Just yesterday I returned from a trip to the Kola Peninsula. Before that, I had never been to an operating nuclear power plant. I assumed that there were strict requirements for the safety of the facility - all the same, a strategic and potentially dangerous production. I read that very strict regulations are used by employees to prevent exposure to radiation on a person. It was said a lot that the nuclear power plant is absolutely safe for the people living nearby and for the environment.
But what I saw in reality did not at all coincide with my theoretical ideas and expectations ...
A lot of things got on the video camera and did not get in the photo. Therefore, I advise you to watch my video in addition to the photo report:
Subscribe to my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/MasterokST. In the near future there will be a lot about the Murmansk region.
I was called a lot in the Murmansk region most/most NORTHERN(we will remember all this in subsequent posts), but the Kola nuclear power plant is not the most northern. The northernmost is now considered Bilibino NPP(Chukotskaya NPP) - the northernmost nuclear power plant in Russia and the world is located in the permafrost zone in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Russian Federation near the city of Bilibino, at a distance of 4.5 kilometers from the latter.
But Kola NPP (KAES), located 12 km from the city of Polyarnye Zori, also has its own record regalia - this is the first nuclear power plant in the world built beyond the Arctic Circle.
Let's look at the history of its construction.
Photo 2. 
In 1963, the Leningrad branch of the Teploenergoproekt Institute sent an expedition of S.P. Ilovaisky to the village of Zasheek to carry out survey work to select a site for the construction of a nuclear power plant and a future village of power engineers. The first builders appeared there at the end of November 1964. They were faced with the task of creating a construction base, building housing and roads.
The actual construction of the nuclear power plant begins on May 18, 1969. On this day, the first cubic meter of concrete was laid at the base of the future station. The construction of the city and the Kola NPP was carried out by the construction department of the Kola NPP, which was headed by Alexander Stepanovich Andrushechko, who had worked in this capacity for 17 years. In 1971, the construction site was declared the All-Union shock Komsomol.
Photo 3. 
It's interesting that:
- The projects for the construction of power units No. 3 and No. 4 of the Novovoronezh NPP were taken as the basis for the project of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant.
- During the construction, we had to change the design several times, because. operation of the equipment at extremely low northern temperatures required a special approach and adjustments in the project documentation.
- The first stage of construction (power units No. 1 and No. 2) was completed in 4 years, which is quite fast by the standards of NPP construction.
Photo 4. 
In June 1973, the first power unit of the Kola NPP was launched. In December 1974, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant received a nuclear reactor No. 2 into operation.
At the Kola NPP there are water reactors on slow neutrons VVER-440. Their total capacity is 1760 MW. The third power unit of the nuclear power plant was connected to the system in 1983, the fourth - in 1984.
Photo 5. 
So, we arrived at the power plant. I will say right away - they were allowed to shoot very little and strictly followed this. To the point that if windows fell into the shooting angle, it is forbidden to shoot. All transitions between workshops are prohibited from filming. Employee screening procedures - filming is prohibited. We were accompanied by two security officers who steadily followed the instructions and regulations. Therefore, the photo and video report itself may seem somewhat torn in content to you.
Of course, I assumed that employees go through a lot of security procedures and infection diagnostics, but I didn’t think so much. Frankly, I was more tired of the actions themselves according to the instructions than of inspecting the station.
It all started with the fact that we changed into work clothes and put on blue helmets.
We passed the control point and check of documents from the station hall. By the way, there are interesting automatic booths - if you go there and you have some sort of jamb with documents - you won’t run away from there and will be locked up. Employees are checked by passes and fingerprints. The equipment is all modern, but imported. This was already the third point where our permits and documents were checked, and we had only just passed the front entrance. Very strict rules.
We head to the engine room.
So we enter the engine room. This is a place around turbines that convert the thermal energy of steam into electrical energy. They are marked with the number 3. And at the bottom of the hall there are various mechanisms, capacitors, pumps.
This is the second circuit of the reactor and everything here is completely non-radioactive and everything is safe. Employees walk around in a hard hat and normal work clothes and without any post-treatment.
This is what the hall looks like. There is a lot of noise from the operation of the turbines, so earplugs are an indispensable element of equipment. There is nothing extra in the room. There is order everywhere and nothing is lying around. Note. But this is a huge enterprise with a bunch of mechanisms and assemblies.
