Major accidents at hydroelectric power stations
1963 October 9. In Italy, a mountain collapse occurred in the reservoir at the Vajont dam of the Piave River. The water overflowing the edge of the dam destroyed the villages of Longarone, Piragio, Rivalta, Villanova, and Fae in 15 minutes. 1,450 people died. Many villages in the commune of Erto and Kasso were destroyed. In total, it is estimated that between 1,900 and 2,500 people died. 350 families were completely lost. Villages near the disaster zone were damaged by the air vortex caused by the landslide.
1975 In China, Typhoon Nina broke a dam in the upper reaches of the Ru River. The resulting giant wave passes along the Ru and Huai rivers, sweeping everything out of the way, including 62 dams and hydroelectric dams. The number of victims amounted to one hundred thousand people and was further increased by the epidemics that broke out in the disaster area.
1977 November 6. In the United States, a hydroelectric dam in the state of Texas has broken. The hydroelectric power station was built in 1889 and stopped in 1957. The breach occurred due to the dilapidation of the dam and negligence service personnel. 39 people died.
2004 May 27. Flood waters destroyed the protective dam of the Daluntan power plant on the Qingjiang River in China. 20 people died.
2005 February 11. In Pakistan, the 150-meter dam of the Shakidor hydroelectric power station broke due to flash floods. Several villages were flooded, 130 people died.
2007 October 5. Break of the dam of the hydroelectric power station “Kyadat” under construction on the river. Chu in China due to flash flooding. 5 thousand houses were flooded, 35 people died.
2009 August 17. Destruction and flooding of the turbine hall of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. 75 people died.
11th of November. In Brazil, due to storm winds, the world's largest hydroelectric power station, Itaipu, was shut down, providing 20% (17,000 MW) of the country's total electricity consumption. HPP Itaipu and 90% of Paraguay's needs.
2010 July 21 There was a terrorist attack on the Baksan hydroelectric power station (Russia). At about 5.00, two explosions occurred in the station's turbine room, as a result of which hydrogenerators No. 1 and 2 were disabled along with their excitation and control systems, and the oil leaking from the destroyed equipment ignited. Another explosive device placed on hydrogenerator No. 3 did not go off and was neutralized. Then two more explosions occurred at the outdoor switchgear, as a result of which two oil switches were disabled. Station workers stopped the operating hydraulic unit No. 3, blocked the diversion channel of the hydroelectric power station and opened the idle spillway. After reconnaissance of the territory and demining of the station, fire extinguishing began, ending at 9.00. As a result of the explosions, the station was put out of action, which, however, did not lead to restrictions in the energy supply, since backup sources were automatically activated.
The tragedy at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station occurred on August 17 at 08:13 local time (04:13 Moscow time).
Due to the destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2, water began to flow into the station's turbine room under high pressure. The load on the hydroelectric power station almost immediately dropped to zero, the constantly rising water a short time flooded the entire hall and the technical rooms underneath. All ten hydraulic units of the station were damaged, three of them were completely destroyed. A short circuit in the generator control systems led to a complete shutdown of the hydroelectric power station.
As a result of the disaster, 75 people were killed and 13 were injured. Up to 50 tons of turbine oil ended up in the Yenisei.
The accident at the hydroelectric power station has no analogues in the domestic and global hydropower industry.
About Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP
Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station named after. P.S. Neporozhniy (SSHPP) is the most powerful hydroelectric power station in Russia. Its installed capacity is 6,400 MW, and its annual output is about 24 billion kW/h. The hydroelectric power station is located on the Yenisei River in Khakassia near the city of Sayanogorsk. Included in JSC RusHydro as a branch of the company.
Construction of the station began in 1968. The first of ten hydraulic units of the hydroelectric power station was launched in December 1978, the last - in December 1985. The station was put into commercial operation in 2000.
