News
Publish date: December 8, 1997
Written by: Igor Kudrik
News
On November 28, 10:00 Moscow time, researcher at Dimitrovgrad Research Institute for Atomic Reactors received 35 mSv of radiation. The year dose is limited by 50 mSv.
According to Minatom press-centre, the engineer was careless while conducting work with radioactive sources. The engineer’s condition is normal, no need for special medical treatment.
Dimitrovgrad Research Institute for Atomic Reactors, located in Ulyanovskaya county, by the mid part of river Volga, was founded some 30 years ago, operating one nuclear research reactor. The reactor is mainly used to test nuclear fuel assemblies.
In the end of July there was an accident at the Institute. The discharge levels 18-fold above the norm lasted for a week. The reason to the incident was cracks in the nuclear fuel cladding what led to heavy contamination of the water from the primary circuit. As a result, radioactive gases hushed through the ventilation system into the environment.
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.