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. Layout Kola Nuclear Power Plant.
11. The technological diagram of 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 Nuclear Power Plant.
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. 
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15. Protective suits for work at the station. 
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17. Head of information service Tatyana Rozontova. 
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19. If the reactor of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant 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! 
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 machine 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 in his cages, washed warm waters the mouth of the NPP outlet channel, up to 50 tons of trout are grown. 
45. The results of tests of each batch of fish in three independent laboratories confirm its absolute purity. 
46. The beauty of the Arctic. 
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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. The city of polar 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. 
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant is the northernmost nuclear power plant in Europe and the first nuclear power plant in the USSR built beyond the Arctic Circle. Despite the harsh climate of the region and the long polar night, the water near the station never freezes. The nuclear power plant does not affect the state of the environment, this is evidenced by the fact that in the area of the outlet canal there is a fish farm where trout are bred all year round.
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The history of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant began in the mid-1960s: residents of the union continued to actively develop northern part territories, and the rapid development of industry required large energy costs. The country's leadership decided to build a nuclear power plant in the Arctic, and in 1969, builders laid the first cubic meter of concrete.
In 1973, the first power unit of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant was launched, and in 1984, the last one, the fourth power unit, was put into operation.
2. The station is located above the Arctic Circle on the shores of Lake Imandra, twelve kilometers from the city of Polyarnye Zori, Murmansk region.
It consists of four VVER-440 power units with an installed capacity of 1,760 MW and provides electricity to a number of enterprises in the region.
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant generates 60% of the electricity in the Murmansk region, and in its area of responsibility big cities, including Murmansk, Apatity, Monchegorsk, Olenegorsk and Kandalaksha.
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Reactor protective cap No. 1. Deep below it is the nuclear reactor vessel, which is a cylindrical vessel.
The body weight is 215 tons, diameter is 3.8 m, height is 11.8 m, wall thickness is 140 mm. The thermal power of the reactor is 1375 MW.
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The upper block of the reactor is a structure that is designed to seal its body, accommodate control system drives, and protect
and in-reactor control sensors.
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Over the 45 years of operation of the station, not a single case of exceeding natural background values has been recorded. But a “peaceful” atom remains so only
with proper control and proper operation of all systems. To check the radiation situation at the station, fifteen control posts have been installed.
6. The second reactor was put into operation in 1975.
7. Case for moving 349 fuel cassettes at KNPP.
8. Mechanism for protecting the reactor and station from internal and external factors. Under the hood of each KNPP reactor there are forty-seven tons of nuclear fuel, which heats the primary circuit water.
9. The control panel (MCC) is the nerve center of a nuclear power plant. Designed to monitor power unit performance and control technological processes at a nuclear power plant.
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11. The shift in the control room of the third power unit of the Kola NPP consists of only three people.
12. From this large quantity control elements make your eyes wide open.
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14. Sectional model of the VVER-440 reactor core.
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17. A career as a nuclear specialist requires serious technical training and is impossible without the pursuit of professional excellence.
18. Engine room. Turbines are installed here, to which steam is continuously supplied from a steam generator, heated to 255°C. With their help, a generator is driven, which produces electric current.
19. An electric generator, inside which the rotational energy of a turbine rotor is converted into electricity.
20. The generator turbine, assembled in 1970 at the Kharkov Turbine Plant, has been in use for forty-five years. Its rotation frequency is three thousand revolutions per minute. Eight turbines of the K-220-44 type are installed in the hall.
21. More than two thousand people work at KNPP. To ensure stable operation of the station, staff constantly monitors its technical condition.
22. The length of the machine room is 520 meters.
23. The pipeline system of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant stretches for kilometers throughout the entire territory of the power plant.
24. With the help of transformers, the electricity generated by the generator enters the network. And the steam exhausted in the turbine condensers becomes water again.
25. Open switchgear. It is from here that the electricity generated by the station goes to the consumer.
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27. The station was built off the shores of Imandra, the largest lake in the Murmansk region and one of the largest lakes in Russia. The territory of the reservoir is 876 km², depth is 100 m.
28. Chemical water treatment area. After processing, chemically desalted water is obtained here, which is necessary for the operation of power units.
