Nuclear security

Emergency Shutdown of Russian Reactor

Residents of St Petersburg, near Leningrad, in Russia were frightened December 18, 2015 by large quantities of radioactive steam venting from Reactor No 2 at the four reactor complex. The Director of the Nuke Plant said that a “main pipe” had broken in the turbine side of the reactor. This is unconfirmed. Very little else is known about the industrial accident other than one man was hospitalized. It is thought he was a worker at the nuke reactor.

The nuclear plant contains four aging 1,000 MW RBMK style Soviet-era reactors creating about 12,000 MW of Thermal energy or Total Heat. Only about a third is recoverable as electricity. Reactors, in general, are very inefficient sources of electricity, mostly the reactors just warm up the ocean and the air. Great for Plutonium 239 for Bombs; but real poor for electricity.

The No 2 reactor is 40 years old and temporarily shutdown due to the accident. The Unit had an expected lifespan of 30 years 40 years ago. All four reactors are similar to the destroyed No 4 reactor at Chernobyl, Ukraine.