City, Country
Jaslovske Bohunice
West Slovakia
Number & type of Reactors
4x VVER 440/213 - 2 blks
A-1: experimental reactor
Net Electric Power as % in 92 of national total
1632 MWe
53% of national total
Major population Centers in a 150 km radius and
total estimated population of 150 km r. region
Approximately 10 million Brno, Wien, Bratislava, Nitra, Gyor, Budapest
Date of commercial operation start up
or (if unfinished) date of construction start.
1979, 1980, 1984, 1985 Units 1-4 (blocks V-1, V-2)
Unit A-1 permanently inoperable
Operator/Builder
SE (Slovak Energy) - operator
The fact that Bohuncie is currently undergoing a US$200 million upgrade by Siemens, was worthy neither of mention nor did it disqualify these reactors from being listed as "Most Dangerous" by the US Dept. of Energy says something of the magnitude of the problem at this plant. Plant suffers from a lack of independent regulators who can force safety measures or close down the plant if needed. Additionally, Skoda, which is the primary supplier of parts is now a Czech, rather than Czechoslovak, company and is experiencing financial difficulties, which may create a shortage of parts. The operators at Bohunice are generally recognized as well qualified and working hard to keep the plant running safely, but no matter how good they are they will not be able to entirely compensate for the shortcomings of the design which include: undersized emergency cooling systems, control systems are particularly susceptible to common-cause failures resulting from a fire or pipe rupture. In such events, the control room would quickly fill with escaping steam or smoke, severely hampering the operators’ ability to control the plant. The design and material composition of the reactor vessel is highly susceptible to radiation embrittlement potentially weaken it to rupture. And fluctuating ground-level wind patterns in the region of the plant could blow fallout in many directions for great distance. During the early Mochovce negotiations (where Bohunice closer was required by the EBRD) it was often stated (by EdF, Bayernwerke, the EBRD, nuclear vendors) that Bohunice needed to be closed as quickly as possible, because of its threat to the entire region. Now that the western funding of Mochovce has been blocked, no one in the nuclear industry talks about doing anything to close Bohunice early.