29. Laboratory. Specialists of the chemical workshop of the Kola NPP ensure that the water chemistry regime at the station meets the plant operating standards.
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32. The Kola Nuclear Power Plant has its own The educational center and a full-scale simulator, which are designed for training and advanced training of station personnel.
33. Students are supervised by an instructor who teaches them how to interact with the control system and what to do in the event of a violation normal operation stations.
34. These containers store non-radioactive salt melt, which is the final product of liquid waste processing.
35. The technology for managing liquid radioactive waste from the Kola NPP is unique and has no analogues in the country. It allows reducing the amount of radioactive waste that must be disposed of by 50 times.
36. Operators of the liquid radioactive waste processing complex monitor all stages of processing. The entire process is fully automated.
37. Discharge of treated wastewater into the outlet canal leading to the Imandra reservoir.
38. Water discharged from nuclear power plants is classified as normatively clean and does not pollute the environment, but has an impact on the thermal regime of the reservoir.
39. On average, the water temperature at the mouth of the outlet canal is five degrees higher than the water intake temperature.
40. In the area of the KNPP diversion channel, Lake Imandra does not freeze even in winter.
41. For industrial environmental supervision at the Kola NPP, an automated radiation monitoring system (ASMC) is used.
42. The mobile radiometric laboratory, which is part of ASKRO, makes it possible to conduct gamma surveys of the area along designated routes, take air and water samples using samplers, determine the content of radionuclides in the samples and transmit the received information to the ASRO information and analytical center via radio channel.
43. Collection of atmospheric precipitation, sampling of soil, snow cover and grass are carried out at 15 permanent observation points.
44. The Kola Nuclear Power Plant also has other projects. For example, a fishery complex in the area of a nuclear power plant discharge canal.
45. The farm raises rainbow trout and Lena sturgeon.
47. Polyarnye Zori is a city of power engineers, builders, teachers and doctors. Founded in 1967 during the construction of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, it is located on the banks of the Niva River and Lake Pin-Lake, 224 km from Murmansk. As of 2018, the city has a population of approximately 17,000 people.
48. Polyarnye Zori is one of the northernmost cities in Russia, and winter here lasts 5-7 months a year.
49. Holy Trinity Church on the street. Lomonosov.
50. On the territory of the city of Polyarnye Zori there are 6 children's preschool institutions and 3 schools.
51. The system of lakes Iokostrovskaya Imandra and Babinskaya Imandra flows into the White Sea through the Niva River.
52. The White Sea is an internal shelf sea of the North Arctic Ocean, in the European Arctic between the Kola Peninsula of the Holy Nose and the Kanin Peninsula. The water area is 90.8 thousand km², depths up to 340 m.
As we were told, not all visitors to the station know that the final product of a nuclear power plant is electricity. They asked me to write about it. Writing))
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. Details - .
A controlled chain reaction occurs in the reactor core.
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.
And finally, attention... THE SECRET OF THE YELLOW TURTLE, which I will reveal))) 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. The Kola NPP is 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. You can view the waste processing scheme at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant. Another article on the topic -.
A small comment: It’s very good that the Kola Nuclear Power Plant has started recycling 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. SNF is still being transported 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 the real alternatives are . And many countries have them all over!
One of the information center facilities intended for children. Protoshka and Elektroshka demonstrate what different devices consume different quantities energy. Yes, the boys have a girlfriend - Neutroshka)))
Our accompanying people said that not all station workers know who bloggers are)) Moreover, I can imagine their surprise when they met our company in the corridors, hung with cameras. By the way, Konuclear Power Plant 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 the production premises.
We started from the end) Turbine 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.
In front of one of the turbines - a blogger Igor Generalov
Turbine TA-1 is older than me)))
What surprised me in the engine room. This is a huge number of all kinds of pointer instruments, similar to pressure gauges, valves, antediluvian electric motors, etc. I accept that old = reliable. But for some reason I’m not sure that since then nothing new, more modern and reliable has appeared.
And, of course, the complexity (at least the apparent complexity) of the equipment used is amazing. 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, also in the title photo), 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 lid.
