Yevgeny Burlagkov, head of channel-type reactor department of Kurchatov Institute

– Granting of ecological award to Kursk NPP is a big success of Russian nuclear industry

Kursk Nuclear Power Plant has been awarded the annual ecological prize of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia “Best Ecological Project of the Year” in the “In Harmony with Nature” nomination.

The Russian nuclear power plants pay great attention to environment protection. They not only try to reduce the radiation background in their areas but carry out lots of other ecological activities. So, the decision of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia to grant Kursk NPP an ecological award is a big success of our nuclear industry.

I often visit Kursk NPP and see how the city is changing. For example, formerly the cooling pond of the plant was in a quite deplorable condition. But today it has a granite quay and excellent beeches and is one of the most popular recreation areas in Kurchatov in summer time. Kursk NPP has built a big greenhouse, it has a fish farm and its own breeding herd. The plant also cares for the history of its satellite city and actively sponsors the construction and restoration of monuments.

I am glad that the residents of Kurchatov enjoy such an excellent ecological situation. The point is that many people still have prejudice against nuclear power plants. But the residents of Kurchatov are not afraid of their plant and are sure that it is ecologically friendly. Most of them have summer cottages near Kursk NPP and even the health center of Kursk NPP is situated just 2 km away from the plant. 

In the last years Kursk NPP has done really big work to enhance the safety of its RBMK reactors. This proves that the decision of Lithuania to shut down its RBMK reactor at Ignalina was a matter of politics rather than safety. Experts perfectly understand this but some people still believe that RBMK is unsafe. It seems that by insisting on the closure of Ignalina the EU is following some other goals.
 
In conclusion, I would like to say that such a high evaluation of the ecological work of Kursk NPP is a big success for not only the plant but the whole Energoatom Concern.