Lots of pipes and very few people. It feels like there's just no one there. Everything itself is noisy and buzzing.
Photo 10. 
In fact, having passed the entire engine room, we met a maximum of a couple of people passing by.
Photo 11. 
By the way, here is one of them.
Photo 12. 
Lots of measuring instruments. When I asked why, nevertheless, almost everything is analog, and not digital, they answered that it was a matter of reliability. I would like to dig deeper into this topic.
Photo 13. 
Here is a plate on the turbine - it has been operating since 1970.
Photo 14. 
However, of course, a lot of things are being modernized. AT in general terms- only the reactor vessel remained untouched by the modernization, and then because these are physically impossible. Further about the body there will still be interesting information.
Photo 15.
Actually, there is nothing directly spectacular - pipes, pipes, arrows, pipes. Still, they expect that right in front of them they will begin to change rods with uranium in a nuclear reactor. Of course, when everything works - everything is very modest, not counting the size.
Photo 16.
As we already know, there are 4 reactors at nuclear power plants. Accordingly, there are 2 control panels, on which the head of the unit (1,2,3,4) and the head of the entire NPP shift are located. There are also engineers on duty.
We went to the control panel 1 and 2 of the reactor unit.
What can you ask the shift manager? Of course, about the accidents that he had on his shift. They did not tell us anything serious, except that there was an overload in the network due to an accident on power lines. We had to reduce the power of the station.
Photo 18.
It is in this circle that the locations of the rods in the active zone are shown.
Once again you pay attention to the abundance of analog instruments and indicators.
Photo 21.
Photo 22. 
We move to the reactor hall.
Photo 23. 
But who is responsible for the safety of the station itself - EVERYONE who works and is there!
Photo 24.
To get into the reactor hall, you need to change clothes again, and completely to your underwear and shoes.
So, before that, we must go through the security control post (the guy with the machine gun checks passports and documents again) and the radiation control post. All those working at the station and passing through this post to the turbine hall receive two individual dosemeters. The first accumulates the received radiation and is left in such a cell upon exit.
Photo 25.
And the second one shows how much exposure you received for visiting the station itself on this shift, and each time it is handed over for control at the post.
Photo 26.
We passed such a corridor with UV lamps.
Helmets were changed, completely changed down to underwear, socks and shoes.
Just imagine, employees do this all the time. Even to go out for lunch, you need to go through all this, and then when they go out again, you must take a shower and do 2 checks for infection in automatic booths.
Photo 28.
This is not our photo, but this is how we were dressed:
Photo 29. 
And here it is - the reactor lid.
Under this cover is such a reactor:
Photo 31. 
A photo energy
, Shown here is the installation of a VVER-440 vessel at Unit 3 of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia. It all happens September 7, 2010
The hall actually looks very deserted.
Photo 32.
There are many graphic images on the floor and everything is covered with sheets of metal. The unremarkable ceiling actually survives a plane crash.
Last year, it was reported that specialists from the Kola NPP (a branch of the Rosenergoatom Concern) and specialized organizations carried out a unique set of works to restore the physical and mechanical properties of the reactor vessel metal, which change during operation due to radiation exposure - annealing of the reactor vessel of power unit No. 1.
During the annealing process, the metal of the reactor vessel is slowly heated to 475 degrees Celsius. Then for 150 hours it is kept at this temperature and then gradually cooled.
Earlier in 2016, metal samples (the so-called templates) were cut out of the reactor vessel and subjected to annealing in laboratory conditions at the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" to determine its actual state.
In parallel, JSC OKB "Gidropress" is working to justify the possibility of extending the life of the reactor vessel using the results of research on templates performed by the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute". According to the results of strength calculations JSC OKB "Gidropress" will give an opinion on the possibility and conditions of extension.
Photo 33.
Rack for storage of assemblies.
Photo 34.
This is where the fuel assemblies are kept.
Photo 35.
All this is located right in the hall and has no danger. Personal dosimeters showed all zeros.
Photo 36. 
After leaving the reactor hall, we must pass automatic radiation control of the feet and hands. Well, maybe they touched anything or stomped where they shouldn’t!
And very funny slogans hang all over the station:
Photo 38.