Photoblogger at work)
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 using this contraption.
This is interesting again. 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.
Yes, I forgot to say. 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).
Bloggers listen to Slava Rinatovich’s story about waste recycling.
Liquid radioactive waste control panel.
One of the employees recently had a daughter)
And here is the former waste itself.
In 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. They used it to check the cleanliness of one of the photographers’ tripod.
Special clothing warehouse.
We leave the controlled access zone.
The next item on the program is the simulator. An educational and 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.”
Next there will be many photos with buttons, levers, toggle switches, etc. All this happens in the hall of the training complex. 
In the last two photos - back side simulator.
Panorama of the simulator.
Finally, a visit to a trout farm was planned. But this point was wisely canceled, deciding that dark fish in dark water are not very photogenic))
But we stopped at the Salma ski complex. I'm not an expert, so I can't say anything about its merits. For those interested, see the website.
We spent the rest of the day before the train at the Nivskie Bereg hotel. Where there is free Wi-Fi and a funny ad on the wall, according to which our group looked more than suspicious))
Yes, 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 Yuryevna 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!
P.S. Well, the final fly in the ointment of nuclear energy (I’ll say right away that this is a difficult point, the texts are in English, but I think for those who want to understand why many environmentalists and Greenpeace, in particular, are against further development nuclear power, these links are important).
So, you can often hear about what nuclear energy- the future, that we are now witnessing another nuclear renaissance, etc. But let's compare the numbers. Since 2006, global nuclear power production has been falling. This is reflected in various sources, in particular in the reviews of British Petroleum, which makes annual statistical reviews of the world (see section Historical data).
BP's data is confirmed by statistics offered by the World Nuclear Association (WNA): in last years There is a decline in electricity production at nuclear power plants.
In addition, the volume of introduced nuclear generation capacity in recent years has become less than the introduced capacity of renewable energy sources, for example in photovoltaics (not to mention wind energy). Thus, according to WNA data, in 2009 the total increase in nuclear generation was 0.8 GW, and in 2008, nuclear generation showed a decrease in installed capacity by 0.1 GW. At the same time, according to the Renewable energy network, the increase in photovoltaics amounted to 5.9 and 7 GW in 2008 and 2009. respectively (see Table R1). And if we also take into account concentrated solar power (CSP), then the advantage will be even more in favor of alternative sources.
Dmitry Kachalov
Report ctulhuftagn
Report in two parts
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant, the northernmost nuclear power plant in Europe, is located 200 kilometers south of Murmansk on the shores of Lake Imandra. Now all 4 of its power units are operating, producing more than 12 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. A rarity for the nuclear industry is that in 1973, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant was launched by a woman, Galina Alekseevna Petkevich.
Security services at Russian nuclear power plants are confident that photographs of the plant from the outside will greatly weaken its security. Therefore, I will not show you such photographs, but, in general, you can understand what the station looks like from the layout :)
Assembly of 126 fuel rods.
A fuel element (fuel element) is the main structural element of the core of a heterogeneous nuclear reactor, containing nuclear fuel (small black uranium dioxide tablets). In fuel rods, fission of heavy nuclei 235U, 239Pu or 233U occurs, accompanied by the release of thermal energy, which is then transferred to the coolant. That is, primary circuit water flows and heats up between these tubes. This water is used to create steam in the secondary circuit, and the steam rotates the generator turbine.
One such assembly is equivalent in energy output to 80 tanks of fuel oil or 160 wagons of coal.
Is the reactor vessel located under this cover? a metal cylindrical vessel 12 m high. The reactor core consists of 349 cassettes with fuel rods. In short, under this cover there is about 40 tons of nuclear fuel that heats the primary circuit water.
