News
Publish date: June 2, 2003
News
Specialists of the Murmansk Shipping Company and Atomflot base (both responsible for nuclear icebreakers service and operation) transferred the last container with Kursk spent nuclear fuel from Imandra service ship into the special train. On May 12th, the special train with Kursk spent nuclear fuel onboard left Murmansk and on May 17th, arrived at Mayak reprocessing plant. At the moment the fuel rods are placed into the special pool for cooling where they will wait until reprocessing. The reprocessing will take a few days, the head of Mayak plants press-service told to New Region news agency.
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.