News
Publish date: June 6, 2003
News
Possibility of such failures is considered in the design, i.e. the plant is equipped with means, protections and interlocks, and the Technical Specification document specifies the failure indicators and personnel response actions.
The plant management made a decision to transfer the unit to annual refuelling and maintenance mode, which was planned initially for June 10th, 2003. A 0.5 cm hole in one of the pipes became the cause of the coolant leak from the first circuit. Specialists found out that 6 cubic meters of water leaked to the second circuit, where the coolant goes to the turbines. An out-of-schedule inspection of radiation situation was performed within monitoring area and at the plant site. No deviations from usual radiation background were observed. The event was rated by level 1 according to the International Nuclear Event Scale as one of the plant radiation barriers had failed.
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.