The 925MWe unit was taken off the grid in May 2012, due to problems related to deformations in the graphite blocks that make up its moderator, World Nuclear News reports.
Supported by NIKIET NRC Kurchatov Institute, VNIIAES, EREC, VNIIEF, Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Company Prologue, Diakont and NIKIMT-Atomstroy, the 18-month project involved research, experimental and operational phases, including the development of specially designed machines and monitoring systems.
Designed and built by the Soviet Union, the RMBK is a class of light water-cooled reactor with individual fuel channels surrounded by the graphite blocks that form the reactor’s moderator.
Around 11 RBMKs remain currently operational, all in Russia, which include Leningrad 1, 2, 3 and 4, Kursk 1, 2, 3 and 4 and Smolensk 1 and 2 units.
Russia is now planning to perform similar work to that carried out at Leningrad 1 at the remaining RBMKs.
