environmental safety №1-2011 (special edition): russian research reactor fuel return

8/7/2019 Environmental Safety 1-2011 (special edition): Russian research reactor fuel return

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InternatIonal cooperatIon In managementof cold War legac y

: Valery gorn: Spent nuclear fuel reproceSSIng SpurS reSolutIonof enVIronmental problemS

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special edition

ruSSIan reSearch reactor fuel return


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- /the editorial board of experts 3

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hiGhliGht: russian research reactor fuel return

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Kenneth Baker:

The worlds safety improved as a result of our successes in returning Russian-origin HEU to Russia 4

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Ivan Kamenskih, Vladimir Kuchinov:

International cooperation in management of cold war legacy 5

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Yevgeny Kudryavtsev:

Removal of research reactor spent fuel is a contribution towards nuclear threat reduction 12

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Igor Bolshinsky:

Russian and American spent fuel repatriation programme is unique 14

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RRRFR: ,

Igor Gusakov-Stanyukovich:

RRRFR programme: history, progress and prospects 18

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Valery Gorn:

"Spent nuclear fuel reprocessing spurs resolution of environmental problems" 21

Multimodal transports an incentive to improve 27

/leGislation

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Natalia Ilnitskaya:

Legal framework for spent fuel import into the Russian Federation 32

/ CONTENTs 1'2011 /special edition

1 2011 , e-mail: [email protected] -, , Atomic-energy.ru ./ : +7 (499) 128-0959, 128-8959, +7 (495) 720-9555e-mail: [email protected] www.atomic-energy.ru , . . : 2 000 .

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NUCLEAR & ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 1 2011 special editionGeneral Director, Editor-in-ChiefAlena Yakovlevae-mail: [email protected] Elena Ter-Martirosova, Maria Vyalukhina, Oleg Sp oyalovDesigner Denis RomanovExecutive directorRussian nuclear community Atomic-energy.ru Pavel YakovlevEditorial oce tel./fax: +7 (499) 128-0959, 128-8959, +7 (495) 720-9555e-mail: [email protected] by Information agency Atomic relations Ltd.www.atomic-energy.ruRegistred in the RF Ministry of Press, Television,Radio and Mass Communication Media. Information agency Atomic relations Ltd.Printed by Nemetskaya fabrica pechati Ltd. Circulation: 2 000 copies.The editorial oce does not bear responsobility for authenticity of promotional

materials. Editorial opinion may not coincide with opinion of authorsof the publications.Reprinting or reproduction of any materials in any language of the EnvironmentalSafety journal is permissible only with the ocial approval of the editorial oce.

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Unloading SNF at MurmanskportFoto: Chestnykh IP ("Atomot"),made available by R&Dompany Sosny


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/ CONTENTs 1'2011 / special edition

/devices and equipment

SKODA VPVR/M:

SKODA VPVR/M casks: certication in Russia and operational experience 36

: 2007-2008 /projects: 2007-2008

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Czech Republic: eective cooperation experience 42

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Bulgaria: step by step and in time 46

Lessons learned from the hungarian shipment 52

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Spent fuel repatriation from Kazakhstan: stage one 56

/transportation

No ocean can stop a good cause 62

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Preparation of the rst air transport of spent fuel certied to new requirements 67

: 2009 /projects: 2009

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Romania: brand-new engineering solutions 72

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Poland: cooperation results 77

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Libya: intercontinental overight 82

/technoloGies

Defective spent fuel management at the Vinca Institute 84

: 2010 /projects: 2010

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Ukraine: without accidents or incidents 90

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Belarus: repatriation of unique fuel 96

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Serbia: complex project, long transport route 98

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Germany: preparations completed 101


5/133 1 2011 special edition NUCLEAR & ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

- EdiTOrial bOard Of ExpErTs

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K.E. BaKEr,Distinguished Professor and Department of Energy Chair at theCollege of International Security Affairs at the National Defense University of USA

The U.S. Deptment of Enegys Ntionl Nucle Secuity administtion (NNSa) nd the Stte atomic EnegyCopotion "rostom" hve mde get stides in thei joint effots to eptite russin-oigin highly eniched unium(HEU). Ove 1,500 kilogms of russin-oigin HEU, in both fesh nd spent foms, hve been emoved fom counties

ound the wold nd tnspoted to russi fo secue stoge nd disposition. In the lst ye, NNSa nd rostomhve completed numbe of impotnt shipments, including the emovl of significnt quntities of HEU fom Ukine,Belus, Polnd, nd Sebi.

