.1982 | 2026 (plan) |
| Cola-4 | VVER-440/213 | 411 MW | 440 MW | 01.08.1976 | 11.10.1984 | 06.12.1984 | 2029 (plan) |
| Cola II-1 (plan) | VVER-600/498 | 600 MW | 675 MW | (2020) | |||
| Cola II-2 (plan) | VVER-600/498 | 600 MW | 675 MW | (2026) | |||
In culture
- In 1978, the feature film Commission of Investigation (directed by Vladimir Bortko) was filmed at the station.
- According to the book Metro 2034 by Russian science fiction writer Dmitry Glukhovsky, the station and the city of Polyarnye Zori will remain unharmed after a nuclear war.
- Three books by science fiction writer Andrei Butorin, included in the “Metro 2033 Universe” series, are dedicated to the Polar Dawns.
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An excerpt characterizing the Kola Nuclear Power Plant
- No, no joke, father, is she very ugly? A? – he asked, as if continuing a conversation he had had more than once during the trip.- That's enough. Nonsense! The main thing is to try to be respectful and reasonable with the old prince.
“If he scolds, I’ll leave,” said Anatole. “I can’t stand these old people.” A?
– Remember that everything depends on this for you.
At this time, the arrival of the minister with his son was not only known in the maid’s room, but appearance both of them have already been described in detail. Princess Marya sat alone in her room and tried in vain to overcome her inner agitation.
“Why did they write, why did Lisa tell me about this? After all, this cannot be! - she said to herself, looking in the mirror. - How do I get out into the living room? Even if I liked him, I couldn’t be on my own with him now.” The thought of her father's gaze terrified her.
The little princess and m lle Bourienne had already received all the necessary information from the maid Masha about what a ruddy, black-browed handsome minister's son was, and about how daddy dragged them with force to the stairs, and he, like an eagle, walking three steps at a time, ran after him. Having received this information, the little princess and M lle Bourienne, still audible from the corridor in their animated voices, entered the princess’s room.
– Ils sont arrives, Marieie, [They arrived, Marie,] do you know? - said the little princess, wobbling her belly and sitting heavily on the chair.
She was no longer in the blouse in which she had sat in the morning, but she was wearing one of her best dresses; her head was carefully adorned, and there was a liveliness on her face, which, however, did not hide the drooping and deadened contours of her face. In the attire in which she usually wore to social gatherings in St. Petersburg, it was even more noticeable how much she had looked worse. M lle Bourienne also unnoticed some improvement in her outfit, which made her pretty, fresh face even more attractive.
– Eh bien, et vous restez comme vous etes, chere princesse? – she spoke. – On va venir annoncer, que ces messieurs sont au salon; il faudra descendre, et vous ne faites pas un petit brin de toilette! [Well, are you still wearing what you were wearing, princess? Now they will come to say that they are out. We’ll have to go downstairs, but at least you’ll dress up a little!]
The little princess rose from her chair, called the maid and hastily and cheerfully began to come up with an outfit for Princess Marya and put it into execution. Princess Marya felt insulted in her feelings self-esteem because the arrival of her promised groom worried her, and she was even more offended by the fact that both of her friends did not even imagine that it could be otherwise. To tell them how ashamed she was for herself and for them was to betray her anxiety; Moreover, to refuse the outfit that was offered to her would have led to lengthy jokes and insistence. She flushed, her beautiful eyes went out, her face became covered with spots, and with that ugly expression of victim that most often settled on her face, she surrendered to the power of m lle Bourienne and Lisa. Both women cared quite sincerely about making her beautiful. She was so bad that not one of them could think of competing with her; therefore, quite sincerely, with that naive and firm conviction of women that an outfit can make a face beautiful, they set about dressing her.
“No, really, ma bonne amie, [my good friend], this dress is not good,” said Lisa, looking sideways at the princess from afar. - Tell me to serve, you have masaka there. Right! Well, this may be the fate of life is being decided. And this is too light, not good, no, not good!
