On the first day of his visit the IAEA Director had a working meeting with the Head of President’s administration Sergey Ivanov and General Director of Rosatom, Sergey Kiriyenko. The issues of relations between Russia and IAEA were discussed, for instance, the implementation of several projects within the frameworks of the technical partnership with IAEA and non-power implementation of nuclear technologies. Another thing discussed was the Agency’s warranty system development paths.
Some personnel issues were also touched upon. Yukiya Amano also met with Dmitry Rogozin, the vice PM of the RF. The same day Dr. Amano managed to give a lecture at MGIMO (Moscow State Institute for International Relations), where he told Russian students about current directions of the Agency’s work and answered their questions about nuclear program of North Korea and negotiations with Iran.
Safety With an Excellent Mark
The next day Amano arrived to Udomlya, Tver region, to look at the Kalinin NPP. He was demonstrated the equipment installed at the station to increase safety after the Fukushina-1 catastrophe, he was also shown the main control room of power unit 4. Mikhail Kanyshev, the plant Director, noted that all control system of the stationswere designed on the basis of the newest programming tools. “We have an effective multi-branch network of equipment vigilance” – he said. In his turn the IAEA Director showed interest to reserve control systems, of which the other Director gave him a very detailed description.
Post-Fukushima safety systems of the Kalinin NPP work very well, said Amano to the journalists during his visit. “It was very important for me to see the newest Russian nuclear plant, I’m speaking about unit 4 as well as the units built back in the 1980s. Unit 4 is very up-to-date, has a lot of safety systems installed. Additional feature is that the plant has a big amount of diesel generators and pump assemblies (post-Fukushiman systems). And we not just looked at them, we actually started them. They got started really easily and worked as good as my personal car, for example”, – said Amano.
Atomic Prognosis
Talking to journalists at the Kalinin NPP the head of IAEA also shared his opinion concerning the future of nuclear power in the world. Thus he said that by 2030 the use of nuclear power, if everything goes well, will increase by 100%. A pessimistic prospect suggests only 23% growth. Amano noted, that “many developing countries would like to have nuclear stations, they must be given their way to peaceful atom”.
“Even as we speak, the countries like the UAE, Turkey, Vietnam and several others, are willing to build nuclear power plants. And there are Russian specialists working at many of them”, – said the head of IAEA, adding, that Jordan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Belarus, Poland and Czech Republic are planning to develop their atomic industry,besides some of them now start using this type of energy as something new.
“Nuclear energy shouldn’t be just a well-developed countries’ thing” – said Dr. Amano, according to ITAR-TASS. As believes Dr. Amano, renewable power generation and slate gas won’t be able to substitute atomic generating in global energy balance: “I understand that the percentage of renewable power generation in the world will grow because it has its advantages, which is quite natural. But those energy sources also have their negative sides, such as high cost and that they can’t be used as base generating source”.
Ukha for Amano
Besides business there was also a cultural program prepared for Amano. He visited the NPP cooling lake where the fishermen, the plant employees, served him some ukha (Russian traditional fish soup). The guest had one helping and asked for another. Inspired with ingenuousness of the head of IAEA, the fishermen challenged to offer him a shot of vodka which he accepted enthusiastically. “We saw both locals and NPP employees and talked to them, the communication was very pleasant. I tell you the truth – I liked both ukha and vodka”, – said the IAEA Director.
Getting Acquainted with Science
In Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (international intergovernmental research organization in Dubna) the head of IAEA took a close look at research projects in the field of high energy and nuclear reaction physics. At the Directorate meeting the possibilities of future cooperation were discussed, with directors of the institution taking part.
As said Dr. Amano after the meeting, he was “very impressed with the level of research done by the institution and it is important that fundamental research here is applied for practical purposes. Today I had a great opportunity to get familiar with your Institute and I will share my impressions with my Vienna colleagues, when looking through possibilities of extending cooperation with the Joint Institute”.
