News
Publish date: April 15, 1998
Written by: Igor Kudrik
News
Two engineers were exposed to high levels of radiation while performing refuelling of one of the reactors at Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant. According to official returns, the engineers violated safety regulations what led to the incident. One of the operators received 0,09 Sv of radiation, the dose for the other one was counted as 0,012 Sv (the yearly permitted radiation dose is 0,05 Sv). According to IAEA, the incident scored 2-d level on International Nuclear Events Scale (INES).
Bilibino nuclear power plant operates on 4 EGP-12 reactor units of LWGR type, commissioned in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976.
In addition, there were emergency power reductions at the reactors of Kalinin, Novovoronezh and Leningrad nuclear power plants, which occurred during March, reported GAN.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
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.