This is the GCEN-310 stator, a plate for TK-6, a BZT conductor plate, a model of the SG collector, radiation control BDMG-41, and the reactor cover with the MP-2 reloading machine in the background... You are wondering what all this is and how it works ? Come for tea, I'll give you a couple of books on the design of nuclear reactors :)
Alexander Dymov (shift supervisor of the reactor workshop). He knows the purpose of all the hardware, but go and explain it to the bloggers :)
Oddly enough, the radioactive background at the station is less than on the street. About 10 microR/h. But this is in areas designed for permanent residence of people. Inside the reactor and behind hundreds of pressure doors, the situation is different, but people are there very rarely, with a clear task, limited time, in protective equipment... And therefore this looks especially strange:
A lifebuoy above the reactor lid... Is there any point in throwing a lifebuoy to a person who has fallen into the reactor?... It turns out there is:) From the surface of the water to the rods - 5 meters. And it’s not water, but a solution boric acid(neutron absorber).
So there is almost no radiation on the surface. But you still have to get the person :)
At the exit from the reactor zone, everyone went into the future to get a myelofon and went through this dosimeter, and since none of us fell into the reactor, no contamination was detected.
Through the second circuit, heated water enters the turbine room, where steam turns turbines, and turbines turn generators.
There are 8 turbines installed in the huge hall
Steam turbine ka-230-44
Here is a turbine assembled back in 1970 at the Kharkov Order of Lenin Turbine Plant named after Kirov. It has been rotating for 40 years with 250-degree steam from the secondary circuit.
There are practically no people in the machine room. Everything is debugged, configured and works on its own.
Control over the parameters of the power unit and control of the technological process is carried out from the block control panel - control room.
Control room of power unit No. 3
This control panel of the intergalactic ship, the third power unit, is monitored by only 3 people... But how much should they know... Have you ever seen more buttons and light bulbs per person?
Like the lifebuoy above the reactor, such a simple stool looks quite unusual among the monitors and toggle switches. But really, why complicate something that has been working for a thousand years :)
A nuclear power plant is simply an industrial facility that has its own characteristics and difficulties. It is no more dangerous than enterprises chemical industry(do you know what man-made disaster is considered the largest?), no more dangerous than the oil field (do you still remember the story with the BP well?). But a nuclear power plant provides us with electricity at a cost of 60 kopecks per 1 kW/h, and it produces much less radiation into the atmosphere than from a coal-fired thermal power plant. Didn't you know? :)
And I will show you where the waste from the nuclear industry goes in the next post.
If people like us are allowed into the station, it means they have nothing to hide... but they have something to be proud of.
P.S. Many thanks to Yulia, Redkaya Marka, RosAtom, Comrade Kiriyenko and everyone who met us at the station!
There are few places in our country where in the 60s of the 20th century industry was as energy-intensive as on the Kola Peninsula. But, having endowed the peninsula with various ores, nature deprived it of fuel. The hydropower resources of the rivers - Kovda, Tuloma, Niva - were insufficient, delivery of coal and oil to the North was too expensive. Therefore, to meet the needs of the Arctic for electricity, a decision was made to build the Kola Nuclear Power Plant.
This is the world's first nuclear power plant built beyond the Arctic Circle. Currently, it is one of the most efficient in the nuclear industry. For more than 37 years, the company has been operating steadily in extreme conditions Arctic. Today, the nuclear power plant is the main supplier of electricity in the Kola energy system, where its share in it is about 58.6% of generation and 47% of consumption. The main consumers of the station are two copper-nickel metallurgical plants, two iron ore plants, an aluminum plant, and a phosphate production plant. Approximately 80 thousand jobs in the region depend directly and indirectly on the Kola Nuclear Power Plant. Since the commissioning of the 1st power unit of the station, more than 330 billion kW of electricity has been supplied to the country’s energy system.
Kola NPP occupies special place in the energy complex of the Murmansk region and throughout Russia, providing electricity to large industrial enterprises in the region. 4 reactors, 8 turbines, 24 steam generators, 24 main circulation pumps plus 2618 personnel - this is what this production represents today.
Shock construction
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. At the same time, the institute was working on the design of the 1st and 2nd power units of the Kola NPP. Its presentation took place a year later in Kiev at a CMEA meeting. There it was approved, but the approval of the design assignment by the State Construction Committee for the construction of the station occurred only in 1967.
The decision to build the Kola Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) was made by the State Production Committee for Energy and Electrification of the USSR in March 1964. Specialists from the Teploenergoproekt Institute, with the participation of the chief architect of the village project, Lev Ignatievich Badridze, selected a site for the construction of a village for power engineers near the village of Zasheyek.