SSHHPP is a high-pressure hydroelectric power station of the dam type. Its pressure front is formed by a concrete arch-gravity dam deeply cut into the rocky shores. The height of the hydraulic structure is 245 m, the length along the crest is 1074.4 m, the width at the base is 105.7 m and at the crest - 25 m. The area of the reservoir is 621 sq. m. km. The station's turbine room houses 10 hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 MW each.
Continuation
Rescue operation
The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu and the Minister of Energy Sergei Shmatko flew to the scene of a large-scale emergency. During the night from August 17 to 18, the number of people involved in eliminating the consequences of the accident increased tenfold.
Divers examined the flooded premises. The search and rescue operation was carried out mainly in the turbine room of the hydroelectric station. “Divers work in difficult conditions: the water is cloudy, mixed with engine oil, but all corners of the engine room are thoroughly examined,” noted the head of the Siberian search and rescue team, Alexander Kresan.
On the day of the accident, two people were saved, but already on August 18, the likelihood of finding living people in the flood zone was assessed as insignificant.
If a person is caught in an air bubble, then there is hope for his salvation. If he finds himself in water, given that its temperature does not exceed four degrees, then the chances of saving him are minimal
Alexander Tolokonnikov
former general director of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station
On August 20, pumping of water from the turbine hall began, by which time the number of victims had reached 17 people.
RusHydro announced that it plans to pay more than 300 million rubles in support of family members of the dead and injured.
"YouTube.com/tdudin80"
"The largest and most incomprehensible accident in the world"
The investigation into the causes of the disaster was carried out by several departments. Immediately after the accident, the Investigative Committee became involved in it as part of the criminal case initiated, and a Rostechnadzor commission was also created.
First versions
Initially as possible reason During the accident, a water hammer version was put forward, but it did not find support, as well as the version about the explosion of a transformer, which caused the collapse of the wall of the turbine hall. The Investigative Committee ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
RusHydro specialists suggested that the accident occurred due to the destruction of the turbine due to a manufacturing defect. However, the heads of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Energy warned against hasty conclusions.
Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko called what happened at Russia's largest hydroelectric power station "the largest and most incomprehensible accident in the world."
Rostechnadzor report
On October 3, 2009, Rostechnadzor presented a report on the investigation into the causes of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. The document took up more than 100 pages. It was prepared by a commission of 26 specialists under the leadership of the head Federal service for environmental, technological and nuclear supervision Nikolai Kutyin. The Technical Investigation Report of the causes of the accident noted that the accident occurred due to a combination of reasons, including negligence, technical and organizational failures.
Rostekhnadzor, which came every three years and checked the condition of the station, should act as an “axe” that constantly hangs over the management of the station
Vladimir Pekhtin
co-chairman of the commission from the State Duma
The Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, the last unit of which began operating in 1985, was officially put into operation only 15 years later, in 2000, without a state examination. The corresponding document was signed by Anatoly Chubais, who at that time headed RAO UES of Russia. The report also stated that during the initial period of operation of the hydroelectric power station, several dozen cases of turbine equipment failures occurred.
The Rostechnadzor commission named six people involved in the accident at the hydroelectric power station. Among them are the former head of RAO UES of Russia Anatoly Chubais, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Sinyugin, General Director of TGK-1 Boris Vainzikher, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation in 2001-2004 Igor Yusufov. The list of persons involved in the accident also includes Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Central Commission for Commissioning of the Sayano-Shushenskoye Hydroelectric Complex in 2000, Anatoly Dyakov, and Managing Director, Head of the “South” Division of the RusHydro Company, Chief Engineer SSHHPP in 1983-2006 Valentin Stafievsky.
