"At least 67 employees of Metsamor NPP declared their resignation for poor conditions and low wages in the station", he said.
"Taking into consideration the strategic importance of the Metsamor NPP for Armenia, I call the government to take serious measures on this issue. Extending the solution of this problem can lead to an extremely dangerous situation for our country". he added.
The South Caucasus is a mountainous region where the seismic activity is considerably high. Due to this reason, the operation of large industrial facilities is very risky for the life of millions of people living in the region and beyond. Despite this, Armenia still operates its outdated Metsamor nuclear power plant, which was built more than 40 years ago.
The NPP was built in six years in the city of Metsamor and began to operate in 1976. After the devastating earthquake of 1988 in the town of Spitak, it was closed; but in 1995, despite numerous international protests, the Armenian government renewed the operation of the NPP – moreover, the second reactor was launched.
The license for the exploitation of the plant has already expired, but the Armenian government made the decision to prolong the date of exploitation of the plant for an additional 10 years.
During all these years, international ecologists and scientists have been noting that the seismic activity of the area makes the operation of the plant in Metsamor an extremely dangerous enterprise even if a reactor of the new sample is constructed. They urge that due to its deplorable state, the Armenian NPP could repeat the fate of the Chernobyl NPP in Ukraine. The possible tragedy will jeopardize the life of people and environmental state of the region, and its consequences will be also felt in Europe and in the Middle East.
Besides, last year 10 criminal cases of corruption were launched by the National Security Service of Armenia at the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant.
