News
Publish date: April 22, 1998
Written by: Igor Kudrik
News
At the workshop of Ministry for Atomic Energy (Minatom) held on April 21, Minatom’s acting boss Yevgeniy Adamov confirmed earlier reports suggesting that the responsibility for handling of submarine spent nuclear fuel would be taken away from the Navy.
According to Adamov, his ministry’s first objective would be to defuel the laid-up nuclear powered submarines, pack the spent fuel into containers and place them onshore for temporary storage. Later, the containers will be shipped down to Mayak plant in Siberia for reprocessing.
Earlier this month, the governor of Murmansk County Yury Jevdokimov, filed a proposal to the Government of Russia to transfer Andreeva Bay, the only operational storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the Northern Fleet, and Nerpa shipyard under control of Minatom.
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.