Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant

Infobox NPP
Picture = Lubmin Hafen.jpg
Pic_des = Several of the units of the Greifswald NPP
Country = Germany, previously East Germany
Utility = Energiewerke Nord
Built = 1967
Start = July 12, 1974
End = July 22, 1990
Type = VVER
S_Reactor= 4
S_Reactor_MW = 1760
M_Reactor = 4
M_Reactor_MW = 1760
El_Prod = 10,678
for_year = 1989
El_Prod_avg =
Net_Prod = 134,212The Nuclear power station Greifswald (abrv. KGR in German), also known as nuclear power station Lubmin, was the largest nuclear power station in East Germany before closure shortly after the German reunification. The plants were of the VVER-440/V-230 type, which was the first generation of Soviet Union designed plants. The site is located in Greifswald in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Closure

In the late 1989 nuclear regulatory bodies of countries operating VVER plants did a safety analysis and produced numerous requirements for backfitting old safety systems, which were stated to have been necessary in almost all areas. [ [http://www.insc.anl.gov/cgi-bin/sql_interface?view=abstract&qvar=id&qval=585 INSC: Database ] ] All reactors were closed soon after the reunification, with restart conditional on conforming to stricter and very different West Germany safety standards. There was a public discussion about the safety of the power station.

Convinced that backfitting to the new safety standards was not economically feasible, the new unified German government decided in early 1991 to decommission the four units, close Unit 5, which was undergoing testing at the time, and halt construction of the rest of the units there plus two VVER-1000s at the Stendal Nuclear Power Plant. [ [http://www.insc.anl.gov/neisb/neisb4/NEISB_4.1.html NEI Source Book: Fourth Edition (NEISB_4.1) ] ]

The district heating from the plant was made up by oil imports and in 1995 by a new natural gas plant. Decommissioning of units 1 through 5 began in 1995, making Greifswald one of the first nuclear power stations in Germany to go through the process.

The plant came into focus again in 1996 when it was decided to move 235 unspent fuel assemblies to the Hungarian Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which could be done since it is of the same design.

At the peak of the plants operation, about 10,000 people were employed full time there. Currently, there are still about 1,000 working on decommissioning and other activities at the site.

Incidents

* December 7, 1975 - An electrician wanted to show his apprentice how to bridge electrical circuits. He decided to do a short-circuit on the primary winding one of the Unit 1 pumps by developing an arc following the edge of a wiring loom. The fire in the main trough destroyed the current supply and the control lines of 5 main coolant pumps (a single unit has 6 pumps). The fire was brought under control fast by the fire-brigade and the pumps could be temporarily repaired since the proper actions were taken immediately. After this near disaster, fire protection within the power station was substantially strengthened and separate electrical lines for each pump were introduced. The case was only released to the public in 1989. A few hours after the incident the IAEA was already informed by Soviet authorities, which classified the accident under INES 4.

Reactor summary

References

ee also

;Nuclear plants built in the former East Germany
*Stendal Nuclear Power Plant
*Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant