To return to the main SKhK entry, see the Seversk
(Tomsk-7) file.
8/22/2003: US ALLOCATES FUNDS TO BUILD MOX FUEL PLANT IN SEVERSK SKhK First Deputy Director Valeriy Meshcheryakov announced
that the United States has allocated $200 million for the construction of a MOX fuel
manufacturing plant in Seversk, ITAR-TASS reported on 22 August 2003. The plant will be located near SKhK,
which is known to have large stockpiles of weapon-grade plutonium. The
MOX
plant is part of the US-Russian plutonium disposition program
and will utilize
weapon-grade plutonium in MOX fuel production.[1] Plant construction is estimated to cost $1 billion
and is to be sponsored by the G8 countries (see the
4/28/2003 entry in the
Russia: Plutonium Disposition Development
section. In April 2003 the United States and Russia agreed on a location for the
plant; the site is 7.5 km from Seversk and 0.35 square km in size. Current plans
call for the MOX plant to use French Melox
equipment modified to meet Russian specifications. A geological survey
may start as early as fall 2003.[2] Sources: [1] Vadim Manenkov, "US funds construction of plant to utilize weapon-grade
plutonium," ITAR-TASS, 22 August 2003; in Integrum Techno,
http://www.integrum.com. [2] "Amerikantsy zaplatili za unichtozheniye plutoniya na territorii Tomskoy
oblasti," Kommersant online edition,
http://www.kommersant.ru,
22 August 2003. {Entered 12/24/03 DS}
5/7/2003: SHIDLOVSKIY GIVES
STATUS REPORT ON SKhK In an interview with Krasnoye znamya, published by Nuclear.ru on 7
May 2003, SKhK Director General Vladimir Shidlovskiy reported that the expansions of
the combine's Isotope Separation Plant and
Conversion Plant have
been successful. In addition, SKhK has developed the capability to produce fluoric
acid and is expanding the scope of activities of the mechanical repair facility. Shidlovskiy
announced that Minatom had decided to make SKhK the main facility for producing regenerated
uranium and the site of the MOX fuel fabrication facility to be built under the
US-Russia
Plutonium Disposition Agreement. Commenting on his recent trip to
Japan, Shidlovskiy emphasized the importance of cooperation with South Asian
countries, many of whom are involved in nuclear power development. SKhK
depends heavily on earnings from uranium exports. Shidlovskiy also touched
upon the combine's relationship with the local government. He stressed the importance of
communication with local legislators regarding large-scale projects at SKhK, since the local legislature is required, by law, to be involved
in the approval process. ["V. Shidlovskiy: We Want Local Authorities to
Understand Current SChC Processes," Nuclear.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclear.ru/, 7
May 2003.] {Entered 5/21/03 CB}
3/25/2003:
MINATOM VIEWS EXPORT CONTRACTS AS PRIORITY FOR SKhK Nuclear.ru, with reference to the SKhK press service, reported on 25 March
2003 that
First Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Mikhail Solonin announced that
Minatom
regards foreign nuclear fuel contracts as one of the priorities for SKhK. The
announcement was made during the visit of a Minatom
audit commission to SKhK on 17-18 March 2003. As a result of the forthcoming shutdown of the ADE-4 and
ADE-5 plutonium production reactors (for details of the reactor shutdown
agreement, see the 3/12/2003 entry
in Plutonium Production Developments),
nearly 2,000 SKhK personnel will become unemployed. However, Solonin was confident
that new job opportunities at SKhK will become available. In addition to nuclear fuel services, other new activities
are under consideration. A final
set of future SKhK activities will be determined by a special joint commission
whose first meeting is planned for April 2003. ["M. Solonin: Odnim iz glavnykh napravleniy deyatelnosti SKhK rukovodstvo
Minatoma vidit predostavleniye uslug YaTTs za rubezh,"Nuclear.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclear.ru/, 25 March 2003.]
{Entered 4/18/2003 DA}
3/12/2003: US AND RUSSIA SIGN ADDENDUM TO REACTOR SHUTDOWN AGREEMENT
On 12 March 2003, Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Aleksandr Rumyantsev and US
Energy Secretary Spenser Abraham signed an addendum agreement to the
1997
US-Russian Intergovernmental Agreement Concerning Cooperation
Regarding Plutonium Production Reactors. The signing ceremony took place in Vienna
during
the International Conference on Security of Radioactive Sources cosponsored by the
IAEA, the United States, and Russia.[1] Under the new agreement,
the ADE-4 and ADE-5 reactors in Seversk and the
ADE-2 reactor in Zheleznogorsk will
stop producing plutonium by 31 December 2005 and 31 December 2006,
respectively.[2] The reactors will continue to operate as heat and power sources until the existing fossil
fuel plant in Seversk is refurbished and a new plant is constructed in
Zheleznogorsk.[3] The United States pledged to provide about $500 million for
the replacement plants. According to DOE estimates, the two reactors in Seversk
will shut down in 2008 and the reactor in Zheleznogorsk in 2011.[4] Aleksandr Rumyantsev announced that
an estimated 10t of
plutonium resulting from the remaining operation of the reactors will be counted
towards the 34t Russia pledged to eliminate under the
US-Russia Plutonium Disposition
Agreement.[1]
Sources: [1]
"Finansovoye uchastiye SShA v ostanovke rossiyskikh reaktorov-narabotchikov
plutoniya sostavit sotni millionov dollarov," Nuclear.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclear.ru, 14 March 2003.
[2]
"Podpisano soglasheniye ob ostanovke trekh rossiyskikh reaktorov,
proizvodyashchikh plutoniy," RosBiznesKonsalting, 12 March 2003; in Integrum Techno,
http://www.integrum.com. [3]
"U.S. and Russia Agree to Plan to Shutdown Three Remaining Russian Plutonium
Production Reactors," DOE Press Release,
http://www.energy.gov, 12
March 2003.
[4] Platts Nuclear News Flashes,
http://www.platts.com, 12
March 2003. {Entered 4/25/2003 DA}
12/2002: SOME SKhK UNITS
MAY BE PRIVATIZED IN 2004
Tomsk yadernyy reported that the Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK) administration is contemplating privatization of
four of the 21 units comprising the combine, including the provisions department,
motor vehicle department, railway department, and heat-and-power station. The
newspaper questions the possible privatization of the motor vehicle and
railway departments, since they are engaged in the transportation of fissile and
radioactive materials. If
the combine administration decides to go ahead with privatization, it has to submit its privatization proposals for
the year 2004 to Minatom and
the Ministry of Property Relations for approval by 1 March 2003. ["Sibirskiy khimicheskiy kombinat v zerkale 2002 goda," Tomsk yadernyy,
22 January 2003; in NuclearNo.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclearno.ru/.] {Entered 3/11/2003
DA}
10/24/2002: FIRE AT SKhK
CONVERSION PLANT Citing
Tomsk yadernyy, NuclearNo.ru
reported that on 24 October
2002 a fire broke out at the SKhK Conversion Plant.
