Armenia’s Metsamor NPP poses threat to global safety

Armenia’s outdated Metsamor nuclear power plant today remains among main threats to the environment and people’s lives in South Caucasus and the wider region.

The construction of the Metsamor NPP started in 1970. The plant was closed after a devastating earthquake of 1988 in the town of Spitak. However, the Armenian government renewed the operation of the NPP in 1995, despite numerous protests of international community.

A number of international experts have repeatedly urged that due to its deplorable state, the Armenian Metsamor NPP could repeat the fate of the Chernobyl NPP, thus threatening the lives of the Armenians and citizens of adjacent countries. The possible tragedy will also jeopardize the environment of the region. Moreover, its consequences will be felt in Europe and the Middle East.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly expressed its concern about the operation of the Metsamor NPP and raised this issue at the international organizations. The national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev personally noted the threat of the Metsamor NPP at his meeting with former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed ElBaradei in 2002.

In his appeal President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev also drew attention of the world community on the issue of the Metsamor NPP, urging to take action against the risks that emanate from the operation of the outdated plant.

It is worth recalling that last year members of the Armenian Parliament claimed that Armenia has nuclear weapon, and Armenian general Arkady Ter-Tadovosyan said that the country could use a dirty bomb against Azerbaijani civilians.

A dirty bomb is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. Many scientists call the dirty bomb a 'weapon of terrorists'.

It is also noteworthy that public statements by Armenian politicians about the need for a dirty bomb were voiced after last year’s intensified calls for closure of the Metsamor NPP. Some international experts are sure that Armenia has already established production of nuclear materials.

Russian analyst Dmitry Verkhoturov believes that Armenians could expose Azerbaijan’s occupied territory of Nagorno-Karabakh to the radioactive contamination because they are well aware that sooner or later they will have to return the occupied lands.

“The concern of environmentalists about the presence of nuclear power plants in seismically dangerous areas is quite reasonable,” he told Day.az. “Because of inability to hold Karabakh alone, Armenia could resort to nuclear provocation against Azerbaijan.”

The expert added that Armenia cannot stop the Metsamor NPP because it produces one third of all electricity in the country.

By and large, the international community should pay due attention to the problem of Armenia’s Metsamor NPP. The plant poses a threat not only for Armenia itself, but also for the whole world, because any accident at the outdated NPP will lead to irreversible consequences that will be felt far away from the region. Moreover, Armenia should be checked for production of dirty bombs or other radioactive weapons that the aggressor country could use against Azerbaijan in the longstanding Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.