Eastern European nuclear plants safety

Nuclear power accounts for a significant proportion of electricity generation in Eastern European countries, although there are wide disparities from one country to another. In 2010, it accounted for over 53% in Slovakia and over 48% in Ukraine, but less than 20% in Russia. For the latter country, this is an average value, with an analysis by region showing wide disparities, with a high concentration in the western part of the country. Lithuania was a very special case, with over 80% of its electricity generated by nuclear power, before the final shutdown of its two 1,500 MWe RBMK reactors at the end of 2004 and 2009 respectively.

A number of observations need to be made when examining the characteristics of these countries' nuclear power plants. First of all, contrary to popular belief, the average age of these reactors is only slightly higher than that of the French fleet, but lower than that of the American fleet and, above all, the British fleet. Designed in the 1960s, commissioned in the 1970s and 1980s, it is now the subject of life extension studies, just like Western reactors.

The vast majority of reactors in operation or under construction are of two types: RBMK (Reactor Bolshoy Moschnosti Kanalniy) and VVER (Vodo-Vodyanoy Energetichesky Reactor). There are also a number of fast neutron reactors and, in Romania, two CANDU reactors in operation and two more under construction. RBMKs, derived from an older concept initially used for plutonium production, are all installed in Russia, with the exception of those at Chernobyl (Ukraine), which ceased operation in 2000, and Ignalina (Lithuania), shut down in 2004 and 2009. However, the majority of reactors in Eastern Europe are of the VVER type, i.e. pressurized water reactors whose main characteristics are similar to those of the French nuclear fleet.