It was not the dress that was bad, but the face and the whole figure of the princess, but M lle Bourienne and the little princess did not feel this; It seemed to them that if they put a blue ribbon on their hair combed up, and pulled down a blue scarf from a brown dress, etc., then everything would be fine. They forgot that the frightened face and figure could not be changed, and therefore, no matter how they modified the frame and decoration of this face, the face itself remained pitiful and ugly. After two or three changes, to which Princess Marya obediently submitted, the minute she was combed up (a hairstyle that completely changed and spoiled her face), in a blue scarf and an elegant dress, the little princess walked around her a couple of times, with her small hand she straightened a fold of her dress here, tugged at a scarf there and looked, bowing her head, now from this side, now from the other.
“No, that’s impossible,” she said decisively, clasping her hands. – Non, Marie, decidement ca ne vous va pas. Je vous aime mieux dans votre petite robe grise de tous les jours. Non, de grace, faites cela pour moi. [No, Marie, this definitely doesn’t suit you. I love you better in your gray everyday dress: please do this for me.] Katya,” she said to the maid, “bring the princess a gray dress, and see, m lle Bourienne, how I will arrange it,” she said with a smile of artistic anticipation joy.
But when Katya brought the required dress, Princess Marya sat motionless in front of the mirror, looking at her face, and in the mirror she saw that there were tears in her eyes and that her mouth was trembling, preparing to sob.
“Voyons, chere princesse,” said M lle Bourienne, “encore un petit effort.” [Well, princess, just a little more effort.]
The little princess, taking the dress from the maid’s hands, approached Princess Marya.
“No, now we’ll do it simply, sweetly,” she said.
The voices of her, M lle Bourienne and Katya, who laughed about something, merged into a cheerful babbling, similar to the singing of birds.
“Non, laissez moi, [No, leave me,” said the princess.
And her voice sounded with such seriousness and suffering that the babbling of the birds immediately fell silent. They looked at the large, beautiful eyes, full of tears and thoughts, clearly and pleadingly looking at them, and realized that it was useless and even cruel to insist.
March 14th, 2018
Just yesterday I returned from a trip to the Kola Peninsula. Before this, I had never been to an operating nuclear power plant. I assumed that there were strict requirements for the safety of the facility - after all, it was a strategic and potentially dangerous production. I read that very strict regulations are used among employees to prevent human exposure to radiation. It was said a lot that the nuclear power plant is absolutely safe for people living nearby and the environment.
But what I actually saw did not coincide at all with my theoretical ideas and expectations...
A lot of things were caught on camera but not in the photo. Therefore, in addition to the photo report, I advise you to also watch my video:
Subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/MasterokST. In the near future there will be a lot about the Murmansk region.
They told me a lot of things in the Murmansk region the most/most NORTHERN(we will remember all this in subsequent posts), but the Kola Nuclear Power Plant is not the northernmost. The northernmost is now considered Bilibino NPP(Chukchi NPP) - the northernmost nuclear power plant in Russia and the world is located in the zone permafrost in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Russian Federation near the city of Bilibino, at a distance of 4.5 kilometers from the latter.
But Kola Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), located 12 km from the city of Polyarnye Zori, also has its own record regalia - it is the first nuclear power plant in the world built beyond the Arctic Circle.
Let's look at the history of its construction.
Photo 2. 
The Leningrad branch of the Teploenergoproekt Institute sent an expedition by S.P. Ilovaisky to the village of Zasheyek in 1963 to carry out survey work to select a site for the construction of a nuclear power plant and a future village of power engineers. The first builders appeared there at the end of November 1964. They were faced with the task of creating a construction base, building housing and roads.
The construction of the nuclear power plant itself began on May 18, 1969. On this day, the first cubic meter of concrete was laid into the foundation of the future station. The construction of the city and the Kola Nuclear Power Plant was carried out by the Kola Nuclear Power Plant construction department, which was headed by Alexander Stepanovich Andrushechko, who worked in this capacity for 17 years. In 1971, the construction site was declared an All-Union Shock Komsomol.
