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European Parliamentâ€™s members send inquiry to European Commission on Metsamor AES

11 January 2013 13:57 (UTC +04:00)

The European Azerbaijan Society told APA that the deputies have expressed their concerns over the Metsamor nuclear power plant operated for 32 years, which is still using the Soviet model of the reactor, constructed in the 60's of last century.

They noted that the AES is situated in an active seismic zone: “In 1988 an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale occurred fewer than 100 km from the Metsamor plant. The Metsamor plant was subsequently closed, but one reactor was reactivated following the energy crisis caused by the 1988â€1994 conflict with Azerbaijan over the Armenian invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.”

The deputies were interested in the inquiry what practical measures the European Commission may take to reduce the nuclear threat in the region and prevent a “Fukusima threat” on the border with Europe and whether the Commission will have an impact on Armenia to close Metsamor AES.