| The Hungarian nuclear energy sector |
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The first Hungarian reactor was built for research purposes at Csilleberc on the outskirts of Budapest in 1959. The reactor, of soviet origin and refurbished by Hungarian experts after 30 years of operation, was put into operation again by the Nuclear Energy Research Institute in 1993. In 1966, it was decided to construct a larger nuclear power plant in Hungary. The decision taken concerned two WWER-440 type, 230 model, reactors. The construction work started in 1968, but was interrupted in 1970 because, at that time, the oil-fired stations were considered to be more economic. The actual construction work started after the oil crisis in 1975. The final decision included four second generation reactors, i.e. WWERs-440/213, instead of the two 230 model reactors, all to be part of one nuclear power plant. The plant is located about 5 km south of the town Paks, on the right bank of the river Danube. Since 1987, these four reactors have been generating electricity to the Hungarian electric energy system. The installed capacity of the reactors was 4 times 440 MW(e). As a result of modifications, the electrical output was increased by 20 MW(e) at the same nominal capacity of the reactors. At present, the total gross capacity per unit is 460 MW(e), hence the total power of the plant is 1,840 MW(e).
Table 1. ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION AND INSTALLED CAPACITY
Table 2. ENERGY RELATED RATIOS
In 1986, a preliminary decision was made by the government to continue the nuclear power programme by extending the Paks site with two further Soviet PWRs, of 1,000 MW(e) each. Under a very different economic environment, the project was cancelled in 1989. Reasons for this cancellation were amongst others, a lower demand growth forecast and problems in providing the funds for such a large project. Current Organizational Chart(s) The structure of the Hungarian nuclear energy sector is shown in Figure 1. The Hungarian Atomic Energy Commission (HAEC) is responsible for policy making in nuclear energy, R&D in nuclear safety, international relations (such as IAEA), bilateral and multilateral agreements, public information, nuclear safety inspectorate, nuclear export/import, safeguards, accountancy of radioactive materials and co-ordination of regulatory activities. The main responsibilities of the Hungarian Energy Office are the following:
The office sets the electric energy prices and tariffs to be paid by the different consumers. The Hungarian Power Companies Ltd. (MVM Rt.) is responsible for the overall electricity production. The Power Engineering and Contracting Co. (EROTERV) is the Hungarian construction and engineering company most involved in nuclear power development in Hungary. The Power Engineering and Contractor Co. (ETV-EROTERV Co., Budapest) works on the field of design, construction, commissioning and operating management of nuclear facilities. Its activities include waste management (treatment, storage and disposal). The Institute for Electrical Power Research (VEIKI) performs all kind of research related to the electric power production. It includes both the conventional and nuclear energy production. The Institute performs also safety analyses of nuclear power plants, PSA and severe accidents, noise analysis, etc. The Institute of Isotopes is responsible for the production of radioisotope sources for industrial, medical and research purposes. The Institute for Isotope and Surface Chemistry (MTA IKI) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences performs a wide variety of research related to the use of radioactive materials and nuclear techniques, among them a research and development programme for nuclear safeguards. They provide the expert support and the laboratory backgrounds for the HAEA. The Central Research Institute for Physics (KFKI) operates a 10 MW(e) reactor and a critical assembly for research purposes and is performing R&D in the field of nuclear measurement and process control technology. The Atomic Energy Research Institute (KFK AEKI, Budapest) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences operates the 1 0 MW Budapest Research Reactor. It is active in several fields of nuclear technology such as reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, health physics, simulator techniques, reactor chemistry. The Institute of Nuclear Research (ATOMKI, Debrecen) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences operates a 20 MV cyclotron and a 5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator, and is active on several fields of nuclear physics and nuclear techniques. The Technical University of Budapest is operating a nuclear training reactor. The Frederic Joliot-Curie National Research Institute for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene provides expert advice and technical assistance to the Ministry of Public Welfare. Institute for Radiobiology and Radiohygiene (OSSKI, Budapest) performs a wide spectrum of research including the biological effects of radiation and radioisotopes, radiohygiene (operational and environmental), sterilization, detoxification etc. The Ministry of Public Welfare is taking a role in the licensing procedure and is the agency responsible for health protection rules in relation to nuclear power plant operations. The State Public Health and Medical Officer Service is responsible for the collection, treatment, and storage of solid and liquid radioactive wastes. The Ministry for the Environmental and Regional Policy is responsible for establishing air and water quality standards, limits in radioactive releases from nuclear facilities, as well as for controlling the releases at the facilities to the environment.
Resource: IAEA [2003]: Hungary Nuclear Power Profile, the original study can be found here. |
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