According to the newspaper, a spark from a welding tool in a plant building
containing sanitary decontamination and utility rooms may have ignited rags and rubber goods in a shift fitter's room. The
fire, which threatened to engulf the entire building, was put out in an hour
and ten minutes. ["Dva pozhara
na Sibirskom khimicheskom kombinate," Tomsk yadernyy, 6 November
2002; in NuclearNo.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclearno.ru/.] {Entered 3/9/2003
DA}
10/23/2002: FIRE AT
SKhK POWER PLANT DOES NOT INTERRUPT ELECTRICITY SUPPLY According to a report from
Tomsk yadernyy, on 23 October
2002 a fire broke out at the SKhK heat-and-power station when a power transformer burst into flame due to an oil switch explosion
caused by a short circuit. The fire was extinguished
in less than an hour. The accident did not interrupt power supply to the combine. ["Dva pozhara
na Sibirskom khimicheskom kombinate," Tomsk yadernyy, 6 November
2002; in NuclearNo.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclearno.ru/.] {Entered 3/6/2003
DA}
10/6/2002: SOLDIER SHOT DEAD IN SEVERSK
According to a 6 October 2003 article in
Tomsk yadernyy, a drug-intoxicated soldier serving in the military unit
guarding SKhK facilities
abandoned the unit with a
loaded gun, forced his way onto the territory of two SKhK auxiliary enterprises and
opened indiscriminate fire. Unable to restrain the soldier, police shot him dead. No other casualties were
reported.[1]
[Tomsk yadernyy, 22 January 2003; in "Sibirskiy khimicheskiy kombinat v zerkale 2002 goda," Nuclear.No Web Site,
http://www.nuclearno.ru/, 22 January 2003.] {Entered 3/10/2003 DA}
9/9/2002: MINATOM ABANDONS NUCLEAR
POWER PLANT OPTION TO REPLACE PU REACTORS According to Tomsk yadernyy, cited by Antiatom.ru on 9 September
2002, Minatom renounced its intention to build a nuclear heat and power plant
AST-500 in Seversk to replace SKhK's two plutonium production reactors. The AST-500 design, according to the article, is defective and potentially dangerous. To provide heat and power to Seversk and Tomsk after the shut-down of the reactors, Minatom is now planning
to reconstruct the Seversk fossil fuel heat and power plant, which is part of
the SKhK complex, and build a third
unit at the Tomsk fossil fuel heat and power plant. The reconstruction
design for the Seversk plant has been approved. The United States will provide
$124.9 million to cover part of the reconstruction costs. ["V Tomske
yadernyye reaktory zamenyat na TETs," Antiatom.ru Web Site,
http://www.antiatom.ru/, 9
September 2002.] {Entered 10/4/2002
DA}
8/5/2002: SKhK DIRECTOR SPEAKS
ABOUT COMBINE'S PROSPECTS On 5 August 2002, Vladimir Shidlovskiy,
Director of the Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK), announced that
Rosenergoatom may contribute 50% of the
cost of a feasibility
study for the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Seversk. The
funding, however, is contingent on a Minatom
decision to include the project into its top priority list. SKhK's director also announced a preliminary agreement with Tomsk
Oblast Governor Viktor Kress that Tomsk Oblast and the city of Seversk would participate in
financing the construction. The total cost of the nuclear power plant is
estimated at $1.5-1.7 billion. According to Shidlovskiy,
the new plant would employ up to 2,000 SKhK personnel presently engaged
in the implementation of the HEU-LEU agreement, which will be completed by
2013. He reported that almost all Combine revenue comes from uranium export
contracts, which account for only 45% of the Combine's
activities. By the end of July 2002, SKhK eliminated almost all of its federal tax
arrears; however, it still owed 136 million rubles ($4.31 million as of 5 August
2002) to the Seversk budget. [Andrey Belous,
"Proshchay, oruzhiye!", Tomskiy vestnik, No. 111, 6 August 2002; in Eastview
Russian/NIS universal databases,
http://www.eastview.com.] {Entered 8/20/2002
DA}
7/2002: DOE EXPERTS MONITOR MPC&A UPGRADES AT
SKhK Tomsk yadernyy
reported that in July 2002 a US
Department of Energy team visited SKhK to monitor ongoing MPC&A
improvements and discuss the scope of new upgrades. In 2002, physical protection
enhancement activities were carried out at the SKhK Conversion Plant
and Isotope Separation Plant.
["Sibirskiy khimicheskiy kombinat v zerkale 2002 goda," Tomsk
yadernyy, 22 January 2003; in NuclearNo.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclearno.ru/.] {Entered
3/11/2003 DA}
4/25/2002: NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
TO BE BUILT IN SEVERSK
Minister
of Atomic Energy Aleksandr Rumyantsev announced at a news conference in Tomsk
that a nuclear power plant would be built in Seversk within 10 years. The
nuclear power plant is intended to replace SKhK's two plutonium production
reactors, which have been supplying heat and power to Tomsk and Seversk. [Vadim
Manenkov, "Stroitelstvo AES v Sibiri nachnetsya s Tomskoy oblasti,
soobshchil rukovoditel Minatoma," ITAR-TASS, 25 April 2002; in Integrum Techno,
http://www.integrum.com/.]
{Entered 10/4/02 DA}
3/20-21/2002: ANTI-TERROR
EXERCISE HELD IN TOMSK AND SEVERSK
From 20 to 21 March 2002, the Siberian Regional Center for Civil Defense,
Emergencies and Disaster Control held a command-and-staff training exercise in Tomsk and Seversk to improve emergency response to possible accidents resulting
from terrorist acts against nuclear facilities. The
exercise scenario included a deliberate plane crash into
the SKhK Reactor Plant.
[Natalya Reshetnikova, "V Tomske i
Severske prokhodyat komandno-shtabnyye ucheniya po linii GO i ChS," RIA
Novosti, 20 March 2002; in Integrum Techno,
http://www.integrum.com/.]
{Entered 3/4/03 DA}
3/14/2002: SKhK DIRECTOR DISMISSED On 14 March 2002,
Minister of Atomic Energy Aleksandr Rumyantsev relieved Valeriy Larin of his
post as Director of the Siberian Chemical Combine. Larin's
dismissal followed a Minatom audit of the Combine's activities in early 2002.
The audit was
prompted by the worsening financial situation at SKhK.[1] In early 2002, Larin criticized
the way Minatom set macroeconomic targets for its enterprises. In his view, Minatom's distribution of export quotas was
opaque and discriminated against SKhK, while the combine's profits were redistributed in Moscow's favor,
harming the budgets of both SKhK and Seversk. Larin also protested against Minatom
plans to build a new nuclear power plant in central Russia
rather than in Siberia.[2,3]
According to an article in Nezavisimaya gazeta, Valeriy Larin,
allegedly a protege of former Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov, could also have fallen victim
to intra-ministerial
intrigues.[3] Commenting on Larin's dismissal, Vladimir Shidlovskiy, Head of Minatom's
Nuclear-Fuel Cycle Department, said that it was in line with the ministry's
personnel policy and Minatom's corporate interests.[4] Regions.ru reported that Larin
had been appointed Deputy Director of the
All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of
Chemical Technology (VNIIKhT)[5]. On 24 April 2002, Nuclear.ru reported
that Vladimir Shidlovskiy had been appointed as the new director of the
Siberian Chemical Combine.[6]
Sources: [1]
"Prikazom ministra RF po atomnoy energii Aleksandra Rumyantseva generalnyy
direktor FGUP 'Sibirskiy khimicheskiy kombinat' (SKhK) Valeriy Larin
osvobozhden ot zanimayemoy dolzhnosti v svyazi s perekhodom na druguyu rabotu,"
Nuclear.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclear.ru/, 15 March 2002.