By the way, back in 2006, the Kola NPP acquired its own complex for the processing of liquid radioactive waste. After their processing according to the method of the Kola nuclear power plant, only a non-radioactive salt alloy remains, which has not yet been used further. It is stored on the territory of the station in large metal barrels.
Such a complex, by the way, is the only one in the world!
Let's go first to the control panel of this complex:
Photo 39.
Look how modern it is here in terms of equipment and information stands and instruments.
Photo 40.
Process control.
And here they are the barrels themselves with waste in solid form, which now do not pose any danger.
Photo 42.
So, this complex is designed to extract liquid radioactive waste accumulated over the years of NPP operation from storage tanks, clean it and transfer it to a safe state. The end product of the processing of still bottoms - salt melt does not belong to the category of radioactive waste and in the future can become the starting material for the extraction of useful chemical compounds.
Photo 43.
Here is a carousel below, on which there is still an empty barrel, which will soon be filled.
Then this barrel rises to the platform with such claws and a lift.
But this protective plate, I did not find out what it was for, but it looks very reliable :-)
Signs are everywhere on the floor.
Photo 48.
We leave the hall and also check for infection. I touched these salts in a barrel - the indicators showed everything at zero.
Photo 49.
And this is how the assembly of the rod for the reactor looks like.
Photo 50.
It is interesting that the Kola nuclear power plant can be called the most sportive nuclear power plant in Russia. And that's why:
1700 people from 2500 workers of the station are engaged in amateur sports. This is more than 2/3 of the entire state. There are also professionals among them, mostly masters of winter sports. Some workers even go to Russian championships. The station has its own swimming pool, ice palace and gym.
- Back in the 1990s, the Kola Nuclear Power Plant opened its own ski resort "Salma". The ski slope has become a resort place. Often athletes from Japan and China even come there to train. Competitions in 16 sports are held annually among the station's employees. Athletes from other nuclear power plants also come to these competitions.
- Kola NPP has its own hockey and football teams.
- For the benefit of the people, the Kola NPP generates drinking water, which is cleaned in a separate workshop with a filtration system that was invented at the station. The water shop produces 250 bottles of sparkling water per hour.
And further...
Taking into account that the water from the second circuit of the reactor is drained into a reservoir, in order to demonstrate the safety of this process, it was decided to build the Trout Complex on Imandra. As we remember, trout lives only in absolutely clean water, so it will simultaneously be an indicator of the safety of water discharged by nuclear power plants, and will also be an additional source of income for the enterprise.
This is the only farm in the region where you can grow fish all year round. The warm waters of the discharge channel of the nuclear power plant provide resort living conditions for trout. Trout grows here quickly, full-bodied, fleshy, in the Murmansk markets now they are just selling fish from Imandra. Sturgeon on Imandra - exotic of the Kola North. Given that the resource of warm water in the region is limited by the discharge channel of the Kola nuclear power plant, no one else has been given the opportunity to repeat this experience. Siberian sturgeon appeared at the Imandra trout farm seven years ago.
Photo 52. 
Sturgeon and trout are bred in these cages. Sturgeon has been growing in this cage since 1992. Look how big he is already. Yes, it is used to obtain black caviar.
The rest of the cages are trout. This is in fact right on the surface of the water there are organized corrals covered with a net. The fish lives in the running water of the lake.
Photo 53. 
Trout. The company is quite profitable and is constantly expanding and developing.
Photo 54. 
The nuclear power plant discharges warm water, look at the steam coming. As far as I remember, they said that the water is now +11 degrees in the lake in winter.
Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to try the fish and caviar :-(
I note that the tour of the Kola Peninsula took place with the support of the Federal Tourism Agency, the government of the Murmansk region and Odnoklassniki.ru
Thanks a lot, everyone.
- Listen, Bazin, do you have a dream?
- What dream?
- Well, what do you dream about in life?
- I have a dream to buy a coat.
- Well, what is this dream?
....
- On, wear on health.
- Are you crazy, or what?
- Wear - and dream of something great.
Courier (film, 1986)
Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to visit the Kola NPP as part of a blog tour organized by the Leningrad NPP. Visiting a nuclear power plant was my old dream. I always thought that Balakovskaya would become such a station, but at one time the stars did not align, although I hope to see it someday. Moreover, I know the city well, and I have never been, and I have seen the nuclear power plant itself more than once from different angles. Not enough, in general, for a complete picture of the city.
