The “Leningrad nuclear power plant”. Leningrad nuclear power plant in the town of Sosnovy Bor in 2008. It is the site of the Nuclear Power Plant Leningrad, including the construction site of the Nuclear Power Plant Leningrad II.
The location[]
Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant was biult in Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Oblast, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, some 70 kilometers to the west of the city center of Saint Petersburg. It has 4 RBMK-1000 type, which are for the most part, identical to reactors No. 1 and 2 of the former Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant!
Soviet era accidents[]
The 1975 accidents[]
- A concrete tank containing radioactive gases from Unit 1 exploded for unknown reasons. The was no radiation release or victims.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was less than a Level 4 INES Scale event.
- A fault on the he secondary cooling circuit of Unit 1 ruptured, releasing a torrent of contaminated water into the environment. 3 died and it was covered up for several decades.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
- A coolant loss in fuel channel in Unit 1 lead to the degradation of a nuclear fuel assembly and thus a significant release of radiation lasting for 1 month. In the immediate aftermath of the accident radiation level in Sosnovy Bor, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the accident were 600 mR/h. There was reportedly a subsequent partial meltdown in the 2 year old Leningrad reactor Unit 1 that released 1.5 MCi into the local environment and killed 3 people. It was officially denied and covered up between 1975 and 1992.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
The 1976 accident[]
Poor safety standards led to a fire in a concrete vault containing radioactive waste. Water used in extinguishing the fires was contaminated, leaked into the environment, and entered the water table. It was covered up for several decades.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
The 1979 accident[]
Poor safety standards led to a fire in a concrete vault containing radioactive waste. Water used in extinguishing the fires was contaminated, leaked into the environment, and entered the water table. It was covered up for several decades.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
Russian era accidents[]
The 1990 accident[]
It was noticed, during refurbishment of Unit 1, that the space between the fuel channels and the graphite stack that was contaminated during one of the 1975 accidents had widened. The contaminated graphite was split on removal and the radiation levels in the space under the reactor thus increased. Radiation was detected 6 km away from the unit, but no one died an it was covered up until 1992.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 4 INES Scale event.
The 1991 accident[]
10 new fuel rods were dropped and damaged, due to both faulty equipment and lax safety rule compliance. The staff tried to conceal the accident from the management, but were found out and fired.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 4 INES Scale event.
The 1992 accident[]
A structural fault caused a ruptured fuel channel leaking some radioactive gases and iodine into the local atmosphere.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
The 1994 accident[]
A pipe's weld failed. Contaminated metal particals and water/steam was ejected into the local environment from the ventilation stack. Radiation levels increased by a factor of 10. It was covered up.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
The 1996 accident[]
A leak of radioactive water from a spent-fuel building was discovered, escaping at a rate of 12 L per day. After a month the daily leakage had increased to 360 L. Finnish atomic engineering specialists helped to greatly reduce the leakage.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
The 2000 accidents[]
- A piece of rubber left behind after maintenance work blocked the coolant water circulation system in a nuclear fuel channel at the 1st reactor. The channel contains both the fuel rods and coolant in one space. It was detected at reactor start-up, and thankful avoided a copy of the scenarios of 1975 and 1992.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 4 INES Scale event.
- A leak of radioactive water was found n the spent fuel storage facility. The contaminated soil (about 1.5 t) was transferred into a solid radioactive waste storage site.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 4 INES Scale event.
The 2005 non-nuclear accident[]
A non-nuclear smelter that was used for reprocessing scrap metal, overheated and exploded spraying molten metal across a large area, starting several fires in it's wake. 3 workers were horrifically burnt, 2 fatally so.
It dose not officially have a INES rating and it is inapplicable to give it one anyhow.
The 2009 accident[]
A hole was found in the discharge header of a pump on unit 3 when it was stopped for some "short-term unscheduled maintenance", with a restart scheduled for 31st August 2009.
According to the plant's automated radiation control system, in both the facility and it's its 30 kilometer monitoring zone was normal, but the plant's management denied everything and said there never was a leak to begin with!
The Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter published a short notice 2 days later based on a statement by the Finnish authority, Säteilyturvakeskus, saying there was a minor leak at the plant, but it was not a long term hazard.
It dose not officially have a INES rating, but probably was a Level 5 INES Scale event.
Also see[]
- The Windscale reactor fire and 5 Sellafield incidents
- Corporate malfeasance at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Generating Station
- Geiger-Muller counter
- Atomic accidents and disasters
Links[]
- http://www.topsecretwriters.com/2011/03/5-worst-russian-nuclear-accidents-of-all-time/
- http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Leningrad_Nuclear_Power_Plant
- http://nuclear-powerplants.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/leningrad-nuclear-power-plant.html
- http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Lift-for-Leningrad-II-reactor-vessel-0406141.html
- http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear-power-plants/w/nuclear_power_plants/leningrad.aspx
- http://bellona.org/news/nuclear-issues/nuclear-issues-in-ex-soviet-republics/2012-08-potentially-devastating-swelling-and-cracks-discovered-at-leningrad-nuclear-power-plant-reactor-no-1-while-spokesman-denies-problems
- http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Leningrad_Nuclear_Power_Plant