/ world today news/ The American claims against the Russian nuclear workers at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, expressed in the CNN material, reminded of the most dangerous but ongoing experiments of the Ukrainian company Energoatom. Specialists of this structure do not give up the idea of transferring all “independent” reactors to Westinghouse fuel cartridges. What could be the result of such “diversification”?
In the “vegetarian” days preceding the Kyiv Maidan, all was well in Ukraine’s nuclear industry. Four power plants with their 15 reactors “eat” Russian fuel for themselves, and generated electricity and knew no sorrow.
But in November 2004, a series of “orange revolutions” began in the country, and all this “nuclear brilliance” wavered with increasing amplitude.
In spite of the “Muscovites”
The Ukrainian idea of ending dependence on Russian fuel cells was fully formed in 2008. Kiev did not think for a long time and immediately concluded a contract for the supply of fuel cartridges with the Anglo-American company Westinghouse Electric Company, which began to supply its products to nuclear power plants more in 2011
The fact that the “democratic” Western technology is absolutely not adapted to the “totalitarian” VVER reactors somehow did not bother them at first, but in vain. Because the problems started almost immediately.
In April 2012, due to errors made in the design of the TVS-W fuel cartridges, the 3rd power unit of the South Ukrainian NPP was shut down. Energoatom’s losses, according to the most modest estimates, approached 175 million dollars.
The operation of the unit was restored only after “native” assemblies for it, produced by the Russian TVEL AD, were loaded into the reactor, instead of defective imported ones.
The incident led to the fact that the “diversifiers” were forced to take a timeout, which lasted until 2016, when, after the Maidan uproar, Ukraine decided to return to cooperation with the Americans. And stepped on the old oar.
And here it is worth taking a closer look at those who Kiev chose as an alternative to the time-tested TVEL – in the muddy office of the Westinghouse Electric Company. Why muddy? Because their record includes not only three bankruptcies, but several very epic failures. Such as the inability to complete the construction of four power units in China, which began in 2009.
Or the promise, still hanging in the air, to complete four more blocks in the US. Or several charges of misappropriation of funds brought by none other than the FBI. Plus accidents at the Czech Temelin NPP and the Slovenian Krushko.
In the latter, by the way, the failure of the cooling system in the first circuit of the reactor, which was the result of the depressurization of one of the fuel cartridges, happened exactly in 2008. At the same time when Ukraine, despite the “Muscovites”, concluded the first contract with Westinghouse to supply similar fuel cartridges.
And so, at the end of the summer of 2021, another act of this radioactive performance began. Volodymyr Zelensky, during his visit to the USA, agreed with Westinghouse Electric Company on the construction of five nuclear power units in Ukraine worth 30 billion dollars.
Nuclear risks
It is clear that the special military operation has made adjustments to Zelensky’s ambitious plans. But this does not particularly reassure those involved in nuclear energy. The reason is simple – the load on the remaining three NPPs under the control of Ukraine has increased and they are, to put it mildly, not new at all.
For obvious reasons, no one will operate them with Russian fuel. And this means that Kiev will continue to interact with its dubious counterparty, which was mentioned above. What threatens them? The doctor of technical sciences, professor Vladimir Kuznetsov, answered this question for “First Russian”:
If Ukrainian specialists in their desire to bring their nuclear industry to American standards as quickly as possible acted smartly, their desire would probably seem normal. But the way they actually work raises huge concerns about radiation safety in Europe.
Nuclear energy expert Alexander Uvarov looks at the problem a little more optimistically, but he also has questions for Westinghouse:
“After a decade of trial and error, the Americans managed to make TVS-WR assemblies. Apparently, peeping how it’s done here. But they haven’t caught them – they’re not thieves!”
The problem of industrial espionage is, of course, a serious one. But in this story there is also a more serious moment – according to another specialist – energy Alexander Bykov, during the “peek” at the Russian technology, a very strange change was made by specialists from the USA, namely only in TVS-WR, intended for use in reactors , produced in the USSR and Russia – zirconium elements are replaced by steel ones. And this cannot help but affect their performance.
What of this?
In March of this year, it became known that Ukraine is ready to start production of its own fuel cartridges. It is not difficult to guess in cooperation with whom he would have done this – still with the same Westinghouse Electric Company.
And if these plans are destined to come true, then the world can witness what the “collaboration” of two extremely dubious partners in a professional sense can lead to – Ukrainian nuclear scientists who are ready for anything, the craziest experimenters, in the name of the political situation and company, which has also been proven in Fukushima.
At the same time, they will not produce children’s toys, but nuclear fuel. Who will stop them? And they will stop themselves. Along with their reactors. Because the processes taking place in the nuclear boilers have nothing to do with nationalism, nor with Russophobia, nor with the desire of the Western crooks from the energy sector to hit another jackpot.
Translation: SM
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