Duing my tenue t NNSa s Pincipl assistnt Deputy administto fo Defense Nucle Nonpolifetion, I hdthe pivilege of seving s the co-chi of the Joint Coodinting Committee oveseeing the russin-oigin fuel etuneffots. In this ole, I woked closely with my fiend nd fellow co-chi, Ivn Kmenskikh, Deputy Diecto Genel ofrostom. It ws plesue to wok with M. Kmenskikh nd his collegues t rostom ove the yes, nd I m poudof wht we wee ble to ccomplish s esult of ou coopetion. The wold is tuly sfe plce s esult of ou mnysuccesses in etuning russin-oigin HEU to russi.

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kENNETh bakEr: ThE wOrlds safETy imprOvEd as a rEsulT

Of Our suCCEssEs iN rETurNiNg russiaN-OrigiNhEu TO russia

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I.M. KaMENSKIH,Deputy General Director,V.P. KUCHINOV,Adviser of General Director(Rosatom Corporation)

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The be-p of the sovet unonwth the enn economc hdhpof the 1990 complcted ome of the

e octed wth the fllmentof r ntentonl commtment, ncldn thedmntln of le nmbe of delvey vehcle ndncle mnton nde the sTarT ii tety, demblyof ncle m emoved fom kzhtn nd une,ht-down of even wepon-de pltonm-podcnecto, well othe poblem left ove fom the coldw nd ncle m ce e. New tcte eqementcme nto foce edn the nce of fety ndphycl potecton dn toe of ncle mtel e-cycled fom r defence pomme. gven the eco-nomc dclte tht the conty w expeencn t thetme, t wold hve been hd to cope wth th mont of

wo wthot bod nd ctve ntentonl coopetonnd nvolvement of fndn fom bod. in connectonwth th, the ely 1990 w the bennn of eeof ntentonl coopeton pomme, nvolvn p-mly the unted stte, nd beqently nmbe ofothe nton.

The fist pcticl step implemented in this diectionbecme the signing in June 1992 of the biltel tety be-tween the russin Fedetion nd the United Sttes onthet eduction to ensue sfe nd elible tnspot, sto-ge nd dismntling nd nonpolifetion of wepons, whichhelded the stt of the so-clled Nunn-Lug Pogmme

(Coopetive Thet reduction o CTr). Immeditely ftethe signtue of the tety its implementtion commenced ines of sfe hndling of nucle mteils elesed s con-sequence of the nucle ms eduction, impoved secuitynd sfety of nucle mteils, nucle sfety, mngementof dioctive wste, ecto technologies nd nucle fuelcycle, enhnced expot contol. With tht objective in mind, numbe of othe geements wee signed to cove specificpojects in moe detil.

One such geement ws elted to the constuction of sfe nd elible stoge fcility fo fission mteils designedto ccommodte the excess wepons-gde mteils such sunium nd plutonium. as esult of its implementtion,

in 2003 the constuction ws completed of fission mtei-ls stoge fcility, built with the US ssistnce t Myk,which ws ccepted into opetion by Stte acceptnce

iNTErNaTiONal COOpEraTiON iN maNagEmENTOf "COld war" lEgaCy

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Commission. Cuently, wok is on-going to continue lodingfission mteils into the stoge fcility s scheduled.