[2] "Generalnyy direktor SKhK Valeriy
Larin zayavil o svoyem nedovolstve politikoy Minatoma v otnoshenii kombinata,
podvergnuv kritike ministerskiy printsip formirovaniya makroekonomicheskikh
pokazateley podvedomstvennykh predpiyatiy," Nuclear.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclear.ru/, 11 March 2002.
[3] Viktor Svinin, "Minatom umeyet
mstit," Nezavisimaya gazeta online edition,
http://www.ng.ru/, 26 March 2002. [4] "Rukovoditel Departamenta
yaderno-toplivnogo tsikla Minatoma Rossii Vladimir Shidlovskiy ubezhden, chto
otstavka V. Larina s posta generalnogo direktora SKhK yavlyayetsya 'chastyu
yedinoy kadrovoy politiki ministerstva," Nuclear.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclear.ru/, 19 March 2002. [5] Arkadiy
Kruglov, "Tomskaya oblast. Podrobnosti otstavki generalnogo direktora 'Sibirskogo
khimicheskogo kombinata'," Regions.ru Web Site,
http://www.regions.ru/, 18 March 2002.
[6] "Po mneniyu ministra RF po atomnoy energii Aleksandra Rumyantseva, novyy
rukovoditel SKhK Vladimir Shidlovskiy prinyal upravleniye kombinatom 'v samoye
trudnoye za vsyu istoriyu ego sushchestvovaniya vremya'," Nuclear.ru Web Site,
http://www.nuclear.ru/, 15 March 2002. {Entered 7/16/2002 DA}
1/17/2002: HEAD OF NUCLEAR EQUIPMENT PLANT MURDERED IN SEVERSK According to the Tomsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office, Anatoliy Maksimenko,
director general of the Prommekhanomontazh nuclear equipment plant located in
Seversk, was murdered on 17 January 2002. The investigation has not ruled out a
possible connection between the murder and Maksimenko's professional activity.
Founded in 1949, the plant designs, produces, and assembles specialized
equipment for the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy. Recently, it has also been
engaged in civil engineering contracts with foreign companies.
[RIA-Novosti, 18 January 2002; in "Russia: Head of nuclear
equipment plant murdered in closed town of Tomsk-7," FBIS Document
CEP20020118000007.] {Entered 2/12/2002 DA}
1/17/2002: OVER $10 MILLION SPENT BY US ON MPC&A
AT SKHK The US government has spent over $10 million on
safety and security of nuclear facilities at the Siberian Chemical Combine
(SKhK) in the past six years. This was announced at a regional seminar in
Seversk, Tomsk Oblast, held from 15 to 17 January. Minatom and US DOE experts,
representatives of the nuclear industry, local scientists, developers of
physical protection equipment, and the military participated in the seminar.
According to SKhK Deputy Director General Igor Goloskokov, the money was spent
on unique safety and security equipment, personnel training, and reinforcement
of the existing monitoring system. However, DOE representative Cheryl
Rodriguez, curator of the SKhK project, expressed the United States' concern over the
aging of the Combine's physical protection equipment and systems. According to
Rodriguez, deficiencies in the MPC&A system remain a serious problem in light
of the increased possibility of terrorist acts and theft of nuclear materials.
["Yadernaya bezopasnost Sibirskogo
khimicheskogo kombinata obespechivayetsya SShA," Strana.Ru, http://strana.ru/print/102946.html,
17 January 2002.] {Entered 2/12/2002 DA}
12/19/2001: FSB SAYS FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE CONTINUES TO SPY ON
SKhK At a meeting in Tomsk, the Tomsk Oblast FSB Directorate announced that it
had detected more than 10 foreign intelligence agents and about 70
suspected foreign "spies" in 2001.[1,2] The FSB suggests that Tomsk Oblast attracts the
attention of foreign intelligence because of the Siberian Chemical
Combine.[2] The majority of these "spies" entered Russia legally as members of official
foreign delegations. As a result of the Tomsk FSB counter-intelligence
activity, 11 foreigners were expelled from Russia, three of whom were
banned from entering the country in the future. The FSB also prevented several attempts
by local scientists to pass sensitive high-tech data to foreign intelligence
services.[1,2]
Sources: [1] "K voprosu o deyatelnosti inostrannykh spetssluzhb v Tomskoy oblasti v 2001 godu,"
Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release, http://www.ln.mid.ru/website/bl.nsf, 21 December
2001. [2] Yevgeniy Shalnev, "Inostrannyye spetssluzhby
proyavlyayut povyshennyy interes k Tomskoy oblasti," ITAR-TASS, 19 December
2001. {Entered 2/7/2002 DA}
10/25/2001: SIBERIAN CHEMICAL COMBINE RECEIVES
PERMIT FOR UNDERGROUND NUCLEAR WASTE BURIAL The Siberian Chemical Combine has received permission from the Russian
government to bury liquid radioactive waste on the grounds of the plant in
Seversk, Tomsk Oblast. The waste will be buried in two designated sites
deep within the earth. The decision was approved by the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Tomsk Oblast administration.
["FGUP 'Sibirskiy khimkombinat'
predostavleno pravo na zakhoroneniye zhidkikh otkhodov na dvukh ploshchadkakh
poligona predpriyatiya," RIA RosBizneskonsalting, 25 October, 2001; in Minatom
News Digest; http://www.minatom.ru, 26 October 2001.]
{Entered 2/25/02 TH}
10/8/2001: SECURITY AT SEVERSK EYED IN LIGHT OF TERRORIST THREAT Moskovskiy Komsomolets reported on 8 October 2001that the security system at
Seversk is ineffective. According to
Moskovskiy Komsomolets, visitors who do not have a special pass to enter the
city can find holes in the fence or bribe the
guards at the checkpoint with cigarettes. Radiation sensors installed at the
checkpoints and at the entrance to SKhK triggered false alarms on every third
resident because objects in cars, fish from the local river, and even people
were contaminated with radiation. The plastic identification cards that were given to residents
are useless because card-reading devices have not been provided.
Moskovskiy Komsomolets reported that according to Deputy General Director of SKhK Igor
Vladimirovich Goloskokov, the security system in Seversk is adequate despite
these problems.
He states that there have been no officially recorded cases of
theft of "special products" at SKhK. The newspaper also cited Goloskokov's description of security
throughout the Russian
nuclear complex. Secret nuclear installations are protected from air attack
by antiaircraft batteries. Ground physical protection systems at these
facilities, designed and partially funded by the US, are built in Russia, and
with adequate state funding, can be upgraded within four to five years even
without US financial participation, Goloskokov said. The nuclear facilities also hold annual
anti-terrorist exercises, Moskovskiy
Komsomolets reports. The exercises simulate infiltration of the
facilities by terrorists with insider help, and taking of hostages.
