ARMENIA: Alarmed at the potential for another Chernobyl-type nuclear accident, the European Union has frozen €100 million of grant aid to this small state in the Caucasus following the refusal of the government here to agree to a date for closure of an ageing Russian-built nuclear power plant sited in one of the world's most active seismic zones.
The pressurised water reactor at Metsamor, about 40 kilometres west of the Armenian capital, Yerevan, was first commissioned in the mid 70s but shut down in 1988 after an earthquake killed 25,000 in cities and towns in the area. The reactor was restarted in 1995 due to severe energy shortages in the country.
"Our position of principle is that nuclear power plants should not be built in highly active seismic zones," said Mr Alexis Louber, head of the EU's delegation in Armenia. "This plant is a danger to the whole Caucasus region."
As part of a general policy seeking the closure of ageing nuclear plants in territories of the former Soviet Union, the EU had offered the €100 million in aid to Armenia for finding alternative energy sources and helping with decommissioning costs at the plant. The EU decision to freeze the aid, made some weeks ago but only just revealed here, is seen as a mark of Brussels' frustration on the issue.
"We cannot force Armenia to close Metsamor," said Mr Louber. "Originally it was agreed the plant should cease operations this year - now we're asking for a definite date as to when the plant will be closed. We feel that should be well in advance of the end of the plant's design life cycle in 2016."
The plant, in a gently rolling plain in view of the snowy peak of Mt Ararat in nearby Turkey, has no secondary containment facilities to prevent radioactive leakage in the event of a nuclear accident - a safety requirement now considered essential in all reactors. Another worry is that, due to border and railway closures with surrounding territories, nuclear material to feed the plant has to be flown into Yerevan's civilian airport from Russia and then transported along a badly surfaced public highway to the plant.
"It is the same as flying around a potential nuclear bomb," said Mr Louber. "It's an extremely hazardous exercise."
Mr Areg Galystyan, Armenia's deputy minister of power, dismissed suggestions that Metsamor is unsafe, saying $50 million had been spent on upgrading safety features at the plant.
"It was a big mistake to shut the plant down in 1988," he said. "It created an energy crisis and the people and economy suffered. It would be impossible for us to cause the same problem again by shutting off the plant."
He also insisted that all necessary safety measures were taken when flying in fuel to feed the reactor, though exact details of the operation were kept secret "to avoid alarming people".
Dr Alvaro Antonyan, president of Armenia's National Survey for Seismic Protection, said Russian scientists built the power station on a special raft in order to withstand earthquakes. Dr Antonyan said the 1988 earthquake, which measured 6.7 on the Richter scale, had not damaged the reactor.
"I fear for my two children because I do not think the plant is safe," said Mr Gohar Bezprozvannkh, who worked at the plant for two years. "Earthquakes happen here and there is danger. On the other hand we do not have any other options for work."