termination of weapons-grade plutonium productionIn ode to stop the genetion of wepons-gde fission

mteils, in Septembe 1997 russin-ameicn tetyws signed on coopetion ssocited with plutonium-poducing ectos. It envisged the shut-down of such e-ctos, both in russi nd in the United Sttes. Howeve,thee ectos of this kind in Sevesk nd Zheleznogoskcould not be shut down s they supplied electic powend het fo the locl communities. In ode to povide l-tentive souces of het nd powe tht would enble the

decommissioning of the ectos, in 2003 n geementws signed between the Ministy of atomic Enegy of therussin Fedetion nd the US Deptment of Enegy topovide fo the cesstion of plutonium poduction t theexisting aDE-4, aDE-5 ectos in Sevesk, Tomsk egion,nd t the aDE-2 ecto in Zheleznogosk, Ksnoyskegion. as esult of tht, decision ws mde to instllnew fossil fuel-poweed het nd electicity genetioncpcities in Sevesk nd ne Zheleznogosk. In Sevesk,n ledy-existing het-nd-powe genetion plnt wsupgded, while in Zheleznogosk, completely new het-nd-powe plnt ws built. In 2008, the upgdes t theSevesk het-nd-powe plnt wee successfully completed

nd the aDE-4 nd aDE-5 ectos shut down.In ccodnce with the russin decision, s nnounced by

Pesident Dmity Medvedev t Wshington summit, in apil2010 russi closed down the aDE-2 ecto in Zheleznogosks well. Theefoe, russi hs now stopped the opetions tll of its 13 ectos tht wee peviously poducing wepons-gde plutonium. The United Sttes hs lso shut-down ll 14of its simil-pupose ectos.

Cuently peptions e unde wy to commission thefist nd second stges (fou boiles) of the Zheleznogosktheml het powe plnt, nd in 2009 the so-clled coss-link ws commissioned to connect the het supply net-woks of the Sosnovobosk plnt, Zheleznogosk plnt

nd the city of Zheleznogosk to supply the city with hetuntil the commissioning of the new het-nd-powe plnt.although the aDE-2 ecto hd been shut down, the city

(2005 )During the Bratislava summit (2005)

www.vesti.ru


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of Zheleznogosk hd het supply vilble fo the 2010-2011 cold seson.

reduction of fission materials stockpilesreduction of the stockpiles of fission mteils is the ob-

jective of two russin-ameicn geements. Fist, the gee-

ment between the govenments of the russin Fedetion ndthe United Sttes on utilistion of highly-eniched uniumecycled fom nucle wepons (HEU-LEU geement, lsoknown s the Megtons to Megwtts pogmme, 1993), swell s the geement on the utilistion of plutonium decleds no longe needed fo defence puposes, its mngement ndco-opetion in this e (2000).

The HEU-LEU geement mkes povisions fo sup-ply to the United Sttes of low-eniched unium poducedby sites opeted by the rostom Copotion fom the 500tonnes of highly-eniched wepons-gde unium, to be useds fuel fo ameicn nucle powe sttions. Ove the du-tion of the geement, the totl mount of foeign-cuency

inflow to the russin fedel budget exceeded US $9 billion,which wee used to fund nucle sfety upgdes, dvncefundmentl nd pplied scientific esech, pefom envion-mentl emedition pogmmes nd convesion pogmmesof the rostom Copotion. In ddition to tht, the russinFedetion eceived bck ppoximtely US $2.7 billion wothof ntul unium (s the ntul component of low-enichedunium). These supplies cuently cove 40% of the UnitedSttes NPPs demnd fo nucle fuel. The HEU-LEU po-gmme is expected to be completed in 2013. The ameicnside decled 174 tonnes of highly-eniched unium to beedundnt, which it lso intends to covet into commecilnucle fuel.

Unde the 2000 geement, the United Sttes nd russihve committed to ecycle 34 tonnes of wepons-gde plu-tonium ech. The pogmme is to be implemented on pin-ciples of pity, both in tems of the totl mount of mte-il ecycled, nd in the quntity of pue metllic plutoniumextcted diectly fom nucle munitions (25 tonnes ech).Howeve, the stt of this geements implementtion wshmpeed by insufficient funding fo the scenio (envisgedby the geement) wheeby this plutonium would be ecy-cled using VVEr ectos fom souces outside of russi.On the 13th apil 2010 in Wshington, potocol wssigned to mend this geement (2010 Potocol). In ccod-nce with this document, the russin excess wepons-gde

plutonium will be pimily ecycled s fuel fo the BN-800ecto, nd the ameicn plutonium s fuel fo light-wteectos. The monitoing nd inspection pocedues put inplce by the 2000 geement will continue to be used s tool fo mking sue the pties honou thei commitmentswith espect to the ecycled plutonium nd the dmixed m-teil. Consulttions with the IaEa e cuently unde wyegding this issue.