Photo 3. 
It's interesting that:
- For the basis of the Kola project nuclear power plant took over projects for the construction of power units No. 3 and No. 4 of the Novovoronezh NPP.
- During construction, we had to change designs several times, because... operation of equipment at extremely low northern temperatures required a special approach and adjustments to the design documentation.
- The first stage of construction (power units No. 1 and No. 2) was completed in 4 years, which is quite fast by the standards of nuclear power plant construction.
Photo 4. 
In June 1973, the first power unit of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant was launched. In December 1974, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant received nuclear reactor No. 2 for operation.
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant has slow neutron water reactors VVER-440. Their total capacity is 1760 MW. The third power unit of the nuclear power plant was connected to the system in 1983, the fourth - in 1984.
Photo 5. 
So, we arrived at the power plant. I’ll say right away that they were allowed to film very little and they strictly monitored it. In fact, if windows were in the shooting angle, filming was prohibited. All transitions between workshops are prohibited from filming. Employee screening procedures - filming is prohibited. Two security officers walked with us, who steadily monitored the implementation of instructions and regulations. Because of this, the photo and video report itself may seem somewhat ragged in content.
Of course, I assumed that employees go through a lot of safety procedures and diagnostics of infection, but I didn’t think so much. Frankly, I was more tired of following the instructions themselves than of inspecting the station.
It all started with the fact that we changed into work clothes and put on blue helmets.
We passed the control point and checked documents from the station hall. By the way, there are interesting automatic booths there - if you go there and have some kind of jamb with documents, you won’t be able to escape from there and will be locked. Employees are checked using passes and fingerprints. The equipment is all modern, but imported. This was already the third point where they checked our permissions and documents, and we had only just passed the front entrance. Very strict rules.
Heading to engine room.
So we enter the machine room. This is the area around the turbines that transform thermal energy steam to electric. They are indicated by the number 3. And at the bottom of the hall there are various mechanisms, capacitors, pumps.
This is the second circuit of the reactor and everything here is completely non-radioactive and everything is safe. Employees wear a helmet and regular work clothes and do not undergo any further processing.
This is what the hall itself looks like. There is a lot of noise from the turbines, so earplugs are a must-have item of equipment. There is nothing superfluous in the room. There is order everywhere and nothing is lying around anywhere. Note. But this is a huge enterprise with a bunch of mechanisms and units.
A lot of pipes and very few people. It feels like there is simply no one here. Everything itself makes noise and hums.
Photo 10. 
In fact, having walked through the entire machine room, we met at most a couple of people passing by.
Photo 11. 
By the way, this is one of them.
Photo 12. 
There are a lot of measuring instruments. When I asked why almost everything was analog and not digital, they answered that it was a matter of reliability. I would like to dig deeper into this topic.
Photo 13. 
Here is the plaque on the turbine - it has been in operation since 1970.
Photo 14. 
However, of course, a lot of things are being modernized. In general terms, only the reactor vessel remained untouched by modernization, and this is because this is physically impossible. There will be more interesting information about the building later.
Photo 15.
Actually, there is nothing directly spectacular - pipes, pipes, arrows, pipes. Still, they expect that the uranium rods in the nuclear reactor will begin to be changed right in front of them. Of course, when everything works, everything is very modest, not counting the size.
Photo 16.
As we already know, there are 4 reactors at a nuclear power plant. Accordingly, there are 2 control panels, on which are the head of the unit (1,2,3,4) and the head of the entire shift of the nuclear power plant. The engineers on duty are also there.
We went to the control panel of reactor units 1 and 2.
What can you ask the shift manager? Of course, about the accidents that he had on his shift. They didn’t tell us anything serious, except that there was an overload in the network due to an accident on the power lines. It was necessary to reduce the power of the station.
Photo 18.
It is in this circle that the locations of the rods in the core are shown.