Nuclear energy is not a thing that can be quickly explained on the fingers, so I will not go into too much detail, especially since long and thoughtful texts are poorly perceived by the LJ audience.
In order to get to the Kola NPP, we left early in the morning in the direction of the city of Polyarnye Zori, which is located 224 kilometers from Murmansk. This city is very young and, as you might guess, it arose solely due to the existence of a nuclear power plant in its vicinity. Of the fifteen thousand people, about two thousand work directly at nuclear power plants. Unlike the regional center, here everything is normal with the dynamics of the population. And if this value has decreased for last years, then it is extremely insignificant (not to be compared with the frightening figures of Murmansk). It is clear that work at the station can be considered prestigious. And people are coming here. Again, it is clear that some of the specialists are not local, such is the specifics of the industry.
With the first glimpses of dawn, absolutely bewitching landscapes open up to us. I travel a lot in Russia and never cease to be amazed at what a fantastic nature we have. Snow-covered mountains and forests, nimble non-freezing rivers and huge lakes rush through the windows of the bus. Unlike Murmansk, there is already a good, strong frost here.
First, we stopped at the territory of the training and rehabilitation center, located opposite the road to the station itself. The area located on the lake is impressive and more like a good European resort. Yevgeny Chenousyak, methodologist for FKiS, told us about the work of the Center. In general, the sports component here is very impressive and, as I understand it, the inhabitants of the region are generally quite athletic, especially, of course, this applies to winter sports. And at the same Kola NPP, all conditions for full-fledged sports have been created. The so-called "social sphere" is impressive. Of course, no one here, as in Soviet times, will distribute housing (the times are not the same), but again they will help with this, let's add medicine here, the already mentioned sport. We will remove the hustle and bustle of big cities, traffic jams. Nature, as I have already mentioned, is breathtaking in these parts. And in general, I got the impression that people come here to work seriously and for a long time. And no wonder, given the various tolerances, checks, etc. It's not for you to get a taxi driver.
Station workers involved in active sports life, manage to travel to various competitions and bring awards from there. In short, a healthy mind in a healthy body.
1. An ordinary village in the Murmansk region.
Of course, a lot is devoted to security issues. If when visiting the Saratov hydroelectric power station, when we were introduced to the local security system, I clearly understood for myself that even a mouse would not slip through unnoticed, then at the Kola NPP I was strengthened in the opinion that even a thought would not slip through here unnoticed. Once you're outside the station's perimeter, your every move is under control. Although I suspect that this is starting to happen even earlier) I think it makes no sense to mention the long-verified passport data, clearly verified numbers of cameras and lenses, laid out long before personal belongings arrived at the station. In this regard, we were very lucky: we brought all the declared photographic equipment with us and could freely take photographs in the designated places. And this is already a kind of revolution in blog tours at nuclear power plants, because everyone probably remembers that during the first such trips at some stations, photographic equipment was simply confiscated. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, and many of those who wanted to see with their own eyes how this amazing atomic organism lives, had the opportunity to do so. Safety precautions, various checks, reconciliations, transitions from one space to another naturally take a lot of time. But I would even get nervous if I saw even a hint of gouging here. And so, the atomic border is locked. The transition to the engine room and power units really looked like crossing the border - reconciliation of passports and equipment, submachine gunners ... they just didn’t get a visa. How many representatives of the security service were with us is a state secret, but there were quite a few of them for each blogger) So somewhere there it would be simply impossible to click something secretly in a quick way, and at the end of the visit, the security services may well selectively look at your camera. In this situation, it is clear that only a number of points were allowed for shooting and, by the way, a rather small one. Personally, I really missed general view station, especially impressive, as I understand it, it would look from the side of the lake or the channel between them. And I really wanted to see the trout farm, which they are proud of here. But it's more of a matter of time. Since it took us a whole day to visit the station. I almost said light, which would have sounded funny in the context of the polar night that had come there.
In the Murmansk region, there are many things that are the first or the only ones beyond the Arctic Circle, the northernmost, and the like. Kola NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Russia built beyond the Arctic Circle. The northernmost nuclear power plant in Europe. The station consists of four power units, with VVER-440 reactors and K-220-44-3 turbines of the Kharkov Turbine Plant and TVV-220-2AU3 generators manufactured by the St. Petersburg plant Elektrosila. The thermal power of the NPP is 5,500 MW, which corresponds to the installed electric power of 1,760 MW.
