Emergency Situations Minister will monitor the drills on-site.
From October 3 to 4, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant in Polyarnye Zory will conduct its largest annual emergency drills. Such high-level training is held once a year at a Russian nuclear plant to maintain safety standards and to train staff to act in emergency situations.
The scenario of the drills is the following: there is a damage at the plant due to a strong earthquake. Radioactive contamination affects the plant and the nearby city, putting around 15,000 people at risk.
Dozens of mobile emergency vehicles and over 1,100 personnel will participate, including plant staff, emergency response teams from Rosenergoatom, local authorities, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Approximately 140 pieces of equipment will also be used. The Minister will oversee the drills as part of a nationwide civil defense training.
Director of the Kola NPP, Vasily Omelchuk, stated, “These drills test the training of our staff to ensure safe operations during emergencies and help to practice coordinated actions among the plant, emergency rescue teams, and local authorities.”
The drills will test alert systems, inter-agency communication, and deploy mobile equipment. Evacuation and first aid procedures will also be practiced.
Additionally, operational staff will train on a full-scale control panel simulator, modeling various operational modes, including emergency situations.
During the exercises, the Kola NPP's reactors will operate normally, with no disruptions planned.
It’s important to note that the Kola NPP operates within a closed energy system, where hydroelectric stations produce a significant portion of electricity at lower costs. This sometimes required the Kola NPP to reduce output during floods and operate at maximum capacity in winter.
As the nuclear power plant is an integral part of the energy system in the Arctic, the NPP takes measures of security very seriously. The plant conducts annual drills and issues special ecological reports, estimating the security of the facility, as well as emissions, waste and the effect of the plant’s work on region’s biodiversity.
In 2019, the power plant was modernised, effectively increasing its security. In 2021, the NPP was named ‘the most ecologically exemplary atomic organisation’ by Rosatom.
Source: b-port
Also read the publication:
Federal Judge Stops Huge Gold Mine Project in Alaska