MOSCOW, April 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
International Union of Veterans of Nuclear Energy and Industry (IUVNEI) issued the following statement on Friday:
"Nuclear fuel produced by the US firm Westinghouse does not meet the technical requirements of Soviet-era reactors, and using it could cause an accident on the scale of the Chernobyl disaster, which took place on the 26th April 1986.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140425/683838 )
A decision by the Ukrainian nuclear regulator and government to use Westinghouse fuel, or TVS-W, at Ukrainian nuclear power stations would be irresponsible in the extreme.
Two years ago, there was a near-miss in the Ukraine, when TVS-W with damaged distancing armatures risked substantial uncontrolled releases of dangerous radiation. Only by a miracle was there no disaster at the South Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
As we remember those who died in Chernobyl, we should not forget that that tragedy took place because of a similarly irresponsible experiment with a live operating reactor, pushed beyond its design limits. No one, whatever their political view of Ukraine, should risk letting that happen again."
Note for editors:
International Union of Veterans of Nuclear Energy and Industry (IUVNEI) brings together more than 15,000 nuclear industry veterans from Armenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. It was founded in 2010 and headquartered in Moscow.
