Sergey Komarov, deputy director of Institute for Energy Development of Regions

– Rosatom has become much more open to the public

Let’s see what we have done in the last years to improve the situation at the Techa Reservoir Cascade in Chelyabinrsk region and what we have got as a result. First, it is one of the few examples proving that by investing money in safety one can solve the real — rather than hypothetical — problem of protecting people and the environment. We have reinforced the dam and have thereby excluded the possible release of water into the environment.

Techa is an excellent example of how we can solve similar problems in other regions. Now, we are preparing for a really unique project: we are designing technologies for purifying water in the cascade so it can be released into the open water network. This is a project of future and it is especially important now that we are starting large-scale construction of nuclear power plants.

Second, the Techa cascade is an example of rational use of money. Rosatom has already spent billions of rubles and all of them have been spent effectively. So, this shows that Rosatom knows how to effectively spend the huge money it has received for its federal target programs.

Third, Rosatom has become much more open to the public. The agency has concealed no single problem related to the “legacy” of the Soviet Union, particularly, to the activities of Mayak PA. This openness will certain help us to overcome the existing radio-phobia in our country.