NPP Like a Barrel With Cucumbers

Do you like to listen to Semashka? Not even Lukashenka, but Semashka.

I guess, yes: he is an endless source of wise thoughts and bold ideas. Now, when the Lithuanian government rings the alarm over the fallen reactor vessel and even "Rosatom" promises to replace it if needed,Lukashenka calls the reactor a barrel, I remind the speech of the Deputy Prime Minister Semashka in "the House a month ago."

The reactor vessel was not yet on the ground. But Lithuania had already played its part. Officials reluctantly admitted the fact of the collapse of supporting structures of the nuclear service building; of course, when it was not a secret.

Lithuania required transparency and access of international experts , the Belarusian ecologists on every world podium declared the need to stop the construction and possible tragic consequences of putting into operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister confessed that the produced nuclear energy had no market. The concept has changed.

It means that an expensive and useless bullshit is being built on the border with Lithuania. It would be a different matter if it brought huge revenue and could make the economy recover, raise pensions and wages, then officials could give up on the potential hazard of the object, because women could give birth to other children, but the country needs money. But it turns out that it will bring no money. Only costs.

According to Semashka, the situation differed when the business plan was designed. Now we should to seek markets to sell the energy. Nobody, of course, is going to buy it, it will be accumulated in special boilers. The way it is done with pickled products. That is, the power generated by the NPP is just cucumbers, which can be pickled not to be spoiled. But such containers will cost additional $400 million, the Deputy Prime Minister says. Well, it will be a "severe winter". Let ship it with barrels.

Officials' proposals sound like Benny Hill Theme Song. Well, now seriously - we are losing this fight. Nuclear lobby has much more money and influence than "greens". The Belarusian anti-nuclear campaign calls to stop construction, it refers to the absence of architectural design and expert reports, fraud assessments of the impact on the environment, the lack of independent monitoring. Director-General of the IAEA visited the site and did not say a word. Although he is a countryman of Fukushima. First, he represents the nuclear lobby. Safety is not as essential as it should be. By the way, no reactor vessel fell on Fukushima. However, you know the result. Let's leave our reactor vessel, he is grenade with no joint pin.

Thus, this is the balance of power. It is like "to get the bourgeoisie we'll start a fire a worldwide fire". for the current managing staff of the NPP. No wonder that a few years ago Aliaksandr Lukashenka said lasciviously that the Belarusian NPP was the burr in the saddle for the European Union and especially the Baltic countries. But it gives the opportunity for manipulations, blackmailing and threats. It is just a business for Russia. They issued the loan, became contractors, and now make money and get rid of things which even Iran does not buy.

I assure you so hassle-free promise of "Rosatom" to replace the reactor vessel, if the customer asks is not a sign of responsibility, but a chance to "unload warehouses." Why can't they do it, if they face the same situation with reactors like us with MAZs? The IAEA is more concerned with the North Korean nuclear tests than our fallen reactor vessels.

Belarusian "greens" and the Lithuanian government ring the alarm about the Belarusian NPP. Well, plus Russian physicist Andrei Ozharovsky who is not allowed to Belarus. The two sides are not evenly matched. And even the information field is mostly taken by the lobbyists of the NPP. There is nothing but the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident. That is formally Belarusian officials are right: if there was no radiation danger at the time of the fall of the reactor vessel, they are not obliged to inform anyone about this, and Lithuania may clamor as long as necessary at the closed doors. When it bursts, then they will notify, according to rules. And now they have the right to remain silent.

This means that if the Belarusian NPP with its falling reactors causes problems of environmental experts and Lithuania, be ready for the worst, buy iodine and white slippers. If we do not want to fit white slippers, then we have to realize that this is the threat to all of us. And to our children. Only we can make the difference. If not, the future is really disastrous. Much worse than the salary measured by dollars.

But Semashka has a brilliant idea: to use nuclear power for electrification of the Chernobyl zone. Other 13 trillion rubles (non-denominated) and the whole area will as bright as a Christmas tree. People can't be there, but there will be as much light as possible. The full balance and harmony of the world is the most important thing: in the east we have the Chernobyl zone full of lights, in the west - the NPP with broken reactor. And here is a mustached guy wearing roller skis and playing accordion. Happinnes exists.

Iryna Khalip, especially for charter97.org