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Publish date: August 9, 2004
News
The initiative is part of Canada’s 1-billion Canadian dollars pledge under the G8-led Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.
"Spent nuclear fuel in Russian submarine reactors presents an international security risk and an environmental threat to the Arctic and Barents Sea," said Mr. Pettigrew. "Funding this initiative is a key element of our international security agenda and a high priority for Canada under the G8 Global Partnership announced at Kananaskis." Russia currently has 56 retired nuclear submarines in the Barents Sea region awaiting disposal. Canada’s contribution will be to assist with the dismantlement of three Victor class nuclear submarines. Canada will be concluding at least three more similar annual agreements to support the dismantlement of 12 submarines at a total cost of approximately $116 million.
The recently concluded bilateral agreement between Canada and Russia provides the framework that governs Canada and Russia’s bilateral cooperation under the Global Partnership, and the dismantlement of decommissioned nuclear submarines is the first project under that agreement. This project complements Canada’s initial funding of $32 million for environmental remediation of Russia’s naval nuclear legacy via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, previously announced by the Prime Minister in May 2003. Canada now joins the United Kingdom, Norway, Japan, Germany and the U.S. in funding Russian nuclear submarine dismantlement activity. Germany is funding infrastructure to safeguard empty nuclear reactors that are left after the dismantlement and nuclear defueling process.
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.