News
Publish date: March 19, 2008
News
The IAEA conducted the emergency preparedness review in the Northwest Russian province of Murmansk. Officials say the area is of concern because of potential threats from aging Soviet-era nuclear submarines and stored nuclear waste among other nuclear deposits in the region, UPI said.
The review was an IAEA effort to test Russia’s readiness to respond to a possible emergency situation related to the security and threats to the environment, the IAEA reported.
"It was extremely important to have the IAEA’s assessment of the Murmansk region’s preparedness before we embark upon more work in the area, and we will likely work further with the Agency on other projects," Vince Novak, director of the EBRD nuclear safety department, said in a statement.
The 10-day exercise was requested by the Russian deputy director of the Federal Agency for Atomic Energy and was conducted by IAEA experts. Officials say the IAEA has been working in Northwest Russia for more than a decade in an effort to facilitate and coordinated safe management of radioactive waste in the region.
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.