Nuclear resurrection
WITH energy in perpetual short supply, the Armenian government has decided to restart the Metsamor nuclear reactor which was closed down in 1988 following a devastating earthquake. Reviving the 407 MW reactor is a desperate measure for the state which is facing ruin due to the seven-year-old undeclared war with neighbouring Azerbaijan, and economic chaos leading to the closure of most factories in the post-Soviet cra- The government's attempt is a valiant effort to meet with the price rise and power crises prevalent in the state.
The decision of the Armenia, ernment has sparked off a wave protests in the West. The reactor not meet the international stand according to us experts. And its - a Soviet one - is regarded to unsafe, as it lacks the dome-shaped tainment structure customan, to Western reactors. This, the. increases the chance of leakage. But Armenian officials are adamant A restoring the reactor and say that it meet with the standards follo4 worldwide. They feet that the oblecut made by the Western world reflectsi East-West competition. Officials h. ruled out the us allegation that the tor lacks power to withstand the art serious earthquakes.