nuclear-news

The type of reactor involved in the explosion, an RBMK or high-power channel reactor, has since been modified throughout Russia to account for some of its fatal design flaws, such as control rods with graphite tips and uranium with a low enrichment level. Many of the reactor’s original features were likely chosen to cut costs.

The goal of the retrofit, according to the HBO series, was to “prevent an accident like Chernobyl from happening again.” But that might be easier said than done.

The World Nuclear Association lists ten RBMK reactors that are still operating in Russia(one RBMK was recently decommissioned in Saint Petersburg in 2018). Russia is now the only country with these reactors, which were designed and built by the Soviet Union.

Four RBMKs are located in Kursk, a city in western Russia. Another three are found Saint Petersburg, a city with more than 5 million inhabitants, and three more are in Smolensk (about five hours outside Moscow). One of the Smolensk RBMKs is licensed to operate until 2050. The rest of the licenses expire sometime between 2021 and 2031.

Though the reactors have seen changes to their control rods and uranium fuel, their design is still generating concern among some nuclear scientists…….

Russia’s RBMKs were meant to last 30 years, but state officials have chosen to extend their life cycles. In 2015, half of Russia’s nuclear power came from reactors with extended licenses. The World Nuclear Association has said that a few older reactors at Kursk and Saint Petersburg that were commissioned in the 1970s pose “some concern to the Western world.” ……. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/could-chernobyl-happen-again-russia-reactors-2019-6