The Russian state-owned company Rosenergoatom reported that there was a turbine failure at the St. Petersburg nuclear power plant. Reuters noted that the same type of turbines is being built by Russia in Turkey, and now it is also to be built in Hungary.
Rosenergoatom, which manages Russian nuclear power plants, said it was unclear what caused the broken blades. This event forced a unit of the nuclear power plant in St. Petersburg to be shut down on Sunday.
– Now the most important thing is to understand the reason for the destruction of the blades. This is a new phenomenon, said Alexander Shutikov, head of Rosenergoatom. He added that the repairs should be completed by December 22.
Inspection of the condition of the reactor at a Russian nuclear power plant rosatom.ru
Rosatom: the accident does not pose a threat to nuclear safety
The unit where the problem occurred was built in 2018 along with a new generation pressurized water reactor. The same type of reactors Russia she built on Belarusis building at the nuclear power plant in Turkey and plans to build in a power plant on Hungary.
Shutikov said the damaged blades were part of a 1,200-megawatt steam turbine. These turbines are built by businessman Alexei Mordashov’s company Power Machines.
Rosatom, the parent company of Rosenergoatom, announced that similar turbine models are operating in other units of the power plant in St. Petersburg and in the southern Voronezh region. The company ensures that it always checks and corrects any defects.
“Since the turbines are not part of the power plant’s ‘nuclear island’, their malfunction does not pose a threat to nuclear safety, and all reactor equipment functions as intended,” it was stated.
Main photo source: rosatom.ru