Rostekhnadzor report: six involved
As noted in the document, Vyacheslav Sinyugin carried out decisions to remove repair personnel from the staffing table of the hydroelectric power station, without ensuring that the requirements for regular monitoring of the technical condition of the main equipment were included in the repair and maintenance contracts. He “did not create the conditions for a proper assessment of the real state of safety of the SSHHPP. He did not take effective measures to develop, finance and implement compensatory measures for the safe operation of the SSHHPP, including not ensuring the implementation of the decision on the speedy construction of an additional spillway at the SSHHPP, and did not take effective measures to replace impellers on hydraulic units that reduce the influence of “non-recommended zones” of their operation, did not ensure the adoption of a program for the safe operation of hydraulic units involved in power regulation and, therefore, having increased wear.”
Boris Vainzikher, according to the conclusions of the commission, was responsible for the introduction of RAO UES standards aimed at strengthening the safe operation of equipment and which did not ensure the safe operation of SSHHPP at the proper level.
Anatoly Chubais, the document notes, “approved the Act of the Central Commission on the acceptance into operation of the Sayano-Shushenskoye hydropower complex. At the same time, a proper assessment was not given of the actual state of safety of the SSHHPP.” In addition, timely compensatory measures for the safe operation of SSHHPP were not developed and implemented, including the decision “in as soon as possible to begin work on the construction of an additional spillway at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP,” the impellers on the hydraulic units have not been replaced, and a program of compensating measures for the safe operation of the hydraulic units involved in power regulation and therefore having increased wear has not been developed.”
Valentin Stafievsky, according to the conclusions of Rostekhnadzor, “knowing about the real state of the equipment operated at the SSHHPP, did not create the conditions for RusHydro to take effective measures for the safe operation of the SSHHPP. Participated in the removal of repair personnel from the staffing table, without ensuring compliance with the requirements for regular monitoring of the technical condition of the main equipment SShGES".
Anatoly Dyakov was the chairman of the Central Commission for the commissioning of the Sayano-Shushensky hydropower complex and signed the acceptance certificate with a “good” rating. “The commission’s act did not fully reflect the actual state of the operating buildings, structures and equipment of the SSHHPP, which created the preconditions for underestimating the real consequences of further operation,” the Rostechnadzor document notes.
Igor Yusufov, "while serving as Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, he did not create mechanisms for real state control and supervision of the safe operation of energy facilities, including those included in RAO UES of Russia,” notes the Rostechnadzor act. Yusufov, the document says, “did not ensure the development and adoption of the fundamentals of state policy in the field of safe operation of energy facilities, contributed to the transfer of control functions from the state to operating organizations without making decisions on increasing their responsibility for the energy security of the Russian Federation”
Continuation
Rostekhnadzor also reported that the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was related to the fire at the Bratsk HPP on August 16. It is because of this that the load on the SSHPP had to be increased and a second hydraulic unit had to be put into operation. “It cannot be said that the Bratsk hydroelectric power station is to blame for the accident at Sayano-Shushenskaya, but the conditions were created just at the time of the fire at Bratskaya,” noted the head of Rostechnadzor Nikolai Kutyin.
Parliamentary conclusions
In parallel with the Rostechnadzor commission, a parliamentary commission created in September 2009 conducted its own investigation. Members of the commission - deputies and senators - visited the site of the accident and the enterprises where equipment for the hydroelectric power station was produced.
The commission determined that more than 20 persons were involved in creating the conditions for the accident. Among them are the station management, including general director and the chief engineer, technical services that were responsible for repair work and the technical condition of the equipment, as well as organizations that supplied various equipment to the hydroelectric power station, including automation.
The commission appealed to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Prosecutor's Office with a request to identify the persons involved in the accident and establish the degree of their guilt.
Immediate cause of the accident
During the investigation into the causes of the accident by the Rostechnadzor commission and the parliamentary commission, the immediate cause of the destruction of hydraulic unit No. 2 was named fatigue failure of the turbine cover mounting studs as a result of vibration.
Continuation
Sentence for seven defendants
More than 300 witnesses were questioned in the case, 234 examinations were carried out, including forensic, genetic, technical, metallurgical, as well as explosive and seismological examinations.
