Obninsk NPP - the legend of nuclear energy

Nuclear power plants are the world's most popular power generation tool. To receive energy as a result of 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 concerned about nuclear energy. Now nuclear power plants are used in 31 countries of the world. The leaders in the production of nuclear energy are the USA, France, Russia, China, South Korea. The world launched 411 nuclear reactors.

Obninsk NPP was the first nuclear power plant in the world. It was launched in Obninsk, Kaluga region in 1954.

The history of Obninsk NPP

As is known, in 1949 the Soviet Union tested the first Soviet atomic bomb. The tests were successful, and officials thought about the peaceful use of atomic energy. It was decided to build the first reactor for the peaceful use of the energy of nuclear reactions. As a result, the Obninsk nuclear power plant 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 produced not only electricity, but also heat. In addition, a research center for the study of nuclear reactions was organized on the territory of the Obninsk nuclear power plant.

Atomic race and power plant-based research

In the United States, they tried to outrun the USSR in the development of nuclear power. American politicians and scientists did not recognize the industrial facility in Obninsk NPP, calling it a scientific center, rather. 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 right in fact? In favor of their version, the Americans cited the fact that Obninsk NPP was not only not profitable, but data on the amount of heat and electricity it produced in the first years of its operation were not preserved.

Soviet scientists responded to this by the fact that in the first years of existence the world's first power station operated in various test modes in order to determine the best operating mode. Immediately after the launch, the Obninsk power plant consumed more electricity than it produced.

At the same facility, the crews of Soviet nuclear submarines were also trained.

Closure of the station and rumors of an accident

Now the power plant is not in operation. Its reactors were stopped forever in 2002. The fact is that for research purposes it was no longer suitable, in addition, due to outdated technologies and equipment, the station did not bring a profit.

The legend of nuclear energy has always been the object of various rumors among the population. Among local residents, it is considered that the radiation background near the nuclear power plant is higher than in other parts of the city. The population of Obninsk is still afraid of being exposed to radiation, therefore they bypass the power station by side. Often rumors of an accident, harmful emissions, radiation leakage and radioactive waste from the Obninsk nuclear power plant can be heard in the Moscow region 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 on the basis of the station

At present, the most interesting museum of nuclear energy in Russia is the Obninsk nuclear power plant. Excursions here 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 taken out of service officially. This gives rise to new rumors and talk about it.

It is well known that after the plant was shut down, the nuclear reactor was cleaned of radioactive fuel. The reactor was also partially dismantled. What happened to the graphite rods - the retarders of nuclear reactions - was not reported to the broad masses.

The more mysterious and interesting the rumors are, the more visitors to the museum Obninsk NPP attracts. A photo at the main entrance to the power plant inside the premises with control panels of the reactor makes many energy students who come here on an excursion every year.

Results

Obninsk NPP is notable not so much with technology and electricity production. It is rather a symbol. The United States of America is famous for the fact that the world's first bombs blew up atomic bombs, the USSR, on the contrary, was the first in the world to use nuclear 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 the largest in those years research institute for the study of nuclear reactions and nuclear power in the USSR.