repatriation of russian-origin research reactor fuelanothe exmple of joint coopetion between russi nd

the United Sttes, s well s numbe of othe ntions ndthe IaEa to einfoce the nonpolifetion egime fo nucle

wepons is the pogmme to etun to russi spent nuclefuel fom esech ectos of russin design. This fuel ep-tition pogmme coves 14 counties: Belus, Bulgi,


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Hungy, Vietnm, Gemny, Kzkhstn, Ltvi, Liby,Polnd, romni, Sebi, Uzbekistn, Ukine, nd the Czechrepublic.

as of Jnuy 2011, russi hs impoted bck (in uniumequivlents) 604 kg of fesh nd 986.7 kg of idited high-ly-eniched fuel: tht is, 1,590.7 kg of nucle fuel, quntitypotentilly sufficient to build ppoximtely 64 nucle explo-sive devices.

The legl fmewok fo the fuel eptition pogmmeis povided by: the ageement between the Govenment ofthe russin Fedetion nd the United Sttes Govenment oncoopetion to etun to the russin Fedetion the esechecto nucle fuel oiginlly mde in the russin Fedetion

(dted the 27th My 2004); the Joint Sttement by thePesidents of russi nd the United Sttes on coopetionin nucle secuity signed in Btislv in Febuy 2005; the

Joint Sttement by the Pesidents of russi nd the UnitedSttes on coopetion in nucle secuity dted the 6th July2009, nd numbe of biltel integovenment geementson coopetion to emove idited esech ecto fuel tothe russin Fedetion.

nuclear submarines dismantlingand associated issuesPehps the most difficult of the cold w legcy pob-

lems duing the 1990s ws the dismntling of the nucle

submines, mngement of thei spent nucle fuel nd eme-dition of the on-shoe nvl sevice bses tht hd been tns-feed to the juisdiction of the rostom Copotion.

( , )Spent Fuel Removal from Hungary (Atomot, Port of Murmansk)


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Fo exmple, the nvl bse t andeyev By is mong thewolds lgest stoge fcilities of mility-ppliction spentnucle fuel. about 20 thousnd fuel ssemblies fom the nu-cle subs e kept thee in thee dy stoge blocks. Mny ofthe fuel ssemblies e dmged in one wy o nothe, so theihndling hs become extemely difficult. alongside spent fuel,

the site lso contins hundeds of tonnes of vious sots ofsolid nd liquid dioctive wste with vying levels of di-tion nd degees of toxicity.

russi hs inheited the entie fleet of nucle-po-pelled ships fom the Soviet Union nd, ccodingly, ll thepoblems ssocited with the decommissioning of nuclesubs nd sufce ships with nucle powe instlltions onbod, s well s the on-shoe bses tht suppot them. TheGovenment of the russin Fedetion in 1998 mde thedecision to ppoint the Ministy of atomic Enegy espon-sible fo the esolution of these issues. a pogmme of com-pehensive nucle subs dismntling ws developed, includ-ing the cetion of the necessy infstuctue; howeve, t

tht time, pope budget funding fo the pogmme couldnot be mde vilble.

at the sme time, in 1998 funding ws mde vilble fomthe United Sttes s pt of the foementioned CoopetiveThet reduction pogmme. and fte the gend of theGoup of Eight meeting in 2002 ws mde to include thenucle subs dismntling pogmme s pt of wide effotto help russi del with its cold w legcy nd pevent po-lifetion of wepons of mss destuction, the te of wok hdincesed.