“Due to the large volume of materials, and more than 850 material evidence was attached to the criminal case, the examinations lasted for a year, based on the results of which a mathematical model development of the accident," said Vladimir Markin, a representative of the Investigative Committee.
Accusation
Seven station employees were in the dock: director of the SSHHPP Nikolai Nevolko, chief engineer Andrei Mitrofanov and his deputies Evgeniy Shervarli, Gennady Nikitenko, as well as employees of the hydroelectric power station equipment monitoring service Alexander Matvienko, Vladimir Beloborodov and Alexander Klyukach.
Family members of the victims still cannot come to terms with the loss of their loved ones. However, a month ago information appeared that those responsible for the accident would allegedly go unpunished. The fact that a criminal case could be terminated due to the statute of limitations angered people
Nikolay Popov
They were charged with violating labor safety regulations, which negligently resulted in the death of a person. The article provided for imprisonment for up to three years. But by the time the case was received by the prosecutor’s office on December 8, 2011, amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation came into force, and this article was classified as of minor gravity. The statute of limitations for it is 2 years and by that time had actually expired, and therefore the prosecutor’s office returned the criminal case for additional investigation.
Investigative actions in the case of the accident at SShHPP were completed in June 2012. Seven defendants were charged with new article- part 3 art. 216 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - “Violation of safety rules during work, resulting in the death of more than two persons and causing major damage.” They face seven years in prison.
According to investigators, the accused for a long time allowed hydraulic unit No. 2 to operate in an unsatisfactory vibration state. HPP employees were inactive and did not take measures to eliminate the malfunction, including during scheduled repairs carried out in January-March 2009.
162 people were recognized as victims. On June 4, 2013, the criminal case was sent for consideration to the Sayanogorsk City Court of the Republic of Khakassia. On July 15, 2013, preliminary hearings were held in court and the trial began on July 19.
Sentence and amnesty
The verdict for the defendants in the criminal case regarding the accident at the hydroelectric power station was handed down on December 24, 2014. The former director of the hydroelectric power station, Nikolai Nevolko, was sentenced to 6 years in a general regime colony; the same sentence was given to chief engineer Andrei Mitrofanov. His deputies Evgeny Shervarli and Gennady Nikitenko were sentenced to 5.5 years and 5 years 9 months in a general regime colony. Employees of the equipment monitoring service Alexander Matvienko, Vladimir Beloborodov and Alexander Klyukach were sentenced to 4.5 years in prison without the right to occupy leadership positions. Moreover, Vladimir Beloborodov was released under an amnesty.
19 complaints were filed against the decision of the Sayanogorsk City Court from victims, defense and convicts. Three victims individuals, as well as a representative of the RusHydro company, which was also recognized as the injured party, asked to acquit the convicts. In turn, the state prosecution asked to leave the sentence unchanged.
On May 26, the Supreme Court of Khakassia changed the sentence of two defendants in the case. Workers of the hydroelectric power station equipment monitoring service Alexander Matvienko and Alexander Klyukach, previously sentenced to 4.5 years in prison, were included in the amnesty for the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The remaining defendants were left with the same sentences.
The statute of limitations in the criminal case regarding the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station expired on August 17, 2015. If the decision of the Sayanogorsk court had not entered into legal force before this date, all those convicted would have been released and the case closed.
Restoration work and modernization of the station
It took more than five years and 41 billion rubles to restore the hydroelectric power station. The first work at the station began in August 2009. By October, the rubble in the turbine hall had been cleared, and by November, the walls and roof of the hall had been restored, which made it possible to create a thermal circuit and ensure that work could be carried out during the cold season.
At the first stage (2010-2011), the least damaged hydraulic units No. 3, 4, 5, 6 were restored and a new hydraulic unit No. 1 was put into operation (in December 2011). In October 2011, a new coastal bypass spillway of the hydroelectric power station was put into permanent operation, allowing for additional water passage of up to 4 thousand cubic meters. m (construction cost - about 7 billion rubles) and meets modern international requirements for the passage of flood waters.