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.
In 1967, the first residential building was built in the new city. The very next year, three residential buildings, a canteen, and a construction department building were built.
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.
First Director of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant
The directorate of the nuclear power plant under construction was headed by Alexander Romanovich Belov - candidate technical sciences, three-time winner of the USSR State Prize, one of the founders of Sredmash, a leader with extensive economic experience. This man had a lot in common with the Murmansk region. After graduation, he worked at a metallurgical plant in Monchegorsk. Since 1940, he was the chief engineer there, and it was on his shoulders that the main burden of the evacuation of this largest plant to Norilsk fell on his shoulders at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. With the staff of the Kola NPP, he went through the most difficult period of time, when construction and development of new production was underway.
Start of the first block
The first unit of the Kola NPP was the head of a series of VVER-440 power units with a V-230 type reactor. The commissioning of a nuclear power plant on the Kola Peninsula was provided for by the directives of the 24th Congress of the CPSU. The builders committed to do this by December 30, 1972 - the 50th anniversary of the USSR. But at that time it was customary to launch important facilities ahead of schedule. A new deadline arose - November 7. However, gaps in the organization of labor did not allow setting a record. Historical event occurred June 29, 1973
In the morning, Galina Alekseevna Petkevich’s shift was working at the station. It was this team that had to prepare the station directly for launch. A few hours before the main event, the shift ended. And then and. O. Station director Alexander Pavlovich Volkov decided to extend the work. At the same time, two more shifts began work - Pyotr Stepanovich Ignatovich and Anatoly Nikolaevich Fedin.
Reactor shop specialists E.M. Kulmatitsky, N.V. Fenogenov, Yu.V. Grebenyuk carried out startup operations at the block control panel in strict accordance with the startup program and recommendations scientific supervisor launcher A.I. Belyaev and duty engineer-physicist V.M. Baryshnikov. In the controlled area, senior mechanical engineer V. A. Grebennikov, operators A. A. Polnikov and O. G. Lysenko carried out switching operations and monitored repair equipment. The change of the chemical workshop every 15 minutes determined the content of boric acid in the primary circuit.
This complex and painstaking work lasted for more than 10 hours, and at 18:50 the instruments steadily recorded the beginning of the fission reaction in the core. In the year of its launch, the station generated 1.02 billion kWh of electricity.
Course - safety
A year later, on December 8, 1974, the second unit was launched, on March 24, 1981, the third, and on October 11, 1984, the fourth. Currently, the station operates four power units with pressurized water reactors. The power of each of them is 440 thousand kilowatts.
Over 37 years of uninterrupted operation, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant has generated more than 330 billion kWh of electricity and has earned a reputation for efficient and stable production. Throughout the years of operation, the main priority of the NPP operation was constant increase security. Today, the share of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant in the energy balance is more than 50% of all electricity generated in the region.
Its specialists took part in the startups of the Armenian, Rivne, Kalinin, Zaporozhye, Beloyarsk, Balakovo, Rostov nuclear power plants, as well as the Loviza (Finland), Nord (Germany), Kozloduy (Bulgaria), Paks nuclear power plants. (Hungary), “Bohunice” and “Dukovany” (Czech Republic and Slovakia), “Juragua” (Cuba).
At the Kola NPP, a large-scale program to improve safety, reconstruct and modernize the equipment of the 1st and 2nd power units (type 230) has been successfully completed. As a result, confirmation was received (license from Gosatomnadzor of Russia) for the operation of power units beyond the established design period. All work was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the current legislation, federal norms and regulations in the field of nuclear energy use, taking into account the recommendations of the IAEA and international experience on issues of service life management and safety assessment of nuclear power plants.
Since 1989, about 850 projects have been implemented under the reconstruction plan. In this case, we used our own funds, funds from the Rosenergoatom concern, federal budget, technical assistance foreign countries, governments of Norway, Finland, Sweden, USA. Currently time is running implementation comprehensive program on preparation for extending the service life of the third and fourth power units.
