Monthly Highlights from the Russian Arctic, October 2024
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.
News
Publish date: May 19, 2003
News
«The return of the spent nuclear fuel is in a process of licensing», Deputy Chairman of the Bulgarian Agency on Nuclear Regulation, Borislav Stanimirov, said to the BNN. «Bulgaria obviously has Russias consent to return that fuel», Stanimirov told the BNN. On April 30th, during a press conference in Chelyabinsk Vitaly Sadovnikiov, the General Director of Mayak plant, informed that they had reached a certain agreement with the Bulgaria regarding the shipments of spent nuclear fuel from Kozloduy nuclear plant. They expect the train with spent nuclear fuel to arrive at Mayak in June. As Nuclear.Ru was explained by Yevgeny Ryzhkov, the Mayak Public Information Group, «The train consists of 7-8 cars with 3 ton capacity each», said Ryzhkov adding that the expected 20 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel would not help to load fully RT-1 plant, which operates at 20-25% of its capacity (the plant design capacity if 400 metric tons a year). Besides, only a part of this fuel will go for reprocessing leaving the rest for a long-term storage. Three years are to pass before the reprocessing starts. «We have all legal grounds for this activity since the amendments were done to Article 50 of the Federal Law on Environmental Protection which allows import of spent nuclear fuel for storage and reprocessing», Ryzhkov underlined.
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.
Russia is formally withdrawing from a landmark environmental agreement that channeled billions in international funding to secure the Soviet nuclear legacy, leaving undone some of the most radioactively dangerous projects and burning one more bridge of potential cooperation with the West.