At the second stage (2012-2013), new hydraulic units No. 7, 8, 9 and 10 began to be used, and previously restored units No. 5 and 6 were replaced with new ones.
At the final stage in 2014, the updated unit No. 4 was connected to the network - on May 22, President Vladimir Putin, during a video conference, gave the command to launch it - and the equipment on unit No. 3 was updated.
The manufacture and installation of new hydraulic units for the station was carried out by OJSC Power Machines (a contract worth 11.7 billion rubles was signed with OJSC RusHydro on November 30, 2009).
Work on the reconstruction of the station was completed in November 2014, the station reached its designed capacity (6400 megawatts).
The completion of the complete modernization of the hydroelectric power station is scheduled for 2015.
What changed after the emergency
After a large-scale accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, it was decided to carry out a comprehensive reconstruction of the station and equip it with new and modern equipment that has improved performance characteristics and meets all reliability and safety requirements.
The service life of the new hydraulic units has been increased to 40 years. Open distribution units will be replaced with closed units to reduce wear and tear. The hydroelectric power station will have a comprehensive automated system for monitoring the condition of the dam. The new coastal bypass spillway of the station, put into permanent operation in October 2011, meets modern international requirements for the passage of flood waters; it allows for additional water passage of up to 4000 cubic meters. m per second. Also in 2009, the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation ordered, during scheduled repairs, to replace all fastenings of turbine covers and install recording devices ("black boxes") at all Russian hydroelectric power plants.
On the morning of August 17, 2009, a hydraulic unit in the turbine room collapsed. Everyone who was there died. Thanks to the competent actions of the station workers, an even more serious tragedy was prevented. The dam could have broken. As a result, downstream areas and cities were at risk of flooding. The victims would number in the thousands.
All consequences of the accident have been eliminated, and the hydroelectric power station itself has actually become a new station, and one of the most productive in the country.
8:30 am, Monday morning, August 17, 2009. Hydraulic unit number two, there are ten in total, breaks off the fastening studs - powerful bolts.
“I heard the sound of tearing metal, turned around and saw the generator cross rising in the area of the second unit, it was so dark,” recalls Sergei Ignatov, an employee of the SShGES.
Sergei Ignatov was only about 50 meters from the epicenter of the accident; he barely had time to shout to the female cleaners: “Let’s run!” before the first wave began.
A structure weighing almost two thousand tons is literally thrown out of its nest. Water floods the turbine room, one after another the generators burn, and the turbines go into overdrive, scattering iron around and forming funnels that suck in everything. Automation doesn't work. The station is completely de-energized. There is almost no connection.
“Of course, firstly, we had to figure it out pretty quickly. Secondly, do everything that is necessary to immediately, in the first hours, I would like, of course, minutes, to stop the flow of water,” says Sergei Shoigu.
In order to do this, the surviving employees of the hydroelectric power station climb up the stairs in pitch darkness to the top of the dam and there, on the crest, manually lower the emergency gates, one by one blocking ten water pipelines, through each of which a train could pass.
“After we dropped the shutters, the fog began to clear, and we began to see the mangled turbine room, torn ITKs. I asked myself the question: am I dreaming or is this reality, am I dreaming or is it reality,” recalls Nikolai Tretyakov, an employee of the SSHHPP.
In the very first hours, help begins to arrive from several regions of Russia at once. More than 2.5 thousand rescuers have been sent to clear the rubble and search for people. Dozens of people are believed to be in the flooded premises of the station. Relatives of those who did not leave the station are on duty around the clock in the cultural center of the hydropower workers’ village, waiting for at least some news.
“For two days it was the most terrible stress, coming to relatives to say that we had not found it yet,” recalls the acting governor of Khakassia, Viktor Zimin.