Today, the station is the main supplier of electricity for two regions - the Murmansk region and Karelia.
It is organizationally divided into the 1st (block 1.2) and 2nd (block -3.4) stages, due to differences in the design of the VVER-440 reactor plants of the V-230 project (block 1.2) and V-213 (blocks 3,4).
In 1991-2005, a large reconstruction of the equipment was carried out at the 1st stage, which made it possible to bring it into line with the new requirements of the NSP (nuclear safety rules) and extend the service life by 15 years.
In 2006, a complex for the processing of liquid radioactive waste (CP LRW) was put into operation. In 2007, work began on the reconstruction of blocks No. 3 and 4.
An interesting fact is that Galina Alekseevna Petkevich launched the Kola NPP. This is the first and so far the only woman in the world who launched a nuclear reactor.
Joint machine room of the Kola NPP. In the engine room there are 4 K-220-44-3 turbines with TVV-220-2AU3 type generators. The electrical power of each turbogenerator is 440 MW. At the entrance here we take earplugs, the noise here is such that you can't hear your neighbor.
If we could freely walk around the engine room "in civilian life", then the transition to power units required a complete change of clothes. Of his body, only, sorry, underwear remained. The chain and cross went to a special locker. In general, all these dressing up and leaving things in different places made me worry. I am prone to some absent-mindedness, therefore, always trying to clearly keep in mind where everything lies and not to forget about anything. Here we left things gradually and as a result there were about five different places like that, as a result, the cameras were taken at the exit and returned in another place. But he seems to have coped with serious brain tension and did not mix up or forget anything). Everyone was given dosimeters, and at the exit from each room it was necessary to check for "cleanliness".
9. Avezniyazov Slava Rinatovich - head of the workshop for handling radioactive waste. (TsORO) Kola NPP.
10. Block control panel of the TsORO complex
16. In the workshop for the processing of radioactive waste.
Let's take a closer look at radioactive waste, especially since this topic is always on everyone's lips, and the legends about their burial here and there are very strong in popular rumor. So, if it is quite primitive, then at the output we have liquid radioactive waste, called LRW. When I first heard this beautiful abbreviation, reminiscent of something French, I did not know what it was about. At the Kola NPP there is a complex for processing such waste - KP. Without abbreviations at a nuclear power plant, it’s just as difficult for an uninformed person here as it is at a military facility or a ship. As a result, the output is already non-radioactive melt. The Kola NPP were the pioneers of this technology.
The technology of purification of LRW from radionuclides used at the LRW KP of the Kola NPP is unique. It allows to reduce the amount of radioactive waste to be disposed of by more than 50 times.
KP LRW of the Kola NPP is intended for extraction of bottom residues from storage tanks and their purification from radionuclides, concentration of radionuclides in the minimum volume and their transfer to the solid phase, which ensures safe storage and disposal. The product of processing bottom residues is a hardened salt product (salt melt), which does not belong to the RW category. The second direction of processing is the cementation of spent ion-exchange resins and sludge.
If you still have the strength after all these abbreviations, let's take another look at the NPP training center.
21. Block control panel in the training center. A real control room at a nuclear power plant looks exactly the same.
For each reactor block, a control room is required, designed for centralized control of the main technological installations and. main technological equipment during start-up, normal operation, planned shutdown and emergencies. From the control room, the switches of generators, transformers are controlled. n., backup power inputs with. n. 6 and 0.4 kV, switches of electric motors s.n. power units, generator excitation systems, diesel generator sets and other emergency sources, fire extinguishing devices for cable rooms and power unit transformers.
The control room of each NPP power unit is located in a separate room (main building or a separate building).
At NPPs, the control room consists of operational and non-operational parts. In the operational part there are consoles, panels with controls, remote control and regulation. In the non-operational part there are panels for periodic control, electronic regulation, logical control of technological protection.
And in the Polyarnye Zori themselves, we visited the information center of the Kola NPP. A tour of the center was conducted for us by the head of the information service, Tatyana Rozontova. Actually, she stoically accompanied us all day, for which many thanks to her and the entire staff of the station.