In ccodnce with the Globl Ptneship Pogmme,eight ntions (United Kingdom, Cnd, Gemny, Itly,russi, United Sttes, Fnce nd Jpn) mde politicl

commitment to diect within the next 10 yes $20 billion offunding towd pojects in dismment nd nonpolifetionof wepons of mss destuction nd its delivey vehicles. Thefunding ws pimily to be spent on russin dismmentpogmmes, nd then on simil pogmmes in othe coun-ties tht my lso be in need of ssistnce.

In 2003, on the eve of the G-8 summit in Evin, Fnce,six moe ntions joined the Globl Ptneship Pogmme:Nowy, Nethelnds, Polnd, Finlnd, Sweden ndSwitzelnd, s well s the Euopen Union. In 2004, be-foe nothe G-8 summit t Se Islnd, United Sttes, sevenmoe ntions decled thei intention to pticipte in theGlobl Ptneship Pogmme: austli, austi, Belgium,

Denmk, New Zelnd, Czech republic nd South Koe.Of pincipl impotnce fo successful implement-

tion of the nucle submine dismntling pogmme wsthe signing in My 2003 in Stockholm of the MultiltelNucle Envionmentl Pogmme in the russinFedetion (MNEPr), s well s tifiction by russi inMch 2005 of the Vienn Convention on civil libility fonucle dmge.

The esults of the on-going pogmme finnced by russind the Globl Ptneship membe ntions in russi e sfollowing:

by the beginning 2011, out of 198 nucle dischgedsubmines, 190 hve been dismntled, 65 - suppoted by the

intentionl finncil id; complete modeniztion nd upgdes implemented on

the physicl potection systems of nucle sites;


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in 2009-2010, fist ship-ments of spent fuel fom the sto-ge loctions nd andeyev Bynd Gemikh pefomed;

wok is on-going to cetethe necessy infstuctue fo

complete emovl of spent fuelnd dwste fom the fome n-vl sevice bse sites;

539 dioisotope themo-electic genetos (rITEGs) dis-mntled;

elible mechnism ce-ted fo coopetion to esolveglobl issues.

Still, the scope of wok thtneeds to be pefomed nd fi-nnced fte 2012 emins sig-nificnt. Duing 2011-2015, the

pln is to focus on the followingctivities:

mking of single-compt-ment ecto blocks nd thei plcement in long-tem on-shoe stoge;

etievl nd epocessing of emovble pts of led-bismuth nucle sub ectos;

dismntling of sufce ships, including the Lepse sev-ice ship;

completion of rITEGs emovl fo dismntling nddisposl.

accounting and physical protection

russi is cying out n extensive nd costly effotto upgde the nucle mteils ccounting nd physi-cl potection systems t its sites. a mjo ole in this isplyed by the ageement between the Govenments of therussin Fedetion nd the United Sttes on coopetionin ccounting nd physicl potection of nucle mtei-ls (signed in 1999), within the fmewok of which theee sevel joint poject on-going with the United SttesDeptment of Enegy. The finncil ssistnce povided bythe ameicn side, s well s by othe Globl Ptneshippogmme membe ntions, helps expedite the wok intht field on sites opeted by the rostom Copotion.

It should be noted tht the set of mesues to ssue c-

counting nd physicl potection of nucle wepons nd nu-cle mteils is mjo component of ntionl secuity, sony use of such sensitive infomtion, including its dissemi-ntion to othe pties, is stictly contolled by legisltion ofrussi, the United Sttes nd othe pticipting counties.

***In summy, it my now be concluded tht intentionl

coopetion with the United Sttes nd othe ntions hs de-liveed consideble help to russis effots in solving seiousissues. It closed the gp between the equiements fo nuclesfety, physicl secuity nd clen-up of the cold w legcy,nd ou cpbilities to meet these equiements. In view of the

emining wok nd the ongoing globl chnges, continutionof this coopetion on the bsis of ptneship is still be veyelevnt nd needed.

www.international.gc.ca

/ Recycling of fore and aft part of nuclear-power submarine


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- / parTiCipaTiNg COuNTriEsiN ThE russiaN rEsEarCh rEaCTOr fuEl rETurN prOgrammE

environmental safety №1-2011 (special edition): russian research reactor fuel return

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