Only on the fourth day is it possible to pump out the caustic mixture of water and machine oil. The number of missing people is decreasing and the death toll is increasing. There are also survivors.
Here at the hydroelectric power station, Vladimir Putin gives instructions - not to leave anyone in trouble.
“We will restore the iron, we cannot bring people back, this is the biggest problem... Now the main thing is to help people... Payments to children under eighteen years of age,” the president ordered.
Help for the relatives of the victims - almost from the first days after the accident. First support from psychologists, then payment monetary compensation. In addition to a million rubles from the owner of the hydroelectric power station, the RusHydro company, each family received the same amount from the budget of Khakassia.
“Then we compiled, the first experience was, a social passport for each family. Children, illnesses, relatives, everything, everything about family. And what types of assistance can we provide them? We gave all the children apartments at that time. We guaranteed education,” says Viktor Zimin.
Some needed help repaying loans, some needed housing, some needed employment. Yulia Zholob, who lost her husband in an accident nine years ago, returned to the station, where she now runs the local museum.
“We are paid scholarships to children who study. We were employed, we are all working, that is, everything that was promised was done. Now everything has been done to ensure that this never happens again, I’m not afraid,” says Yulia Zholob.
As soon as the rescue operation was over, the restoration of the station began, because the failure of such an energy giant almost stopped Siberian metallurgy.
“Of course, here in many ways we were lucky or helped, or rather, it was unlucky that still in Soviet time a unified energy system was created that overlapped each other in many respects, and due to such switching and connections of the Nazarovo State District Power Plant, Berezovskaya State District Power Plant, others, the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station, naturally, it was possible to equalize the supply of electricity to such large complexes as the Sayan Aluminum Smelter, the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Smelter" , - explained Sergei Shoigu.
Received an order for the production of new hydraulic units Russian manufacturer power machines. While the engineers got to work, it was decided to repair on site what was least damaged. Excess water had to be released through idle spillways that were not designed for operation in the cold season. And throughout the first winter, employees of the hydroelectric power station manually cut off blocks of ice freezing on the dam. In order for the station to be able to regulate the spring flood, the coastal spillway was completed in a short time.
“Once again I want to return to the words of gratitude to all those who participated in this great work, and pay tribute to the professionalism of those who worked at the hydroelectric power station, their courage,” thanked Sergei Shoigu.
Even the delivery of new turbines resembled a special operation. The giant wheels were transported from St. Petersburg along the Northern Sea Route, overcoming two more dams. The restoration of the hydroelectric power station was completed only in the fall of 2014, when all ten hydraulic units were replaced.
Now the station's turbine room looks almost the same as before the accident. But there are still changes. During the restoration, for example, closed staircases appeared that employees could use to climb to non-flooding levels. Nine years ago, when the accident occurred, everyone who was here had to run to the very end of the turbine hall.
However, there are many more invisible changes. The entire security system has been completely revised. The automation of the hydroelectric power station has been brought to a level where there cannot be water. Emergency shutdown of turbines and reset of valves can now be carried out with one movement of the hand.
After the tragedy, as they say local residents, the village of hydropower workers did not go unnoticed. Schools were reconstructed, a sports and recreation complex was opened, and roads were repaired. Tourists from all over the country again come to admire the famous Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, which has received a rebirth.
Accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station
On August 17, 2009, an accident occurred at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station - the largest emergency in the history of domestic hydropower, which caused the death of 75 people.
The Sayano-Shushensky hydropower complex is located on the Yenisei River in the southeast of the Republic of Khakassia in the Sayan Canyon at the river’s exit into the Minusinsk Basin. The complex includes the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, as well as the downstream counter-regulatory Mainsky hydroelectric complex and the coastal spillway.
Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station named after. P.S. Neporozhniy (SSHPP) is a branch of the Russian energy holding RusHydro.
The hydroelectric power station building houses 10 radial-axial hydraulic units with a capacity of 640 megawatts each.