32. The turtle, by the way, is made from the same LRW that was mentioned above. Such turtles could become a kind of souvenir from the station, but for obvious reasons, the turtles do not crawl beyond the boundaries of the territories under the jurisdiction of the nuclear power plant.
Used materials:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%90%D0 %AD%D0%A1
http://www.energyland.info/analytic-show-91474
http://www.gigavat.com/pgu_foto3.php
Thanks to Tatyana Rozontova, #KAES and #LAES for the opportunity to visit the Kola NPP.
City
Activity
Kola NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Russia located beyond the Arctic Circle. Nuclear power generation is about 60% of electricity generation in the Murmansk region.
The Kola NPP is located 200 km south of the city of Murmansk and 12 km from the city of Polyarnye Zori on the shores of Lake Imandra; it was put into operation in the period from 1973 to 1984 as part of 4 VVER-type power units with a capacity of 440 MW each.
Benefits and working conditions (unique benefits)
Continuous learning and development.
Work in a team of professionals.
stability and confidence in the future.
Competitive wages.
Opportunities for students and graduates
For students educational institutions there is the possibility of passing industrial and undergraduate practice at the Kola NPP.
The preferential right (ceteris paribus) in employment is given to graduates of supporting higher educational institutions State Corporation "Rosatom" and an average score of at least 4.2.
Corporate programs
Voluntary health insurance.
The program of health resort treatment of employees, their children and children's recreation.
Corporate programs of non-state pension provision.
Programs for young specialists.
Programs of sports and cultural events.
Location
Polyarnye Zori (Murmansk region)
Website
Contacts
Berezyuk Svetlana Valentinovna (on practice issues), Head of HR Development Department, 8(81532)42229, [email protected]
Krasilnikov Nikolai Evgenievich (on employment matters), Head of the Human Resources Department, 8(81532)42357, [email protected]
Solovieva Elvira Nailevna (employment), Human Resources Specialist, 8(81532)42337, [email protected]
Kola NPP, or KAES for short, is a branch of Rosenergoatom Concern OJSC.
The Kola Nuclear Power Plant is located 12 km from the city of Polyarnye Zori located in the Murmansk region.
Subdivisions of KNPP
The main divisions of the Kola NPP are:
- Department of Nuclear Safety and Reliability (NaBiN)
- Electric Shop (EC)
- Turbine Workshop (TC)
- Reactor Shop (RC)
- Radioactive Waste Management Workshop (CRORO)
- Thermal Automation and Measurement Workshop (CTAI)
- Chemical shop (HC)
- Centralized Repair Shop (CCR)
- Railway section (Railway)
Design of the Kola NPP
The station has four power units, each power unit has a VVER-440 type reactor, a K-220-44-3 turbine of the Kharkov Turbine Plant and a TVV-220-2AU3 type generator manufactured by the St. Petersburg plant Elektrosila.
The capacity of the Kola NPP is 5500 MW, which corresponds to the installed electric capacity of 1760 MW.
The organizational structure can be divided into two parts. The first part includes block 1 and block 2, the second part includes block 3 and block 4.
They have differences in the design of reactor plants, the VVER-440 units of the V-230 project are located in blocks 1 and 2, and the units of the V-213 project are in blocks 3 and 4.
In the period from 1991 to 2005, a major reconstruction of the equipment was carried out at the 1st stage, which made it possible to bring it into line with the new requirements of the NSP (nuclear safety rules) and extend the service life by 15 years.
In 2006, a complex for the processing of liquid radioactive waste (CP LRW) was put into operation.
In 2007, work began on the reconstruction of blocks No. 3 and 4.
Communication with the power system
Communication with the power system is carried out via five power transmission lines (TL) with a voltage of 330 kV.
- L396, L496- KolAES - SS 330 kV Knyazhegubskaya (PS-206).
- L397, L398- KolNPP - SS 330 kV Monchegorsk (PS-11) (Monchegorsk).
- L404- KolNPP - SS 330 kV Titan (PS-204) (Apatity).
- L148- KolAES - Cascade of Nivskiye HPPs (NIVA-1,-2,-3) - 110 kV.
- L55- KolAES - electric boiler house of the city of Polyarnye Zori - 110 kV.
A variant is being worked out with the construction of a power transmission line to the north of Finland, Sweden, Norway (Pechenga energy bridge).