[Nadezhda Arabkina, "Nuclear Hole. Our 'Mailboxes' Are
Being Protected Based on American Technologies," Moskovskiy
Komsomolets, 8 October 2001; in "Security at Russian Nuclear
Installations Eyed in Light of Terrorist Threat," FBIS Document
CEP20011009000070] {Entered 11/28/01 EC}
9/21/2001: SKhK TO CEASE
WEAPONS-GRADE PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION
According to ITAR-TASS, Minatom has decided to stop the production of weapons-grade
plutonium in the nuclear reactors of the Siberian Chemical Combine before
their scheduled shutdown in 2005. Over the next two years the
cores of the reactors will be converted to generate
only power and heat, making their use for military purposes impossible. [Vadim
Manenkov, "Atomnyye reaktory v Tomskoy oblasti prekratyat proizvodstvo
oruzheynogo plutoniya," ITAR-TASS, 21 September 2001; in Integrum Techno,
http://www.integrum.com/.]
{Entered 10/4/02 DA}
7/23/2001: SKhK KEEPS LICENSE FOR WASTE BURIAL BUT ORDERED TO COMPENSATE FOR 1993
ACCIDENT On 23 July 2001,
the Tomsk Oblast court handed down its decision in a suit brought by
residents of the village Georgiyevka against the Siberian Chemical Combine (SKhK).
The court refused to revoke the combine's
license for underground burial of radioactive waste, but did, however, order
SKhK to pay each village resident 25,000 rubles ($854 as of 23 July 2001) in damages
for a 1993 accident in which an underground
tank, said to contain depleted uranium in solution, exploded. (For further details
of the accident, see the 4/6/93 entry).
[Vladimir Kryukov, "Derevnya protiv
kombinata," Tomskiy vestnik, 24 July 2001; in Integrum Techno, http://www.integrum.ru.] {Entered 8/29/2001 RA} {Revised 9/18/2001 lgm}
4/10/2001: SKhK SAFETY AND SECURITY ISSUES DISCUSSED AT
MONTHLY PRESS BRIEFING The Siberian Chemical Combine's (SKhK) monthly press
briefing, held on 10 April 2001, was largely devoted to safety and security issues
for the Russian atomic energy industry as a whole and for SKhK in
particular.[1] Discussion of this topic was occasioned by the approaching
15th anniversary of the disaster at Chernobyl and by the fact that
the Russian Federation has passed a law on the use of atomic energy that holds
energy producers accountable for the safe operation of their equipment.[1,2]
Aleksandr Tsyganov, SKhK's chief engineer, emphasized that SKhK now fosters a
"safety culture" that puts reactor safety as the top priority over
economic considerations. Among the reactor safety improvements Tsyganov mentioned: a reduction in the time needed to slam down the reactor's control rods
from 6 to 2.5 seconds; installation of a passive defense system independent of
humans or electronic circuitry; and installation of a cooling system that
cools the reactor's core down slowly over a 30-day period, thus preventing a
meltdown during emergency shutdown. SKhK Deputy Director Igor
Goloskokov noted that the reactor plant's
physical security has been improved from a vulnerability factor of 0.48 to
0.71
(1.0 being ideal), but that work on security continues.[1] Physical protection
for the reactor plant includes equipment and organizational measures to detect
any attempt to
penetrate perimeter fences and gain access to individual buildings or illegal attempts to bring in prohibited items (weapons, nuclear and explosive
materials); a reliable alarm system, including video monitoring of the
perimeter and grounds, to alert guards and facility personnel to any attack;
a personnel access control system; increased
technical protection of facilities against penetration by an attacker,
allowing the guards enough
time to mobilize; and effective communications between personnel
and guard units.[2] Journalists were also told about the 4 April 2001 meeting of
SKhK General Director Valeriy Larin and Tomsk Oblast Governor Viktor Kress
with the new
Minister of Atomic Energy, Aleksandr Rumyantsev. Larin expressed his hope of
continued productive cooperation with Minatom.[1]
Sources: [1] Viktor Svinin, "Nadezhnost reaktorov
obespecheniya usiliyami specialistami SKhK," Tomskiye vesti, 11 April
2001; in Integrum Techno, http://www.integrum.ru. [2] "Bezopasnost atomnogo predpriyatiya,"
SKhK Press release, http://shk.tsk.ru/press.shtml?10042001,
10 April 2001. {Entered 8/23/2001 RA}{revised 9/26/2001 lgm}
2/2001: EVALUATION OF THE YEAR 2000; PLANS FOR YEAR 2001 According an official press release of the Siberian Chemical Combine
(SKhK), in the year 2000 the Combine succeeded in meeting all production targets, including state defense orders
for dismantlement
and disposition of weapons. All federal allocations for this work
were fully disbursed. Export of uranium products comprised 42.1% of all outputs,
the US-Russian HEU Deal
accounted for 26.4%, and the production for TVEL comprised
17.2%. In 2001, SKhK intends to expand the scope of
work by attracting more contracts and orders for the Conversion
Plant, the Radiochemical
Plant, and the Enrichment (or Isotope Separation) Plant. New
contracts for nuclear fuel production have been
initiated while TVEL has been expanding its current projects with SKhK.
["Itogi 2000 goda. Plany i perspektivy
2001 goda," SKhK Press release, http://shk.tsk.ru/press.shtml?itogi2001,
February 2001.] {Entered 7/12/2001 RA}
10/2000: AGREEMENT-IN-PRINCIPLE REACHED ON CONVERSION
OF SEVERSK REACTOR In October 2000, representatives of the United
States
Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program and the
Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom) signed an
agreement-in-principle in which the United States would support the refurbishment of an
existing coal-fired plant to replace the heat and electricity generated for
the city of Seversk by the two plutonium production reactors at the Siberian Chemical Combine
(SKhK).
The agreement was the result of recommendations by a US-Russian working group
focused on finding ways to replace the generating capacity of plutonium production reactors at SKhK and the Zheleznogorsk Mining
and Chemical Combine (GKhK). In order for the agreement to be
legally binding, it must be reviewed and approved by the US Congress and must be inserted as an amendment to the original
Plutonium Production Reactor Agreement and the Core Conversion
Implementing Agreement. One impediment in reaching a formal agreement
exists in the language of the FY 2001 Defense Authorization Act that does not
allow funds to be used for construction of fossil-fuel plants as an
alternative to the plutonium reactors. However, Colonel Jim Reid, Program
Policy Director of the CTR
office, explained in the Post-Soviet Nuclear & Defense
Monitor that remaining FY 1999 and 2000 funds could be used and that the
plant would be "refurbished," not "constructed," thereby
following the provisions of the FY 2001 law. For more information on the
Zheleznogorsk plutonium production reactor, see the 10/2000
entry in Russia: GKhK
and Zheleznogorsk (Krasnoyarsk-26) General Developments.
["U.S., Russia Agree To Coal-Fired Plant
Option For Seversk Pu Reactor," Post-Soviet Nuclear &
Defense Monitor, 13 November 2000, p. 14-15.] {Entered 2/9/2001 GD}
9/21/2000: "SEVERSK 2000" EXERCISES COMMENCE
TO TEST SECURITY AT SIBERIAN CHEMICAL COMBINE On 21 September 2000 several
days of security training exercises began in Seversk.[1] The exercises, called "Seversk 2000," are meant
to test the security systems at the Siberian Chemical Combine and emergency
response among the Russian military, security and emergency
units, regional and local governments, and management at the
Combine.[2] Specifically, the training focused on anti-terrorist
measures, which included exercises dealing with hostage situations and
responses to a terrorist takeover of one of the Combine's buildings.
