NPP "Kozloduy" will try to fix the problem with one of the steam generators on unit six. It has remained unresolved for two years now and because of it the unit has not been loaded at maximum power in recent months. It had to be stopped several times before.
The Nuclear Regulatory Agency has issued instructions to the plant. On October 18, the sixth unit will be shut down for its planned annual repair and refuelingand that is when the detailed analysis of the state of the steam generator will begin, BNT specified.
From the nuclear plant, they are continuing with an analysis of whether they will need the equipment from the "Belene" NPP. for the possible replacement of parts.
The Nuclear Regulatory Agency has asked the Kozloduy NPP to to clarify the reason for the appearance of leaks in one of the steam generators of the sixth unit, as well as to prevent them.
"I don't expect this to be resolved immediately. Obviously, this is a very complex problem and a very complex process. But I think that within two years there will be a final decision, the state of the steam generator will be known," said Tsanko Bachiiski, chairman of the National Energy Agency.
Leaks make the steam generator less efficient, but are still not large enough to be dangerous to the facility.
"By the way, we have always said that the gap that appears is within the limits of technological assumptions and does not pose a danger to the environment and people," added Tsanko Bachiiski, chairman of the NRA.
According to international conventions and the rules of the European Union, each country must take care of the spent fuel from its nuclear power plant.
"It is a fact that at the moment there are no selected sites, it has been established in Bulgaria that there are conditions to build such a storage facility - this is the responsibility of each country," commented Tsanko Bachiiski, chairman of the NRA.
Although the updated spent nuclear fuel management strategy has not yet been adopted, the country must find a way to bury its waste.
Russia has been taking back spent fuel since 1996 with the stipulation that it will be returned after extraction of the useful components.
Our country must find a place to process the American fuel supplied for the fifth unit.
"It doesn't matter whether it is American or Russian fuel, the characteristics regarding uranium enrichment are the same, so whether it is American, whether it is Russian fuel, its path is the same, said Tsanko Bachiiski, chairman of NRA.
According to the Agency's calculations, even if we do not export more fuel to Russia, there is room in the wet storage until 2032.
It can then be stored in a dry manner until needed. Currently, a total of 4,481 cartridges with spent nuclear fuel are stored on the territory of the Kozloduy NPP.
The total weight of heavy metal is just over 996 tons. With the construction of the new units at the headquarters, this volume will increase.
"Storage of the fuel at the site is currently safe and gives enough time to finally resolve the issue of its final burial," Tsanko Bachiiski, chairman of the NRA, also said.
The only country that has so far solved the problem of burying its nuclear waste is Finland.