Once again you pay attention to the abundance of analog instruments and indicators.
Photo 21.
Photo 22. 
We move to the reactor hall.
Photo 23. 
But who is responsible for safety at the station itself - ALL who work and are there!
Photo 24.
To get into the reactor hall you need to change clothes again, completely down to your underwear and shoes.
So before this we must go through the security control post (the guy with the machine gun checks passports and documents again) and the radiation control post. Everyone working at the station and passing through this post to the computer room receives two individual dosimeters. The first one accumulates the radiation received and upon exiting it is left in such a cell.
Photo 25.
And the second one shows how much radiation you received during your visit to the station in this shift, and each time it is handed over to the post for control.
Photo 26.
We passed this corridor with UV lamps.
We changed our helmets and completely changed our clothes, down to our underwear, socks and shoes.
Just imagine, employees do this all the time. Even to go out for lunch you need to go through all this, and then when you go out you must also take a shower and do 2 checks for infection in automatic booths.
Photo 28.
This is not our photo, but this is how we were dressed:
Photo 29. 
And here it is - the reactor lid.
Under this cover there is such a reactor:
Photo 31. 
Photo tnenergy
, Shown here is the installation of a VVER-440 vessel at the third unit of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia. This all happens on September 7, 2010
The hall actually looks very deserted.
Photo 32.
There's a lot on the floor graphic images and everything is covered with sheets of metal. The unremarkable ceiling actually withstands a plane crash.
Last year it was reported that specialists from the Kola NPP (a branch of the Rosenergoatom Concern) and specialized organizations carried out a unique set of works to restore the physical and mechanical properties of the metal of the reactor vessel, which change during operation due to radiation exposure - annealing of the reactor vessel of power unit No. 1.
During the annealing process, the metal of the reactor vessel is slowly heated to 475 degrees Celsius. Then it is kept at this temperature for 150 hours and then gradually cooled.
Earlier in 2016, the reactor vessel was cut out and annealed in laboratory conditions on the territory of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" metal samples (so-called templates) to determine its actual condition.
In parallel, JSC OKB Gidropress is working to substantiate the possibility of extending the life of the reactor vessel using the results of template studies carried out by the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute. Based on the results of strength calculations, JSC OKB Gidropress will give an opinion on the possibility and conditions of the extension.
Photo 33.
Rack for storing assemblies.
Photo 34.
Cases for fuel assemblies are stored here.
Photo 35.
All this is located right in the hall and has no danger. Personal dosimeters showed everything at zero.
Photo 36. 
After leaving the reactor hall, we must undergo automatic radiation monitoring of our feet and palms. Well, maybe they touched just about anything or stomped on where they shouldn’t have!
And all over the station there are very funny slogans:
Photo 38.
By the way, back in 2006, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant acquired its own complex for processing liquid radioactive waste. After processing them using the Kola Nuclear Power Plant method, only a non-radioactive salt alloy remains, which they have not yet learned how to use further. It is stored on the station premises in large metal barrels.
By the way, such a complex is the only one in the world!
Let's first go to the control panel of this complex:
Photo 39.
Look how modern it is here in terms of equipment, information stands and instruments.
Photo 40.
Process control.
But here they are, the barrels themselves containing solid waste, which now pose no danger.
Photo 42.
So, this complex is designed to remove liquid radioactive waste accumulated over the years of operation of nuclear power plants from storage tanks, clean them and transfer them to safe condition. The final product of the processing of bottom residues - salt melt - does not belong to the category of radioactive waste and in the future can become the starting material for the extraction of useful chemical compounds.
Photo 43.
Here is a carousel below, on which there is still an empty barrel, which will soon be filled.
Then this barrel is lifted onto the platform with these claws and a lift.
But I didn’t find out what this protective plate is for, but it looks very reliable :-)
There are markings everywhere on the floor.
Photo 48.
We leave the hall and also check for contamination. I touched these salts in a barrel - the indicators showed everything at zero.
Photo 49.
