Leningrad II-2 reactor vessel arrives at construction site

The reactor vessel for unit 2 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant was delivered to the construction site in Sosnovy Bor in western Russia yesterday. The cargo was delivered from the Izhorskiye Zavody manufacturing plant within ten days, according to a statement today by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

The reactor vessel for unit 2 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant was delivered to the construction site in Sosnovy Bor in western Russia yesterday. The cargo was delivered from the Izhorskiye Zavody manufacturing plant within ten days, according to a statement today by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

The reactor pressure vessel en route to the Leningrad II 2 site (Image: Rosatom)

The cargo includes seven cylindrical structures, the top cover and internal equipment. The reactor vessel is 11 metres long and weighs 340 tonnes. The equipment is made of high-strength carbon steel that can withstand extreme temperature and pneumatic loads, which Rosatom said will "ensure the high reliability" of the unit.

Alexander Letyaev, head of the logistics department at Izhorskiye Zavody, said: "To deliver such important cargo, we prepared a special project, which included two technological railroads from the production site and across St Petersburg, and then the reactor vessel was carried along the river Neva, under its bridges to the Gulf of Finland, and then along the sea route to Sosnovy Bor. This was a total distance of about 40 kilometres. Despite unfavourable weather conditions, the heavy cargo was successfully delivered to the customer in the ten days allocated for this operation."

The reactor vessel was then transported by special motor transport to the construction site of the Leningrad plant and will be installed before the end of the year.

The existing Leningrad plant site has four operating RMBK-1000 units, while Leningrad II will have four VVER-1200 units. Testing of the passive heat removal system of unit 1 of Leningrad II was completed in late August.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News