Armenia

Armenian Institute for the Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants (ARMATOM)

The Armenian Scientific Research Institute for the Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants (Armatom) was founded in 1973 as the Yerevan branch of VNIIAES, the Soviet organisation responsible for the development of NPPs. After the breakup of the USSR, it became Armatom, with responsibilities for issues such as the safety of NPPs, the documentation of plants and the training of NPP staff in Armenia. It has also engaged in similar work in other countries such as Russia (Rosenergoatom), the Ukraine and Bulgaria. Its staff are physicists and engineers working in the area of nuclear power, including particularly specialists in computer programming and computer graphics. Armatom currently carries out the following kinds of work:

• Developments aimed at the enhancement of NPP safety;
• Integration of diagnostic, informational and other systems for safety maintenance of NPPs;
• Development, integration and maintenance of training systems for NPP operating and maintenance personnel;
• Development of technical and technological documents for maintenance and repair of NPP equipment and systems;
• Development and integration of systems for NPP seismic and radiation safety.

100 people work in the institute. 80 of them are specialists. 500 people worked there in the Soviet period. There were very strict security measures in the institute in the past. Staff were not allowed to travel abroad. At the moment 14-16 people who were formerly engaged in military work are employed in the institute. The Institute annually involves about 50 people from other organisations including those who left the institute. It develops and manufactures seismic equipment for the Armenian NPP and simulators. The first Soviet NPP simulator was developed in the Institute and it was the leading organisation on NPP simulators in COMECON. It has been recently approached with an offer to develop a simulator for Iranian submarines. They refused the proposal in spite of the financial difficulties. The Institute had contacts with DTI Nuclear Safety Programme - they supported the new system to improve the documents circulation.

- Armenian Scientific Research Institute for Nuclear Plant Operation