Nuclear power plants are a popular tool in the world for generating electricity. Getting energy from nuclear reactions has always been beneficial. After the accidents at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the world community became apprehensive about nuclear energy. Now nuclear power plants are used in 31 countries of the world. The leaders in the production of atomic energy are the USA, France, Russia, China, South Korea. 411 nuclear reactors launched in the world .
And the world's first nuclear power plant was Obninsk NPP. They launched it in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga Region in 1954.
History of Obninsk NPP
As you know, in 1949, the Soviet Union tested the first Soviet atomic bomb. The tests were successful, and officials thought about the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It was decided to build the first reactor for the peaceful use of the energy of nuclear reactions. As a result, the Obninsk NPP began to be built in the Kaluga Region in 1950.
The planned capacity of the power plant was 5000 kW. Four years later, in June 1954, the world's first nuclear power plant was put into operation. The production was multifunctional. The station generated not only electricity, but also heat. In addition, a research center was established on the territory of the Obninsk NPP to study nuclear reactions.
Power plant atomic race and research
The United States tried to overtake the USSR in the development of nuclear energy. American politicians and scholars did not recognize the industrial facility at Obninsk NPP, calling it, rather, a scientific center. They claimed that the world's first nuclear power plant was a nuclear power plant in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, which was launched in 1958.
Who was really right? In favor of their version, the Americans cited the fact that the Obninsk NPP was not only not profitable, but also there was no data on the amount of heat and electricity generated by it in the first years of its operation.
Soviet scientists responded by saying that in the first years of its existence, the world's first power plant operated in various test modes in order to determine the best mode of operation. Immediately after the launch, the Obninsk power plant consumed more electricity than it produced.
At the same facility, the crews of Soviet atomic submarines were also trained.
Station closure and accident rumors
Now the power plant is not in operation. Her reactors were permanently shut down in 2002. The fact is that it was no longer suitable for research purposes, in addition, due to outdated technologies and equipment, the station did not bring profit.
The legend of nuclear energy has always been the subject of various rumors among the population. Among local residents, it is generally accepted that near the nuclear power plant the radiation background is higher than in other parts of the city. The population of Obninsk is still afraid to be exposed to radiation, because they bypass the power station. Often, rumors of an accident, harmful emissions, leakage of radiation and radioactive waste from the Obninsk NPP can be heard in the suburbs and in Moscow. The strangest thing is that such conversations began to spread actively among the people after the closure of the power plant.
Museum-based station
Currently, the most interesting museum of nuclear energy in Russia is the Obninsk NPP. Excursions are held regularly. Some facts about the station are especially interesting for visitors to this museum. For example, despite the closure of the power plant in 2002, it was never officially decommissioned. This gives rise to new rumors and talk about it.
It is reliably known that after the closure of the enterprise, the nuclear reactor was cleared of radioactive fuel. The reactor was also partially dismantled. What happened to graphite rods - moderators of nuclear reactions - was not reported to the masses.
The more mysterious and interesting the rumors are, the more visitors are attracted to the museum by the Obninsk NPP. A photo at the main entrance to the indoor power plant with reactor control panels is made annually by a lot of energy students who come here on an excursion.
Summary
Obninsk NPP is notable not so much for technology and electricity production. She is rather a symbol. The United States of America is known for being the first in the world to detonate atomic bombs, the USSR, by contrast, the first in the world to begin to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes. Obninsk NPP is a legendary enterprise not only and not so much because it became the first nuclear power plant in the world, it is also the largest scientific research institute for studying nuclear reactions and atomic energy in the USSR in those years.