Site assessment of the new NPP is to be accomplished by autumn

Category: Press Releases
Published: 2010-07-10

Intensive fieldwork of the last stage of site assessment has been currently conducted on both potential construction sites of the new Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Exhaustive site assessment, carried out according to the safety requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2009, will be shortly completed, and the site assessment report will be prepared in October. The report will focus on the assessment of suitability of the potential sites for the NPP construction.

During 1.5 years of assessment, the analysis of geological conditions has been performed, and the construction sites have been assessed in terms of external events such as meteorological conditions, plane crash, etc. Fieldwork related to the assessment of construction sites in terms of geotechnical conditions and seismic factors is to be finished this month.

Geological surveys have been currently carried out on the sites with the help of special equipment, made in the USA and imported from Hungary, weighting more than 30 tons, i.e. seismic exploration of the deep structure has been performed. Explosives have been used in boreholes; air cannons and 30-ton vibrating panels have also been used for causing micro earthquakes. These earthquakes have been measured by particularly sensitive devices, geophones, in the area exceeding several square kilometres; therefore, several thousands of receivers have been equipped. The same surveys have also been conducted at the Lake Drūkšiai, where the new Visaginas NPP will be constructed.

The assessment of potential construction sites will be reviewed by a qualified mission of IAEA experts in November–December this year.

The conclusions of all surveys will be necessary for the future designer, who will take into consideration the locality and the set requirements for designing the NPP according to the international safety standards.

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