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was inaugurated at Bolevec on 8 May 1970. This reactor, the SR-OA (Skoda Reactor OA) is light water-moderated and uses 10% enriched uranium fuel supplied by the U.S.S.R. This reactor is used for reactor physics research and to train nuclear reactor operating personnel.
The Czechoslovaks envisaged an extensive nuclear power program, and construction of the first nuclear power station, the A-1, was started in 1958 at Bohunice, about 35 miles northeast of Bratislava. The A-1 has a gas-cooled, heavy water-moderated reactor fueled with natural uranium with an installed electric power capacity of 150 megawatts electric (MWe). Although it was begun as a joint Soviet-Czechoslovak venture, over the years it became a Czechoslovak project. The Lenin Works was responsible for the design and construction of the A-1 nuclear power station, although the U.S.S.R. supplied the fuel and heavy water for the reactor. While the A-1 was originally planned for completion in 1961, a number of difficulties were encountered, and the reactor finally went critical in October 1972.
Czechoslovakia had planned to base its nuclear power program on the A-1-type reactor, and the Lenin Works established sections at Bolevec, Zatisi, and Vochov, near Plzen, for research on and development of nuclear power stations. However, plans for the construction of additional reactors of the A-1 type have been dropped.
In April 1970 an agreement was concluded between Czechoslovakia and the U.S.S.R. for Soviet assistance in the construction of two nuclear power stations in Czechoslovakia, with a total installed electric power capacity of 1,700 MWe. Each station is to have two pressurized water reactors of the Soviet Novovoronezh 400-440 MWe type. The first station is under construction adjacent to the A-1 at Bohunice, which the reactors expected to be in operation in 1977 and 1978. The second station is to be built near the hydroelectric power station at Dukovany on the Jihlava River. The two reactors of this station are scheduled to go into operation in 1979 and 1980. The U.S.S.R. will supply the primary plant—the reactors and primary circuits including steam generators—while Czechoslovakia will be responsible for the secondary circuits including pumps, turbines, and condensers.
Plans call for the construction of 10 additional nuclear power stations between 1980 and 1990, with the installed electric power capacity to be 5,000 to 7,500 MWe by 1985 and 12,000 to 15,000 MWe by 1990. It is expected that Czechoslovakia will manufacture at least part of the primary circuit for these reactors as well as similar components for export.
The nation is cooperating in the Soviet fast breeder reactor development program, and a group was established at the Bolevec site for this work. Construction of the fast breeder type reactors in Czechoslovakia is envisaged for some time after 1990.
The principal applications of nuclear energy to date are the use of radioactive isotopes in research, medicine, and industry and the production of nuclear-associated equipment. Isotopes are produced at INR or imported from other countries and are prepared for distribution by the Institute for Research, Production, and Use of Radioactive Isotopes, Prague. A number of industrial organizations are making use of isotopes and radiation for research, production, and process control and testing, and a sizable industry has been created to provide nuclear equipment, including the Chirana Works in Prague, which manufactures medical radiation therapy instruments.
Uranium ore has been mined in Czechoslovakia since 1946, and virtually the total production has been sent to the U.S.S.R. Several thousand tons of uranium are sent to the U.S.S.R. annually in the form of high-grade ore and concentrates. Vast uranium reserves are located in central and northwestern Czechoslovakia, amounting to well over 100,000 tons of uranium. Czechoslovakia had planned to use its own uranium resources to fuel its nuclear power reactors. In 1966 the Institute for Nuclear Fuels and a pilot plant for fuel fabrication were set up at Minisek. However, the U.S.S.R. is to provide the natural uranium fuel for the A-1 reactor and the slightly enriched uranium fuel for the four reactors being built under the terms of the April 1970 agreement.
4. Electronics (S)
Czechoslovakia has a strong electronics research and development capability compared with other European Communist countries, equal to that of Poland, but slightly behind that of East Germany. In all aspects of basic research, however, and applications in particular, Czechoslovakia continues to lag behind U.S. efforts by at least 5 years. Much emphasis is placed on acquisition of Western technology and equipment as a basis for improving this capability.
Czechoslovak and Soviet research and development are closely allied through bilateral agreements. The nationalized civilian industry and the Czechoslovak Army conduct all research and development within the framework of a 5-year program. Plans for the development of military equipment must be approved by both the Technical Council of the Ministry of National Defense and the Soviet Army Chief of General Staff. Approved plans must subsequently be
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