Power units of KNPP
- Kola-1, has the type of reactor VVER-440/230, with a net power of 440 MW, launched on 06/29/1973
- Kola-2, has the type of reactor VVER-440/230, with a net power of 440 MW, launched on 02/21/1975
- Kola-3, has the type of reactor VVER-440/213, with a net power of 440 MW, launched on 03.12.1982
- Cola-4, has the type of reactor VVER-440/213, with a net power of 440 MW, launched on 10/11/1984
- Cola-II, it is planned to install a reactor of the VVER-600/498 type, with a net capacity of 675 MW, the launch is scheduled for 2031.
Accident at the Kola NPP
February 2, 1993
Due to the storm wind, all power transmission lines departing from the KNPP were disconnected, the station was de-energized, emergency protections were triggered at all reactor units of the NPP and the reactors were transferred to a subcritical state.
Cooling down of the reactor units of blocks 3 and 4 occurred due to the power supply from standby diesel generators. The standby diesel generators of units 1 and 2 were not connected to the power consumers of the cooling system due to a design error.
Cooling of the reactor units of blocks 1 and 2 was carried out due to natural circulation, which ensures long-term removal of heat from the reactor core, corresponding to 10% of the power, which is an order of magnitude higher than the existing level of decay heat.
According to the official data of the Annual Report on the Activities of the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (FS ETAN), in 2006 at the Kola NPP there were 4 violations in work, subject to registration in accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for investigating and accounting for violations in the operation of nuclear power plants, including 3 violations with the operation of emergency protection and one associated with a failure in the equipment of security systems.
According to FS ETAN, the largest number disturbances in the operation of nuclear power plants "caused by the root causes of design, management deficiencies and shortcomings in the organization of operation."
According to the Federal Service, the most important safety problems for nuclear power plants with VVER reactors are: the high degree of filling of storage facilities for radioactive waste (Kolskaya - the storage of liquid radioactive waste is 79% full - in total more than 6600 tons of waste have been accumulated) and "the lack of a decision on the long-term storage of conditioned radioactive waste ".
According to the report, in 2006, the Kola NPP released into the atmosphere a significant amount of hazardous radionuclides - Cesium-137 - 8.2 Megabecquerel, Cobalt-60 - 80.5 Megabecquerel, Iodine-131 - 18.8 Megabecquerel, inert radioactive gases (Krypton- 85, etc.) - 700 Megabecquerel. Data on tritium emissions are not available.
This month I was lucky enough to visit the Kola NPP as part of a blogging tour organized by Rosatom.
KoAES is the northernmost nuclear power plant in Europe. In Russia, there is another station in the Arctic - Bilibinskaya, in Chukotka. 4 power units of the station provide about 50% of the installed capacity of the region. KoAES is located 12 km from the city of Polyarnye Zori, where about 15,000 people live. About 2.5 thousand work at the station, not counting contractors.
2. The most difficult thing was the road. More than 30 hours from Moscow to Polyarnye Zori station, the same amount back. 
3. At stops for more than 20 minutes, it was allowed to get out of the cars. 
4. Local businessmen at the stations offered smoked fish and cranberries. 
5. St. Petersburg roofer immediately conquered the freight car. 
7. Endless expanses of Russia. 
8. Early in the morning our company from St. Petersburg and Moscow arrived at the Polyarnye Zori station. 
9. Our tour began with a visit to the information center, where we were first met by a reindeer))) 
10. Kola nuclear power plant is the main supplier of electricity for the Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia.
The nuclear power plant is located 200 kilometers south of Murmansk on the shores of Lake Imandra, one of the largest and most picturesque lakes in Northern Europe. Model of the Kola NPP. 
11. The technological scheme of each power unit of the Kola NPP is double-loop. The first circuit is radioactive. It consists of a VVER-440 reactor and six circulation loops. VVER-440 is a pressurized water power reactor with a thermal power of 1375 MW, operating on thermal neutrons. The fuel is low-enriched uranium. The coolant that removes heat from the reactor core and the neutron moderator is demineralized water.
The water of the primary circuit is heated in the reactor core, through which it is pumped by the main circulation pumps. The water of the primary circuit does not boil at a temperature of about 300°C, as it is under a pressure of 12.5 MPa. Heated water is supplied through pipelines to the steam generators and transfers heat to the secondary circuit water through the steam generator tubing without coming into direct contact with it.