Before the accident on August 17, 2009, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was the most powerful source of covering peak loads in the Unified Energy System of Russia and Siberia. The main consumers of electricity from the SSHHPP were the Sayanogorsk Aluminum Smelter, the Khakass Aluminum Smelter, the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Smelter, the Novokuznetsk Aluminum Smelter, and the Kuznetsk Ferroalloy Smelter.
On August 17, 2009, at 08.15 (04.15 Moscow time), due to the destruction of fastening elements, an accident occurred at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, the flow of water tore off the cover of the second hydraulic unit, and water poured into the turbine room. Repair shops with people inside were flooded. The accident killed 75 people.
At the time of the accident, nine hydraulic units of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP were in operation (hydraulic unit No. 6 was in reserve). The total active power of the operating units was 4,400 megawatts. The release of water from the crater of the turbine of the second hydraulic unit led to the partial collapse of building structures in the area from the first to the fifth hydraulic units; the load-bearing columns of the building were damaged and in some places destroyed, as well as the equipment of the regulation and control systems of hydraulic units; received mechanical damage varying degrees five phase power transformers; the building structures of the transformer site in the area of the first and second blocks were damaged.
All ten units of the SSHHPP were damaged or completely destroyed, and more than 40 tons of engine oil spilled into the Yenisei waters.
As a result of the accident, the production levels located below the machine room were flooded. A short circuit in the generator control systems led to a complete shutdown of the hydroelectric power station, including for its own needs.
The area adjacent to the power plant was also under water. However, flooding settlements still managed to avoid it. The accident did not affect the condition of the SSHHPP dam.
The first minutes of operation of the SSHHPP spillway with a flow speed of 108 km/h
At 09.20 (05.20 Moscow time), the emergency repair valves of the hydraulic units were closed by the plant personnel and contractors and the flow of water into the turbine room was stopped.
Search and rescue operations began in the destroyed and flooded premises of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. Emergency restoration work began in the machine room where the technological accident occurred. 115 people were involved, of which 98 people were personnel of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in Khakassia (firefighters, rescuers, operational teams) and 21 pieces of equipment.
An oil slick, formed as a result of a transformer oil leak, spread from the hydroelectric dam downstream of the Yenisei for five kilometers.
At 11.40 (06.40 Moscow time) the gates of the spillway dam were opened and the balance of flow through the waterworks was restored. Before the opening of the spillway dam gates, the regulation of sanitary release along the Yenisei River was carried out by the Mainskaya HPP.
Due to the accident at the SShHPP, a power shortage has formed in the Siberian energy system. Energy workers were forced to limit the supply of electricity to a number of Kuzbass enterprises. In particular, temporary restrictions affected the largest metallurgical plants owned by Evraz Group, ? Novokuznetsk Metallurgical Plant (NKMK) and West Siberian Metallurgical Plant (ZapSib), a number of coal mines and open pits.
The Sayan and Khakass aluminum smelters were shut down, the load on the Krasnoyarsk aluminum smelter and Kemerovo ferroalloy plant was reduced (load reduction by 150 megawatts), and the load on the Novokuznetsk aluminum smelter was reduced.
At 13.39 Moscow time, the media reported the localization of an oil slick on the Yenisei.
At 14.00 Moscow time, an Il 76 transport plane of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations took off from the Ramenskoye airfield near Moscow, carrying 20 rescuers from the CENTROSPAS detachment, as well as special equipment and an operational group of four people. Following them, six divers from the detachment were sent to eliminate the consequences of the accident.
At 21.10 Moscow time, during a conference call at the crisis center of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, it was reported that there were 10 dead, 11 wounded, the fate of 72 people was being clarified. The debris has been cleared and the power supply system is being restored.
Less than a day after the accident, a massive death of trout began in two fish farms located downstream of the Yenisei hydroelectric power station in the village of Maina, due to engine oil from destroyed hydraulic units entering the Yenisei. About 400 tons of commercial trout died. In the Yenisei, the fish migrated, moved away from the spot, and therefore did not die, but in trout farms they were in pontoons, they had no opportunity to leave.