Sources: [1] "Spetssluzhby uchatsya okhranyat
atomshchikov," ITAR-TASS, 22 September 2000. [2] Viktor Svinin, "Tomsk Oblast is
ready to work in emergency conditions," Nezavisimayagazeta, 17 October
2000; in "Summary of 'Seversk-2000' Nuclear Counter-Terror
Exercises," FBIS Document CEP20001207000454. {Entered 4/3/01 GD}
6/2000: OFFICIALS VISIT SIBERIAN CHEMICAL COMBINE TO
REVIEW PHYSICAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS Officials from Russia's Ministry
of Atomic Energy, representatives from facilities in Zheleznogorsk
and Snezhinsk, and
employees of the company Eleron
took part in the inspection of security
systems at the Siberian Chemical Combine in early June 2000. The
security systems were upgraded during the last two years with funds from the United States and from the
Combine itself. The commission noted that considerable progress had been
made at the plant that houses two plutonium production reactors, where a new computer-based security system and its related
equipment (including cameras, alarms, and security barriers) were
installed. Future plans include installing similar equipment at five
other plants within the Combine.
["Minatom Commission Checks Physical
Security System of Siberian Chemical Combine Main Installations,"
Regions.ru Web Site, http://www.regions.ru/,
9 June 2000; in "Minatom Commission Checks Security at Siberian Chemical
Combine, FBIS Document CEP20001207000472.] {Entered 4/3/01 GD}
2/13/2000: RUSSIA PROPOSES ABANDONING PRODUCTION
REACTOR CONVERSION Officials of the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy
informed a visiting US delegation in early February 2000 that the Russian
government wants to abandon the US-Russian project to convert the plutonium
production reactors at the Mining and Chemical
Combine in Zheleznogorsk (Krasnoyarsk-26) and the Siberian
Chemical Combine in Seversk (Tomsk-7). Russia proposes instead
to shut down the reactors and build conventional power plants to provide
the electric power now generated by the production reactors, including
hydroelectric facilities near Zheleznogorsk, at an estimated cost of $230
million, most of which would be paid by the United States. US nuclear experts,
including Princeton physicist Frank von Hippel, have criticized the original
reactor conversion plan on nonproliferation grounds, fearing that converting
the reactors to run on HEU rather than natural uranium would stimulate
commerce within Russia in HEU fuel elements which would be vulnerable to
theft or diversion during production and transport. Russian nuclear officials
have also criticized conversion of the production reactors on safety grounds.
Gosatomnadzor Deputy Director
Aleksandr Dmitriyev has warned that the conversion process could further
destabilize the production reactors. The production reactors are technical
precursors to the power reactors at Chornobyl
and share many of their design defects. Additionally, radiation has caused
cracking in the reactor cores, which must now be held together with straps.
US officials were skeptical of the new Russian cost estimates for the replacement
power plants, which were significantly lower than previous estimates.
A senior Defense Department official noted that Congress has authorized
only $115 million for the conversion project, of which $22 million has
been spent. Officials also related that the projected date for a halt to
plutonium production in Russia has been postponed to 2004 at the earliest,
whether or not the new Russian proposal is adopted.
[Michael Dobbs, "Russian Reactor Project
Troubled," Washington Post, 13 February 2000, p. A1.]{entered 2/14/00
FW}
1/15/2000: TOMSK OBLAST THERMAL NUCLEAR PLANT
FEASIBILITY STUDY COMPLETED On 15 Jarnuary 2000 Radio Rossii reported that a
thermal nuclear plant was being planned in the city of Seversk, Tomsk Oblast.
A feasibility study has been completed, and a Minatom decision regarding
construction is expected in the second quarter of 2000. For more
information, see the 11/98 entry, below.
[Radio Rossii, 15 January 2000; in
"Nuclear Heating Plant Planned for Tomsk Region," FBIS Document FTS20000115000263.]{Entered
4/28/2000 CC}
12/3/99: SECURITY SERVICE CHIEF INTERVIEWED ON
SECURITY PRACTICES, ANTI-TERRORISM MEASURES On 3 December 1999, the Seversk newspaper Dialog
published an interview with SKhK Deputy General
Director and Security Service Chief Igor Goloskokov, who reviewed security
programs and anti-terrorist measures currently in place in Seversk (Tomsk-7).
According to Goloskokov, the Physical Protection Department (referred to
as the Second Department) monitors the facility's security system on a daily basis,
including security procedures and evaluations for the guards. He noted
that in its November 1999 inspection of SKhK, Gosatomnadzor
on the whole had favorably assessed the combine's physical protection system,
which had been upgraded in the last three years. Funding for security improvements
came from the Russian government and from the US Department of Energy's
MPC&A program. Television
surveillance systems have been introduced, including cameras that monitor
main production buildings, nuclear material storage facilities, and the
most important sectors of the perimeter and checkpoint. Goloskokov also
reported that one of the plants had installed portal monitors capable of
detecting non-operating electronic devices. SKhK security chief also
reviewed the overall security regime for Seversk. He noted that the city still lacks
a computerized entrance and exit system and favored reinstitution of a controlled
exit. In September 1999, radiation
detection monitors were installed at a checkpoint into and out of Seversk and successfully
tested, but radiation-contaminated fish and isotopes in a local resident's body
triggered the highly sensitive monitors and caused a traffic congestion. City
officials acknowledged that additional personnel and more precise equipment
would be needed before these monitors could become permanently operational. Additional
challenges to Seversk's security regime come from the indistinct delineation of
the SKhK industrial zone; moreover, security
procedures and physical protection systems vary within the different facilities
of the combine complex. Seversk officials concluded that it was more advantageous
to maintain the existing security perimeter for the next 20 years rather then to
lift the regime for the non-facility part of the city. Goloskokov
reported that Minatom and MVD officials
had approved recent changes in the existing security structure that reduced
troop presence at certain posts and increased the number of troops guarding
SKhK's main sections. In recent years, SKhK has built up its departmental
security force, thus reducing personnel cuts that took place in the late
1980s. He further noted that funding for MVD troops guarding Russia's closed
cities had been halved and as a result, the Combine had given the military
roughly six million rubles ($227,000 as of 3 December 1999) in food rations,
repairs, and apartment loans.
[V. Maklakov, "I.V. Goloskokov: 'This
is Our Day-to-Day Work,'" Dialog, No. 48,
3 December 1999, p. 12; in "Siberian Chemical Combine Security Service
Chief Goloskokov Interviewed," FBIS Document CEP20000509000109. {Entered
8/2/00 SS} 8/5/99: SKhK TACKLES UNEMPLOYMENT Facing chronic financial shortfalls, SKhK has repeatedly
averted layoffs over the last 10 years through diversification and intervention
by the city government and the city employment service. In 1994, defense
orders fell by over 80 percent, eliminating 5,000 jobs; layoffs would have
more than tripled the unemployment rate in Seversk at the time. In 1995,
1,000 highly-skilled employees were laid off because SKhK lacked the necessary
funds to purchase material inputs, leading to a sharp decline in production.