The second circuit is non-radioactive, includes the steam generating part of the steam generators, 2 turbines, pipelines and auxiliary equipment. Steam generators produce saturated steam at a pressure of 4.7 MPa. The resulting steam is sent to the turbine, where it sets in motion a generator connected to the turbine shaft, which generates electricity. The electricity is then transferred to the grid through transformers.
The exhaust steam is converted into water in the condensers of the turbines, cooled by the water of Lake Imandra.
12. Fuel assembly - a huge "pencil", inside of which there are TVELs - fuel elements. Inside the TVELs are uranium "pills" (from uranium dioxide UO2). It is in TVELs that a nuclear reaction occurs, accompanied by the release of thermal energy, which is then transferred to the coolant. The reactor fuel element is a tube filled with uranium dioxide UO2 pellets and hermetically sealed.
The TVEL tube is made of zirconium doped with niobium. 
13. Room of achievements and history of the Kola NPP.
The Kola energy system has existed for 60 years. Until 1960, hydroelectric power plants (HPP) were the basis of the system.
About 70% of the electrical energy produced by the KNPP is used by the region, 8% is consumed by the plant itself.
The rest of the electricity is transferred to Karelia and exported to Finland and Norway. 
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15. Protective suits for work at the station. 
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17. Head of information service Tatyana Rozontova. 
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19. If the Kola NPP reactor could use different types fuel, then to ensure its operation during the day it would take: 60 coal wagons or 40 fuel oil tanks or 30 kg of uranium! 
20. Tatyana talks about the automated system for monitoring the radiation situation around the Kola NPP.
Environmental control is carried out by the security laboratory environment Kola NPP, equipped with the most modern equipment. 
21. The yellow turtle is made from the end product of processing - non-radioactive salt water. 
22. Fox seen near the station. 
23. At the station we were once again instructed and given helmets. 
24. After passing through a serious inspection, we ended up in the engine room. 
25. Turbine TA-1. 
26. Central hall of the reactor compartment of the first stage of the station. 
27. I could not even dream that I would be near a working nuclear reactor. 
28. The plate at the reactor. 
29. At the exit from the reactor hall, everyone was checked for cleanliness. 
30. Liquid radioactive waste processing complex, control panel. 
31. Sealed "Emergency Stop" and "Home" buttons. 
32. The liquid radioactive waste processing complex (LP LRW) of the Kola NPP is designed to extract liquid radioactive waste from storage tanks and clean them from radionuclides, concentrate radionuclides to a minimum volume and transfer them to the solid phase, ensuring safe storage for 300-500 years.
Liquid radioactive waste is passed through special filters, where all radioactive elements (mainly cesium and cobalt) are accumulated. The output is absolutely non-radioactive salts. As a result of this process, the volume of radioactive waste is reduced by two orders of magnitude. In other words, only four barrels are made from one tank. 
33. Waste processing shops. And in the barrels of the former waste. 
34. In barrels - salt melt, from which the turtle is made, which was shown to us in the museum. 
35. We measured the radiation situation after visiting the waste processing workshop. 
36. The transition from the "dirty" to the "clean" zone, and again checking for cleanliness. 
37. Radiometer. 
38. Jokingly-humor of nuclear scientists.))) 
39. Block control panel (BCR), with the help of which the parameters of the power unit are controlled and the technological process is controlled. 
40. Model of the station. 
41. Simulator. 
42. Gym- an exact copy of the control panel of one of the power units of the station, it was mounted specifically for testing scenarios. 
43. An indicator of the environmental cleanliness of the Kola nuclear power plant is the trout farm that has existed for many years. 
44. Every year, up to 50 tons of trout are grown in its cages, washed by the warm waters of the mouth of the outlet canal of the nuclear power plant. 
45. The results of testing each batch of fish in three independent laboratories confirm its absolute purity. 
46. The beauty of the Arctic. 
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48. Ski complex with infrastructure on Mount Lysaya. 
49. Polar Dawns at night. And the night here came for six months. 
50. Moon of the Arctic. 
51. The city of polar nuclear power engineers Polyarnye Zori is the youngest city in the Murmansk region. It officially became a city in 1991, and before that it was known as an urban-type settlement. Despite its young age, Polyarnye Zori today is a major industrial power center in the Murmansk region. 