News
Publish date: May 6, 2004
News
In April next year the British Government intends to establish a new Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) in the United Kingdom (UK). The body will provide overall management and direction for clean up at nuclear sites in the UK. More than 40 nuclear reactors have been in operation in the UK, and it is the future decommissioning and clean-up work at these sites the NDA will be in charge of.
The NDA is not intended carrying out the clean-up work itself. Instead it will place contracts on different site licensees. By establishing the British Nuclear Group, BNFL is positioning itself to apply for some of these future clean-up contracts.
More than fifty years of British nuclear programme has left behind vast amounts of contaminated buildings, and radioactive waste. Now the mess has to be cleaned up. The cost of the nuclear legacy is currently estimated at some £ 48 billion in total. This figure represents the best estimates based on current knowledge and technology. In practice however, there are uncertainties about what needs to be done to deal with particular installations or waste. Initial estimates put the NDAs operating cost in the range of £25-30 million per year.
The clean-up programme is expected to take more than 100 years to complete,
An accident aboard numerous Volgoneft oil tankers in the Kerch in mid December clearly show what can happen to aged ships when they are operated in bad weather—and when economic and military objectives are prioritized over the lives of crews and environmental safety.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.
A survey of events in the field of nuclear and radiation safety relating to Russia and Ukraine.
A visit last week by Vladimir Putin and a Kremlin entourage to Astana, Kazakhstan sought in part to put Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, on good footing with local officials.