Employment at Khimstroy, the Seversk joint stock company responsible for
construction at SKhK, has contracted 60 percent since 1991. As of August
1999, the unemployment level in the Seversk ZATO
was 5.2 percent. For those who retain employment, salary payments have
been delayed as much as eight months, and average only 1300 rubles for
that time period (approximately $54 as of 5 August 1999). Over the last
several years, loans from the city employment service and Seversk city
administration fiscal policy have averted unemployment, and helped to create
new jobs. Hoping to improve the situation, SKhK is undertaking an ambitious
program of diversification. "Siberian Energy Uranium," a project
to develop SKhK's power reactor-fuel reprocessing, natural uranium processing,
and HEU production capabilities has already created nearly 80 jobs, and
another 450 are anticipated by 2007. Planned start-up of a boron-10 isotope
separation plant in 2000 is expected to create 125 jobs. Employment for
the construction of a proposed nuclear heat plant is expected to grow from
25 jobs in 2000 to 250 by 2006.
["It Is Only Possible To Battle Against
Unemployment by Working Together," Atompressa, No. 22, 5 August
1999, p. 7; in "ZATO Seversk Tackles Unemployment," FBIS Document FTS19990811001736.]
{Entered 3/15/00 LWB}
6/28/99: SYSTEM FAILURE CAUSED RADIATION RELEASE
AT SKhK On 28 June 1999 the Russian Minister of Atomic Energy
Yevgeniy Adamov told journalists in Obninsk that the radioactive
release at SKhK on 14 June 1999 was caused not by personnel error but by
failure of the safety system.
["Radioactive Leak in Tomsk Region Blamed on System Failure,"
Interfax, No. 2, 28 June 1999.] {Entered 7/6/99 VT} 6/14/99: RADIATION RELEASED IN SKhK ADE-4 REACTOR INCIDENT--INES 2 The SKhK press service reported that a radiation
release occurred on 14 June 1999 in the reactor
plant, when the ADE-4 and ADE-5 reactors were being shut down for routine
maintenance and refueling.[1,2] The accident was rated a 2 on the international
7-level INES scale.[1] The radiation was reportedly limited to the ADE-4
reactor building with only two employees exposed to higher-than-normal
radiation doses; no radiation escaped into the environment.[1,2]
The incident was caused by personnel error.[1] During a refueling operation,
instead of opening an empty channel, the workers opened the lid of a channel
containing radioactive fuel.[2,3] Fifteen 10cm long fuel elements fell
on the floor. All personnel were immediately evacuated. SKhK personnel
began working around the clock to collect the fuel elements using a remotely
operated device, but by the evening of 16 June, had "localized" only four
elements.[3] However, NTV reported that by 16 June 1999, the aftermath
of the accident had been eliminated.[4] One of the exposed workers received
a dose of 150-160 mSv and the other was exposed to 70-80 mSv (the maximum
permitted annual dose is 50 mSv). They were transported to the hospital,
but were later released. The Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom)
sent a commission, which included representatives of the Russian
Federal Inspectorate for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (Gosatomnadzor or
GAN), to investigate the accident on site. According to GAN spokesman
Nikolay Filonov, the ADE-4 and ADE-5 reactors are operating without a license
from GAN. He said GAN is concerned with the condition of these two reactors.
The Minatom commission, according to Filonov, may shut these reactors down.
If Minatom fails to shut down the reactors, GAN will take action to force
SKhK to do so.[2]
Sources: [1] "Radioaktivnyy Vybros Proizoshel
na Sibirskom Khimkombinate v Tomskoy Oblasti," Interfax, No. 4, 15 June
1999. [2] Igor Kudrik, "Shut-down Looms for
Tomsk Reactors," Bellona web site,
http://www.bellona.no/e/russia/990616-2.htm, 16 June 1999. [3] Vladimir Averbukh, Vladimir Demchenko,
"Troyka, vosmerka...vybros!" Izvestiya online edition, http://www.win.online.ru/rpproducts/ izvestia-izvestia-year/17-jun-99/4.rhtml,
17 June 1999. [4] NTV, 16 June 1999; in "Two Hurt
in Siberian Nuclear Leak," FBIS Document FTS19990616001448. {Entered 6/17/99
VT}
4/9/99: CONVERSION PROJECTS REPLACE DEFENSE ORDERS
AT SKhK State defense orders have decreased in recent years,
accounting for only 2.7 percent of SKhK's output in 1998, according to
a 9 April 1999 report by the SKhK press service. Despite this loss, and
the impact of the August 1998 financial crisis, a comprehensive conversion
program, including a shift to reactor fuel production, raised 1998 output
above 1991 levels. Although in place for less than two months, a November
1998 agreement between Minatom and Tomsk Oblast to collaborate on federal
programs may have also contributed to the improvement. New equipment was
assembled at the plant for the HEU-LEU
conversion program and to attract foreign clients. SKhK is also participating
in international projects to develop a new generation of plutonium reactors.
The plant is working with US National Laboratories to improve nuclear materials
protection, control, and accounting. Conversion projects created nearly
200 new jobs last year, and SKhK was able to fully pay wages and taxes.
In the next three to four years, SKhK hopes to begin producing pure boron-10
for reactor use, and uranium oxide ceramics for the Novosibirsk Chemical
Concentrate Plant (NZKhK). Plans
also include developing uranium enrichment capability and producing power
reactors to be installed in the region.
[Gennadiy Khandorin, "Konversiya na
vyrost," Vek, No. 14 (329), 9 April 1999, p. 12.] {Entered 11/2/99
LWB}
11/98: THERMAL NUCLEAR PLANT TO
BE BUILT NEAR TOMSK After Tomsk Oblast authorities failed
to secure funds for the construction of a new fossil-fuel heat and power
plant, Minatom offered Tomsk Governor Viktor Kress 38 million rubles (over
$2 million as of 15 November 1998) to begin building a nuclear thermal
plant, as well as providing heat for lower income households.
[Obschaya Gazeta, 25 November
1998; in "Tomsk Menyayet Opasnyy Atom na Mirnyy," Natsionalnaya Sluzhba
Novostey, http://nel.nns.ru/,
No. 47, 26 November 1998.] {Entered 7/14/99 VT}
3/98: US EXPERTS VISIT SHUT-DOWN SIBERIAN CHEMICAL COMBINE REACTORS As part of the Gore-Chernomyrdin "Agreement
Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government
of the Russian Federation Concerning Cooperation Regarding Plutonium Producing
Reactors," a team of experts from the US Department of Energy, Los
Alamos National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted
an inspection at SKhK in late March 1998. The experts examined the
three shut-down reactors, which are scheduled for dismantlement, and worked
with their Russian counterparts on recommendations for future cooperation.
["Amerikantsy inspektiruyut nash reaktor," Krasnoye
znamya, 31 March 1998, p. 1; in WPS: Yardernyye materialy, no.
2, 17 April 1998, p. 6.] {Entered 9/29/98 CM}
7/8/97: EXTENSION OF SKhK REACTOR OPERATIONS EXPECTED Tomskiy vestnik reports that Gosatomnadzor
is expected to grant permission to extend the operation of the Siberian
Chemical Combine's existing reactors until 2005-2008. This will be
done on the condition that the reactor cores are converted.