On August 18, power supply was completely restored in Khakassia. Additional power came from the Abakan Thermal Power Plant, as well as from the On the evening of August 18, the RF Ministry of Emergency Situations Il?76 plane arrived from Moscow to Abakan with rescuers from the "Tsentrospas" and "Leader" squads of the RF Ministry of Emergency Situations, divers from Tuapse to search for people under water and equipment to help in liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station.
The Chairman of the Government of Khakassia declared August 19 a day of mourning in the republic in connection with the tragic events that occurred at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station. At that time, 12 people were found dead and 15 injured.
During the night of August 18-19, rescuers using special equipment removed six tons of fuel oil from the turbine room and began treating the mouth of the Abakan River with reagents using a helicopter. The clearing of the rubble in the machine room continued, from where about 4 thousand cubic meters of metal structures were removed from an area of about 280 square meters. The area of the collapse was approximately 400 square meters.
On August 19, three helicopters of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations began cleaning the Yenisei water area from engine oil that had entered the river.
On the morning of August 20, at an operational meeting to eliminate the consequences of the accident at the SShHPP, the head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced that the Ministry of Emergency Situations specialists had begun pumping water from the turbine room.
On August 21, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin flew to the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, where he inspected the accident site, held a meeting on eliminating the consequences of the accident and organizing work to ensure a sustainable energy supply to consumers of the unified energy system of Siberia.
From August 23, units and teams of professional repairmen, installers and other energy specialists from other regions of Russia began arriving at the station.
As of August 24, less than a meter of water remained to be pumped out of the turbine room of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations began to gradually wind down work at the station. Restoration work has begun at the hydroelectric power station.
The RusHydro company presented to the Ministry of Energy a plan for eliminating the consequences of the accident and restoring the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP and declared August 25 a day of mourning in all branches of the company.
On August 24, 69 people were known to have died, and six people were considered missing. On September 23, 2009, the body of the last, 75th, deceased was discovered at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station.
During the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the station by the forces of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy of Russia, during emergency rescue operations in general, up to 2.7 thousand people were involved (including about 2 thousand people directly at the hydroelectric power station), more than 200 pieces of equipment, including including 11 aircraft and 15 watercraft. More than 5 thousand cubic meters of rubble were cleared, more than 277 thousand cubic meters of water were pumped out. 9683 meters of booms were installed, 324.2 tons of oil-containing emulsion were collected.
To coordinate the interaction of the involved organizations during the period of emergency rescue operations, and in the future to promptly resolve issues of restoration of the hydroelectric power station, an operational headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Energy, headed by the Deputy Minister of Energy, was created at the station.
The restoration and comprehensive reconstruction project of the SSHHPP provides for the complete replacement of all 10 hydraulic units. According to the plan approved by the Russian Ministry of Energy, the hydroelectric power station should be completely restored in 2014.
In July 2013, the third hydroelectric unit of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, which is one of the four units least damaged in the 2009 man-made accident, was stopped for reconstruction. By this time, the remaining nine units had already been reconstructed. The third hydraulic unit is scheduled to return to service in the summer of 2014.
The destruction of engineering structures that have a dynamic impact on the earth's thickness begins not with the destruction (imbalance) of vibrating mechanisms, but with the destruction of the foundation on which they are installed. Foundation destruction can occur in various scenarios. At the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, a crack appeared in the body of the dam, and then microcracks began to develop. The destruction of the dam body led to an increase in the number of rotational speeds of the hydraulic unit at which vibration occurs.
Thus, we can say that people who work on these structures should be protected to the maximum, not only from injuries, but moreover from fatal outcome. The state should pay more attention to citizens working on structures of enormous scale and increased danger. People should feel safe and work calmly.
