80 years ago, on August 20, 1945, the USSR Defense Committee established a Special Commission with a mandate to develop nuclear weapons. This day is considered to be the birthday of the national nuclear industry. With this article we start a new series, the Anniversaries, which will look at Rosatom companies celebrating their anniversaries this year. Let’s begin with the main one.
The Special Commission was in charge of every activity related to ‘the use of intra-atomic energy of uranium’ in the USSR. It was engaged in organizing scientific research, prospecting for uranium, and building infrastructure for uranium mining in the USSR and beyond its borders — in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and other countries. The commission arranged for the processing of uranium, production of equipment and materials related to the use of nuclear energy and, most importantly, construction of nuclear power plants and creation of an atomic bomb.
The very first document issued by the commission provided for the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear power, the two ‘legs’ on which the Russian nuclear industry still stands as Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev likes to say.
Nuclear power and nuclear weapons were developed in parallel. Soviet nuclear engineers were the first to design and build a nuclear power plant, having learned to keep the chain reaction under control. This was when the destructive nature of nuclear energy was tamed to become productive and bring people heat and electricity.
Anniversary in January
This January, Unit 3 of the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant is celebrating its 35th anniversary — it was connected to the grid on January 17, 1990. Construction of the unit started in May 1984; the first criticality was achieved in December 1989. The unit is equipped with a 1000 MW RBMK reactor.
The Smolensk NPP stands apart from other plants. Its design was the first to include an emergency core cooling system (ECCS) and an under-reactor suppression pool for steam condensation. Special computer software, which performs daily core calculations, makes it possible to rearrange fuel assemblies, ensuring optimal fuel burn-up and energy release.
Steam relief systems installed at Smolensk Unit 3 were upgraded to withstand steam overpressure even if nine channels are simultaneously destroyed in a beyond-design-basis accident. It should be noted, however, that there have been few cases of channel rupture registered. The other two units at Smolensk have also been upgraded.
All the three units of the Smolensk NPP have gone through a life extension program. For instance, Unit 3 can be operated until December 14, 2034. As part of the life extension program, almost all of its control systems were retrofitted, end-of-life equipment was replaced, and new-generation safety systems were installed. The existing units of the Smolensk NPP are scheduled for decommissioning in the near future, with two new reactors planned to be built at the site. First concrete pouring for the new reactors will take place in 2027.
RBMK reactors are of the so-called ‘channel-type’ design: each fuel assembly in their reactor core is enclosed in an individual pipe called a ‘technological channel’. Some fuel assemblies can be replaced with targets for the production of commercial and medical isotopes. Last year, the Smolensk NPP began to produce cobalt‑60. This isotope is used for the sterilization of medical instruments and food products, stimulation of plant growth, disinfection of sewage and waste, etc. Production of isotopes is one of Rosatom’s new non-energy businesses we told our readers in detail in each of the last year’s issues. New business lines are the ‘third leg’ on which the Russian nuclear industry stands.
The Smolensk NPP, like any other Russian nuclear power plant, pays great attention to environmental protection. Soil, water and air radiation levels are continuously monitored in the 30‑kilometer zone around the plant. Since 2001, the Desnogorskoye water reservoir, from which the nuclear plant takes cooling water, has been regularly stocked with fish, including red-listed black carp. The fish improve the pond’s ecosystem, preventing excessive growth of algae. Now the Desnogorskoye reservoir is also full of crayfish and shrimps, which is an unmistakable indicator of high quality of water.
The Smolensk NPP is a vivid example of how Soviet and then Russian scientists, engineers and designers accumulate knowledge about the nature of atoms and then put it into practice. Their passionate dedication to what they do makes Rosatom a global nuclear industry leader.