And this is what the assembly of the reactor rod looks like.
Photo 50.
It is interesting that the Kola Nuclear Power Plant can be called the most sporting nuclear power plant in Russia. And that's why:
1,700 people out of 2,500 station workers are involved in amateur sports. This is more than 2/3 of the entire state. Among them there are also professionals, mostly masters. winter species sports Some employees even go to Russian championships. The station has its own swimming pool, ice rink and gym.
- Back in the 1990s, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant opened its own ski resort “Salma”. The ski slope has become a resort destination. Athletes from Japan and China often even come there to train. Competitions in 16 sports are held annually among station employees. Athletes from other nuclear power plants also come to these competitions.
- Kola NPP has its own hockey and football teams.
- For the benefit of the people, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant produces drinking water, which is cleaned in a separate workshop with a filtration system that was invented at the station. The water workshop produces 250 bottles of sparkling water per hour.
And further...
Considering that water from the secondary circuit of the reactor is discharged into the reservoir, they decided to build a Trout Complex on Imandra to demonstrate the safety of this process. As we remember, trout live only in absolutely clean water, therefore it will simultaneously be an indicator of the safety of water discharged by the nuclear power plant, and will also be an additional source of income for the enterprise.
This is the only farm in the region where you can grow fish. all year round. The warm waters of the nuclear power plant's discharge channel provide trout with resort-like living conditions. The trout here grows quickly, is full-bodied, meaty, and the Murmansk markets now sell fish from Imandra. Sturgeon on Imandra are exotic from the Kola North. Considering that the resource warm waters on the territory of the region is limited by the discharge canal of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant; no one else can repeat this experience. Siberian sturgeon appeared on the Imandra trout farm seven years ago.
Photo 52. 
Sturgeon and trout are bred in these cages. Sturgeon have been growing in this cage since 1992. Look how huge it is already. Yes, it is used to produce black caviar.
The rest of the cages contain trout. These are essentially pens covered with mesh that are organized right on the water surface. The fish lives in the running water of the lake.
Photo 53. 
Trout. The company is quite profitable and is constantly expanding and developing.
Photo 54. 
The nuclear power plant discharges warm water, look at the steam coming out. As far as I remember, they said that the water in the lake is now +11 degrees in winter.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to try fish and caviar :-(
I would like to note that the tour of the Kola Peninsula took place with the support of Rostourism, the government of the Murmansk region and Odnoklassniki.ru
Thanks a lot, everyone.
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant is the first nuclear power plant in Russia to be built beyond the Arctic Circle.
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant generates more than half of the electricity consumed by the Murmansk region.
Organizationally, the Kola NPP is divided into the first (power units No. 1, No. 2) and second (power units No. 3, No. 4) stages due to differences in the design of the VVER-440 reactor units of the V-230 project (units No. 1, No. 2) and B -213 (blocks No. 3, No. 4).
In 1991–2005 At the first stage, a large-scale reconstruction of the equipment was carried out, which made it possible to bring it into compliance with the new requirements of nuclear safety rules and extend the service life by 15 years. In 2007, work began on the reconstruction of units No. 3 and No. 4. In 2011, a license was received from Rostechnadzor to operate power unit No. 3 during an additional period. As part of the implementation of the industry program for increasing electricity production at existing nuclear power plants for 2011–2015. at power unit No. 4 of the Kola NPP, the stage of pilot industrial operation has been completed, work is underway to obtain permission for industrial operation at a power level of 107% of the design; power unit No. 3 of the Kola NPP is at the stage of preparation for pilot operation at a power level of 107% of the design one.
Currently, the power units of the Kola NPP are operated under dispatch restrictions due to a decline in consumption and restrictions on the transit of electricity.
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant is located on Kola Peninsula, distance to the satellite city (Polyarnye Zori) – 11 km; before regional center(Murmansk) – 170 km.
Installed capacity of the nuclear power plant - 1760 MW.
Kola NPP, news:
Photo of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant:
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