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LOCATION: Seversk, formerly Tomsk-7, Tomsk
Oblast
SKhK is one of the largest weapons-grade plutonium production enterprises
in the world. It has produced as much as 70t of weapons-grade plutonium.[1]
The reactor plant houses five plutonium-production reactors
(three shut down, two operational). The Ivan-1 reactor began production on
20 November 1955; its sole purpose was the production of plutonium. Later
reactors--Ivan-2 (September 1958), ADE-3 (14 July 1961), ADE-4 (1965), and
ADE-5 (1968)--were dual use reactors that produced both plutonium and heat
and electricity for local communities. The Ivan-1 and Ivan-2 reactors were
shut down in 1990 and the ADE-3 reactor was shut down in 1992;[2] ADE-4 and ADE-5
were still operating as of April 2001. The reactors are light-water cooled/graphite-moderated,
with a capacity of 2,500 MWt.[3] The two remaining operational reactors are
fueled by natural uranium.[4] They are the largest of their kind in Russia.
From 1989-1991, automatic emergency response systems were installed in the
Tomsk reactors to prevent accidents.[5] According to the US-Russian 1994 Agreement
Concerning the Shutdown of Plutonium Production Reactors and the Cessation
of Use of Newly Produced Plutonium for Nuclear Weapons, the ADE-4 and ADE-5
reactors were scheduled for shut down by the year 2000; however, Russia and
the US developed a new agreement to convert the
reactor cores
instead of shutting down the reactors in order to continue providing electricity
and heat.[6] The heat
that the two
reactors provide for Seversk and nearby Tomsk accounts for 50% and 30-35% of
the two cities' needs for thermal power, respectively.[10] In 2000 Russia insisted that these reactors be
replaced by a fossil
fuel plant rather than have their cores converted, due to economic and
technical considerations. The
US Congress prohibits funding the construction of fossil fuel plants in
Russia under the Cooperative
Threat Reduction program.[9] (For more information on the reactor shutdown process, please
see the Plutonium Production and Reactor
Core Conversion Developments section of the database.) SKhK will inevitably need to shut down
the reactors once they reach the end of their service lives. Thus, the
plant has developed a "Plan on Nuclear Power Development in Tomsk-7," which
provides a two-phased energy replacement plan that includes the construction
of a VK-300 district heating plant and a high temperature gas-cooled reactor
to run on MOX fuel.[7] Since 1995, SKhK specialists
have been working with General Atomics (United States),
Framatome (France),
and Fuji Electric (Japan) on the design of this Gas Turbine-Modular Helium
Reactor and its fuel. General Atomics describes its version of the GT-MHR,
which uses a helium coolant, has a graphite core structure, and uses refractory-coated
particle fuel, as "ultra-safe" and "meltdown-proof."[8] (Please see the
SKhK
Developments and the Plutonium Production
General Developments files for more information.)
Historically, SKhK produced HEU for weapons
manufacture.[2]
Currently, the SKhK Isotope Separation Plant (alternatively called the Enrichment
Plant) has an annual enrichment capacity
of about three million SWU,[1] accounting for 14% of Russia's enrichment
capacity. Gas centrifuges are used for enrichment, with the UF6 feed produced at the on-site Conversion Plant. Currently, the Isotope Separation Plant
is licensed to produce LEU at enrichment levels of up to 5%.[2] Uranium
pellets, used as fuel for nuclear power plants in Russia and other countries,
are the main product of the SKhK.[3] The plant is also
involved in downblending HEU into LEU under the US-Russia
HEU Deal. In addition to
enriched uranium, the plant also produces stable isotopes.[4] In 2001, the Isotope Separation Plant
was operating at 100% capacity.[5]
The Radiochemical Plant became operational in 1961. The plant reprocesses irradiated fuel from plutonium production reactors to extract
uranium and plutonium.[5] When Mayak
Production Association stopped processing plutonium from the Mayak
production reactor, the material was sent to SKhK; this activity probably
stopped in 1990, when Mayak's last remaining production reactor was shut
down.[1] The plant's main product is purified uranium ore for the Conversion
Plant. Plutonium generated through reprocessing is not suitable for weapons use
and is stored in a specially created storage facility.[5] On 6 April 1993, a
tank at the separation plant exploded, sending radionuclides beyond SKhK's
grounds. This accident was rated 3 on the INES scale.[2,3] The plant was shut
down for several months.[1] Once the last two operational plutonium
production reactors at SKhK, used to produce electricity, are converted, this
reprocessing facility will be shut down.[4]
The Conversion Plant was built in 1954. The main
products of the plant are uranium oxide (UO2) and uranium hexafluoride
(UF6).
Both natural uranium and uranium reprocessed at the Radiochemical Plant are
used in the oxidation and fluorination processes. The plant is involved in the
fluorination of HEU
from the Chemical Metallurgical Plant at SKhK and from PO Mayak. UF6
then is sent to the Isotope Separation Plant and to the Urals Electrochemical
Plant for downblending into LEU.
The plant became operational in 1961. The Chemical Metallurgical Plant at SKhK is involved in the manufacture,
re-fabrication, and dismantlement of HEU and plutonium pits for nuclear warheads.[1,2]
As of April 2001, SKhK no longer manufactures new fissile material components for nuclear weapons.[3] By 2004, it will cease all operations with warhead components.[4]
The plant has extraction and sorbtion technology for processing uranium and plutonium from aged fissile material warhead
components. It also purifies the processed uranium and plutonium. Highly-enriched weapons-grade uranium is processed and converted into U3O8
which is then sent to Conversion Plant for conversion into uranium
hexafluoride and further mixing with low-enriched uranium at the Isotope
Separation Plant. The plant also produces magnets, magnetic alloys, and metallic
powders.[2]
SKhK stores plutonium metal,
highly enriched uranium, UO2, UF6, and items made of uranium metal with
varying degrees of enrichment. According to Yadernyy Kontrol,
23,000 containers of fissile materials were brought to SKhK from other
facilities until April 1992, after which no other deliveries were made due to
the absence of suitable storage space. [1] Along with Mayak Production
Association, SKhK is the principal storage site for HEU and plutonium recovered
from dismantled weapons.[2]
Until the 1960s, radioactive waste was dumped into the Tom River. Since
then, roughly 38 million cubic meters of radioactive waste (about half
the total amount of waste at SKhK) have been pumped into underground geologic
formations within the Combine's territory. The depth of these formations
ranges from 200 to 450 m below the surface.[1] Despite SKhK's possession
of a license, granted according to the law "On Deep Geological Formations"
("O nedrakh"), the Combine did not have official permission from
Gosatomnadzor to pump radioactive waste into underground geologic formations until
July 2001.[2,3]
There are also a number of open storage facilities, which a 1995 Security
Council commission recommended be covered. In 1995, the total amount of
radioactive waste was estimated to be 1 billion Ci.[1] Page last updated 17 July 2003. Comments or questions? Contact Elena Sokova at MIIS CNS: Elena.Sokova@miis.edu 
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