[ V. Konyashkin, "Ne nado stroit pamyatniki
nashey speshki i bezkhozyaystvennosti," Tomskiy vestnik, July 8,
1997, p. 5.] {Entered 12/31/97 EV}
6/9/97: SIBERIAN CHEMICAL COMBINE EXPLORES RARE EARTH METALS The Siberian Chemical Combine (Tomsk-7) is actively seeking business outside
the field of nuclear material production because defense orders have decreased
to 4 percent of capacity in 1997. A local researcher, Yevgeniy Maly, stated
that the plant could refine metals found in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin. Maly
also stated that the plant could manufacture high-energy magnets. However,
$5 million is needed to produce rare earth metals, which would have the
added benefit of lessening Russia's dependence on the other NIS states.
["Interfax Siberian Business Report," Interfax, No.
23, 6/9/97; in "Interfax 'Siberian' Business Report", FBIS-SOV-97-116.]
5/21/97: SIBERIAN CHEMICAL COMBINE DEVELOPING
WEAPONS GRADE PLUTONIUM DISPOSITION PROGRAM The future prospects of the Siberian Chemical Combine
(SKhK) were discussed at a Russian-US seminar, held from 21-23 May 1997,
on the disposition of Russian and US surplus weapons grade plutonium and
the cessation of plutonium production in Russia. Tomskiy vestnik
reported that SKhK is developing a program to use weapons grade plutonium
that is stored at the combine. The program provides for the construction
of a MOX fuel production facility, new high temperature graphite reactors
(VTGR-600), and an installation for reprocessing spent fuel from these
reactors. Two options are being considered: 1) to build 12 reactors
and burn 50 tons of plutonium in 20 years; or 2) build four reactors and
burn plutonium for 60 years.
[V. Konyashkin, "Ne nado stroit pamyatniki
nashey speshki i bezkhozyaystvennosti," Tomkskiy vestnik, July 8,
1997, p. 5. {Entered 12/31/97 EV}
3/97: FUEL LEAK SHUTS DOWN REACTOR AT SIBERIAN CHEMICAL COMBINE Reactor 2 at the Siberian Chemical Combine was shut down for one day because
of a faulty fuel rod. The heating systems in Seversk and Tomsk were switched
to back-up sources while the reactor was down. The incident was not considered
to be an emergency, and the reactor was back in operation the next day.
The incident may have improved the plant's public relations because plant
authorities elicited a positive response from the media by promptly inviting
them to the plant.
["Seversk loses nuclear heat but gains 'light'," Nuclear
Engineering International, March 1997, p. 6.]{Entered 7/28/97 LK}
1/18/97: ACCIDENTAL SHUTDOWN OF TOMSK-7 REACTOR A reactor at the Tomsk-7 facility was accidentally shut down the night
of 18 January. Facility workers blame the shutdown on substandard fuel
rods, which they say are the result of changes Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate
Plant has instituted in the manufacturing process. According to the workers,
there are about four or five shutdowns per year due to defective fuel rods.
NCC manufacturing director Mikhail Yadryshnikov denies that any changes
have taken place in the manufacturing process, and stated that only 0.002
percent of production fails to meet quality standards.
[Boris Sinyavskiy, "Uran na sey raz okazalsya 'dobrodushnym',"
IZVESTIYA, 1/21/97, p. 2.] {Entered 2/18/97 LBN}
1/17/97: OPPOSITION TO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONSTRUCTION IN SEVERSK Local residents and environmentalists oppose the Russian Nuclear Energy
Ministry's decision to build a nuclear power plant in Seversk, favoring
instead the construction of a natural gas fired thermal power plant, which
was commissioned in 1996. Those opposing the nuclear plant, including representatives
from ten local organizations, are asking the State Duma to take into consideration
local interests when allocating funds for the 1997 federal budget. The
Environmental Initiative movement has opposed the Russian Nuclear Energy
Ministry's nuclear power plant at both the regional and governmental levels.
The group believes that the thermal power plant could compensate for the
absence of the Siberian chemical integrated works' reactors, which are
to be decommissioned by the year 2000.
[Svetlana Suchkova, "Tomsk Public Opposes NPP Construction
Project," Ria
Novosti Online Edition, 17 January 1997.]{Entered 8/5/97 LK} 11/21/96: NEW FLUORINATION INSTALLATION ALMOST
READY The Siberian Chemical Combine's sublimation plant
has finished assembling and begun the initial adjustments on a new HEU
fluorination installation. This installation turns HEU metal from dismantled
nuclear warheads into UF6 (uranium hexafluoride). The
operating capacity for the installation is 7 metric tons per year.
[Valeriy Privalikhin, "Perekuyem mechi
na orala," Rossiyskaya gazeta, 21 November, No. 223, p.#2.]{Entered
11/5/97 EV}
11/30/95: RUSSIA WILL RELEASE INFORMATION ON REACTOR DESIGN SAFETY REVIEW Post-Soviet Nuclear and Defense Monitor reported that Russia will
hand over information on a reactor design safety review, avoiding a potential
US threat to cut funding for a joint feasibility study on converting the
Krasnoyarsk-26 and Tomsk-7 reactors. Russia will also allow a US inspection
team access to the Krasnoyarsk control room. A US team may go to Krasnoyarsk-26
in 12/95.
["Russia Releases Requested Data; Core Conversion Study On
Track," POST-SOVIET NUCLEAR & DEFENSE MONITOR, 11/17/95, p. 3.]
11/27/95: MIKHAILOV SAYS RUSSIA WILL HALT PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION BY YEAR
2000 Minister of Atomic Energy Viktor Mikhailov again pledged that Russia will
halt production of weapons-grade plutonium by the year 2000, and that the
three plutonium-producing reactors at Krasnoyarsk-26 and Tomsk-7 will be
converted to peaceful use. In order to convert the reactors from plutonium
production, the cores of Tomsk-7 reactors will first be modernized to provide
heating as a 500 MW power plant, to be replaced later by a VVER-640 power
reactor. Minatom may also construct a high-temperature helium-cooled reactor
at Tomsk-7 to burn weapons-grade plutonium. A 350 MW BWR will be constructed
at Krasnoyarsk-26 by the year 2000. US officials have been denied access
to the reactors, and according to Western sources, the reactors are unsafe.[1,
2]
Sources: [1] ITAR-TASS, 11/27/95; in "Production Of Weapon-Grade Plutonium
To Cease By 2000," FBIS-SOV-95-228. [2] Doug Clarke, "Russia Again Pledges To Halt Plutonium
Production," OMRI DAILY DIGEST, 11/29/95, p. 3.
10/31/95: US FUNDED STUDY FACES OBSTACLES A US-funded feasibility study of four proposed Russian reactor designs
to replace the plutonium production reactors at Krasnoyarsk and Tomsk may
be in trouble unless Russia releases information and allows the US Department
of Energy (DOE) access to the control room at Krasnoyarsk. The information
includes a safety review of one of the proposed Russian designs, according
to DOE. Under the study, called the nuclear options replacement power (NORP)
study, the four proposed designs are the AST-500 and NP-500 for Tomsk,
and the ATEC-200 and VK-300 for Krasnoyarsk. The US representatives include
scientists from the DOE, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Argonne National
Laboratory, and Bechtel Power Corporation. The Russian participants include
scientists from the Experimental Design Bureau of Machine Building (OKBM),
OKB Gidropress, Research & Development Institute of Energy Technologies
(NIKIET), All-Russian Institute of Atomic Reactors (NIIAR), All-Russian
Research and Development Association (VNIPIET), and the Research and Development
and Architect and Engineering Institute (Atomenergoproyekt).