The best nuclear power plant in Russia
In the late 90s, the Kola NPP was recognized as the best nuclear power plant in Russia for three years in a row following a competition held by the Rosenergoatom concern. She achieved this title by having the best indicators in safety and sustainability, production efficiency, electricity generation, injury reduction, capital investment utilization, and work with personnel. The company's personnel policy is based on the principle of working as a single, highly professional team, when many significant issues are resolved collectively. Personal responsibility is very high and so is mutual control.
The director of the Kola Nuclear Plant branch of the Rosenergoatom concern is currently Vasily Vasilyevich Omelchuk, a specialist with extensive experience in the nuclear industry and at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant. The station has developed a whole range of works to maintain and improve the qualifications of personnel, improve procedures and increase the discipline and responsibility of each employee.
Kola NPP is a city-forming enterprise. Thanks to her financial support, an indoor Ice Sports Palace appeared in the city of polar nuclear scientists, Orthodox church, medical equipment was purchased for MSCh-118 and vehicles for the local police department, and a modern ski complex was built. The most important object social purpose in Polyarnye Zori, introduced with the help of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, was the construction of an electric heating boiler house in the city. With its commissioning, Polarnozorin residents have no problems with hot water supply and the heating season begins earlier than anyone else in the Murmansk region.
Breakthrough in production
The last decade has been a real breakthrough in the activities of the Kola NPP. It was during these years that large-scale work was carried out here to improve safety, reconstruct and modernize the equipment of the 1st and 2nd power units (type 230). As a result, the enterprise received a license from Gosatomnadzor of Russia to operate them for 15 years beyond the established design period. A comprehensive program is being implemented to prepare for extending the service life of the 3rd and 4th power units.
The main achievement of these years is the commissioning of a unique industrial facility - a complex for processing liquid radioactive waste, and the development of technology that makes it possible to reduce the amount of liquid radioactive waste before disposal.
Environment is of paramount importance
Environmental issues at the Kola NPP are given paramount importance. Constant monitoring of the radiation situation in the area where the power plant is located has been carried out since 1972, when background measurements of radioactivity of the main natural objects were carried out.
A special zone with a radius of 15 kilometers has been established around the nuclear power plant, in which the environmental protection laboratory regularly conducts radiation and environmental testing of soil, air, water, bottom sediments, plants, fish, mushrooms and berries. Continuous monitoring is carried out using an automated radiation monitoring system (ASKRO). The ASKRO of the Kola NPP includes 25 gamma radiation dose rate monitoring sensors, five automated weather stations, a weather radar and a mobile radiometric laboratory. Information from sensors and radiation monitoring posts goes to the radiation safety service of the Kola NPP, crisis center Rosenergoatom concern and ASKRO of the Murmansk region.
The results of long-term observations show that the operation of the nuclear power plant does not change the natural radiation background and the state of the environment in the area where the KNPP is located. This is achieved through strict compliance with industry standards at the enterprise. A striking example the environmental safety of the station has been maintained for many years successful work trout farm located at the mouth of the discharge canal.
Kola NPP was one of the first to sign the protocol of accession to the social agreement “On the conservation of wildlife in Russia” and assumed the corresponding obligations. It also supports the Lapland Biosphere Reserve.
And in 2008, KNPP became a laureate of the “European Quality Gold Medal” competition in the category “100 Best Organizations in Russia. Ecology and environmental management".
Unique Russian development
One of the urgent tasks, which the Kola NPP began to solve in the 90s of the last century, is the reduction and conditioning of a significant amount of accumulated liquid radioactive waste (LRW). Preliminary design, survey and scientific research work was carried out at the station, and a large volume of pilot industrial research was carried out. A project for modernizing the liquid radioactive waste management system was formed.
In 2006, a liquid radioactive waste processing complex (LRW CP) was put into operation at KNPP.
The LRW CP is designed for removal of liquid radioactive waste (bottom residue) from storage tanks and their purification from radionuclides (the first direction of processing). Thanks to the application latest technologies The main radionuclides contained in the waste are concentrated in a minimum volume in a special filter container. The unique ion-selective sorption technique used at KNPP makes it possible to reduce the amount of radioactive waste to be buried by 50 times, as well as to get rid of all liquid radioactive waste accumulated at the station in 12-15 years.
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