EU sends safety equipment to Russian nuclear power plant
The European Union's TACIS programme purchased 80 metric tonnes of nuclear safety equipment as part of its nuclear safety programme to improve safety at nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities. The EU has provided the equipment to Balakovo nuclear power plant in Russia. This is the first time that such safety equipment, manufactured in the specialist Taprogge plant in Wetter, Germany, is being exported for use in Russian installations. The equipment will increase the safety of the plant by protecting the steam generator tubes from polluted cleaning water. This equipment is an important contribution to international efforts to minimize the threat of nuclear accidents at power plants. The equipment being delivered includes complete tube cleaning systems for the main steam condensor as well as cooling water filters. Worth over ECU 1.5 million, the equipment will be delivered to Balakovo nuclear power plant, located 900 km south-east of Moscow, and will be installed and commissioned by a team of German experts from the RWE Energie utility and their Russian partners. Balakovo is one of six plants in Russia receiving on-site support from the TACIS nuclear safety programme, which takes account of the priorities proposed by the G7 at the Munich Summit in July 1992 to improve safety of nuclear installations. Over the past three years, TACIS has made budgetary commitments of nearly ECU 300 million for this purpose. On-site support includes projects run by operators from nuclear installations in the European Union working together with their opposite numbers in plants such as Balakovo to improve operational safety. The projects involve drawing up specifications for safety equipment and engineering studies, as well as training in operational procedures and quality assurance. Large-scale equipment deliveries to nuclear power plants in Russia and Ukraine are now under way. The TACIS programme is a European Union initiative for the new independent States of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia which fosters the development of harmonious and prosperous economic and political links between the European Union and these partner countries. TACIS provides grant finance to support the process of transformation to market economies and democratic societies. Between 1991 and 1994 TACIS, made available ECU 1,870 million to provide know-how and cultivate links and relationships between organizations in partner countries and the European Union.
Countries
Russia