News
Publish date: August 11, 2005
News
An 18-year-old worker was killed at the Zvezdochka plant in Severodvinsk as fuel and lubricant fumes exploded inside a submarine that was undergoing recycling. Another worker, aged 22, died in intensive care afterwards.
“We intend to shake up all the units that have anything to do with hazardous operations,” Rostistav Rimdenok, chief engineer of the Nerpa 1 ship repair plant, told Interfax. Nerpa 1 is recycling two multipurpose Project 671 (Victor-III) nuclear submarines with funds provided by Britain and Norway.
“The tragedy that took place at Zvyozdochka is something for everyone in the industry to think about,” Rimdenok said. “It proves yet again that all risks should be taken into account during the recycling processes,” he said. Rimdenok said Britain and Norway might “set stricter standards for safety rules” after the incident.
Recycling at Zvezdochka is financed by Canada as part of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, a program approved at a 2002 summit of the Group of Eight industrialized countries (G8).
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.