["US-Russia Study On Nuke Option To Replace Pu Plants Headed
For Impasse?" POST-SOVIET NUCLEAR & DEFENSE MONITOR, 10/31/95, p. 3-4.]
9/95: US INSPECTS PLUTONIUM REACTOR AT TOMSK-7 US inspectors conducted a full inspection of the plutonium reactor at Tomsk-7,
after two years of requesting access.
["US Seeks Greater Access To Russian Nuclear Plants," WASHINGTON
POST, 11/27/95, p. A16.]
7/26/95: US TO FUND RESEARCH ON CONVERSION OF PLUTONIUM REACTOR AT TOMSK-7 The US Trade and Development Agency will allocate $210,000 to the US company
Gilbert/Commonwealth, Inc. based in Redding, Pennsylvania, to conduct a
conversion research program related to the decommissioning of the plutonium
reactor at Tomsk-7.
[Vladimir Nadein, "Krugovorot amerikanskikh grantov v
rossiyskoy ekonomike," IZVESTIYA, 7/26/95, p. 2]
6/30/95: O'LEARY, MIKHAILOV SIGN STATEMENT OF INTENT US Energy Secretary O'Leary and Russian Minatom Minister Mikhailov signed
a "statement of intent" to conduct a study on substituting electric and
thermal power for the three plutonium-production reactors at Krasnoyarsk-26
and Tomsk-7. The statement was signed during the fifth meeting of the Gore-Chernomyrdin
Commission. Russia would like to replace the current reactors with plutonium-burning
reactors. However, due to concerns of cost and proliferation, the United
States does not support this position.
[Evan S. Medeiros, "Gore-Chernomyrdin Talks Resolve Several
Outstanding Issues," ARMS CONTROL TODAY, 9/95, p. 32.]
4/95: MINATOM AND GENERAL ATOMICS SIGN FINAL AGREEMENT General Atomics and Minatom signed a final agreement concerning the joint
design, development, and production of a gas turbine-modular helium reactor
(GT MHR) that will replace the weapons-grade plutonium-producing reactors
at Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk. Although the Russian government has not yet given
its support for the project, General Atomics and Minatom will each provide
an initial $1 million for the project. The leading facility in Russia to
work on the project will be the Experimental Machine Building Design Bureau
(OKMB) at Nizhniy Novgorod.
["Final agreements have been signed...," NUCLEAR NEWS, 4/95,
p. 50.]
2/95: GOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED It was reported that a governmental committee was established by presidential
decree to decide on the safety of the nuclear disarmament process at the
Siberian Chemical Combine at Tomsk-7. The committee is chaired by Prime
Minister Chernomyrdin.
[Valeri Menshikov, "Plutonium And Enriched Uranium Storage
At Tomsk-7," Yadernyy kontrol, 2/95, p. 3.]
2/95: INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE FORMED A letter from the administration of the Tomsk region has prompted the Russian
Security Council Secretary to set up a special committee. The committee
will look into a dangerous situation at Tomsk-7 involving radioactive wastes.
Until recently, liquid radioactive waste was discharged through a system
of open precipitation tanks leading to the Tom river. As a result, while
there have been no accidents, the area has become seriously polluted. In
addition there are two underground storage facilities (sites 18 and 18a)
for liquid radioactive wastes, which are located at the radio-chemical
plant. At site 18, waste is pumped into H-shaped water-carrying horizons
350-400 and 280-340 meters deep, that are filled with aged clay. The site
has been in use since 1967. There are about one billion curie of radioactive
waste at Tomsk-7. Thirty-eight million cubic meters have been pumped underground.
This depth of waste storage has been criticized by foreign specialists
who claim that such a depth cannot ensure safe storage of liquid radioactive
wastes. According to Valeriy Menshikov, the member of the newly established
committee, "the situation at the Siberian Chemical Combine is very serious
and demands further research and attention." The committee also has put
forward some suggestions concerning underground dumping.
[Valeriy Menshchikov, "Vokrug situatsii
s khraneniem plutoniya i obogashchennogo urana v Tomske-7," Yadernyy
Kontrol, February 1995, pp. 2-5.]
6/23/94: KRASNOYARSK AND TOMSK PLUTONIUM PRODUCING REACTORS TO BE SHUT
DOWN UNDER RUSSIAN-US AGREEMENT US Vice President Al Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
signed an agreement that provides for the plutonium production reactors
at Krasnoyarsk and Tomsk to be shut down and converted into fossil fuel
units for producing heat and electricity. Russian plutonium production
for use in weapons will end around the year 2000 [1, 2]. The US has promised
to assist with finding alternative energy sources [3].
Sources: [1] Wilson Dizard III, "Russia To Halt Pu Production Around
2000 Under New Accord," NUCLEAR FUEL, 7/4/94, p. 15. [2] Dunbar Lockwood, "US, Russia Agree To Phase-Out Of Nuclear
Weapons Reactors," ARMS CONTROL TODAY, 7/94, p. 24. [3] Frank von Hippel, "Fissile-Material Security In The Post-Cold
War World," draft of article for PHYSICS TODAY, 3/16/95, p. 6.
6/9/93: TOMSK-7 TO BE REPAIRED BY AUGUST 1993 Marina Selyunina, president of the Tomsk Ecological Initiative said that
repair of the Tomsk-7 facility should be completed by 8/93.
[Kathleen Hart, "Russian Activists Seek To Halt Plutonium
Production At Tomsk-7," NUCLEAR FUEL, 6/17/93, pp. 10-11.]
4/6/93: NUCLEAR ACCIDENT AT TOMSK FACILITY RATED 3 ON INES SCALE An underground tank, located in Unit 15 of the radio-chemical facility
at Tomsk-7, and said to contain depleted uranium in solution, exploded.[1]
Operator error seems to have led to a sudden rise in pressure inside the
fuel rod storage tank, which brought about the explosion which released
roughly 10 curies of radioactivity. Higher-than-normal radiation was detected
eight km to the northeast of the site, with maximum levels reaching 400
microRoentgen/hour.[2] A Minatom spokesman said that contamination was
limited to a 1,000 sq. meter area around the Unit 15 building.[1] During
the accident there was a radionuclide emission beyond the confines of the
industrial site which was rated a three on the INES scale. This incident
was said to be the Soviet Union's worst nuclear accident after Chornobyl.[3]
Sources: [1] Mark Hibbs and Ann MacLachlan, "Explosion Rips Through
Uranium Tank At Tomsk-7 Reprocessing Complex," NUCLEARFUEL, 4/12/93, pp.
1, 10-12. [2] KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA, 4/9/93, p. 1. [3] Valeriy Menshchikov, "Vokrug situatsii s khraneniem plutoniya
i obogashchennogo urana v Tomske-7," YADERNYY KONTROL, 2/95, pp. 2-5.
To return to the main SKhK entry, see the 
