For a more extended discussion of foreign assistance for Russian naval
reactor decommissioning and dismantlement see the Naval
Foreign Assistance Overview. For information on foreign assistance
to Russia in the nuclear sector in general, please see the Foreign
Nuclear Assistance section of the NIS Nuclear Profiles Database.
11/5/2003: ITALY PLEDGES OVER $400 MILLION FOR NAVAL ASSISTANCE
PROJECTS
In June 2003, Italy pledged
€1 billion (about $1.2
billion as of June 2003) for assistance projects under the rubric of the
Global
Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.[1] This pledge was
made more concrete on 5 November 2003, when Italy signed two bilateral
agreements with Russia committing
€360 million ($413.7 million as of 5
November 2003) for naval projects and €360
million for chemical weapons destruction during the course of ten years.[2,3,4] Italy and Russia plan to form a joint commission to choose individual projects
and monitor cooperation. Projects under negotiation as of November 2003 in the
naval sphere were:
nuclear-powered submarine dismantlement; dismantlement of nuclear-powered
surface vessels and nuclear service vessels; radioactive waste treatment,
transport, and storage; physical protection measures; environmental remediation
projects; and infrastructure needed for dismantlement. Italy's contribution in
the nuclear field will be managed by the
Società
Gestione Impianti Nucleari (SOGIN) company.[3]
10/15/2003: NORWAY HELPS FINANCE
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN ANDREYEVA BAY
On 15 October 2003, Norway's State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Kim Traavik and
others from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated in the opening of the newly remodeled 15km
Murmansk-Andreyeva Bay highway--one of the projects financed through an
infrastructure development agreement for
Andreyeva Bay
between the Murmansk Oblast administration, the
federal enterprise SevRAO, and the
government of Finnmark province, Norway. The road reconstruction, which cost
NKr14.967 million (roughly $2.1 million as of 15 October 2003) and began in
September 2000, was necessary because the old road did not meet
the safety requirements for transporting radioactive wastes from Andreyeva Bay.
Murmansk Oblast governor Yuriy Yevdokimov stated that the agreement provides for
more than 12 local restoration projects in the area, including the establishment
of two checkpoints and a guard station equipped with telephones--a project that was
primarily financed by Minatom but recently received
NKr5.224 million (over $741,000) from Norway--and a
water pipeline reconstruction project to which Norway dedicated NKr7,902,730
(roughly $1.1 million). A modular administrative complex
was opened earlier under the agreement.
10/14/2003: NORWEGIAN DELEGATION VISITS NERPA
AND SAYDA BAY
On 14 October 2003, a delegation from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
headed by State Secretary Kim Traavik visited
Nerpa Shipyard, where a multipurpose
Victor II-class nuclear submarine was being dismantled with €5 million (about
$5.8 million as of 14 October 2003) in Norwegian assistance money. At the time of the visit, the
boat had already been defueled, and specialists had begun to dismantle its power
supply system. The delegation also visited
Sayda Bay.
10/9/2003: GERMANY ALLOCATES €300
MILLION FOR DISMANTLEMENT AND REACTOR STORAGE ASSISTANCE
On 9 October 2003, Minatom and the
German Ministry of Economics and Labor
signed an agreement in Yekaterinburg on the provision of assistance for the safe disposal of
nuclear-powered submarines in Northwest Russia. Germany has committed €300
million to the project in 2003-08. These funds will be spent
refurbishing nuclear submarine dismantlement facilities at
Nerpa Shipyard, building an up-to-date
storage facility for submarine reactor compartments and a low- and intermediate-level
radioactive waste conditioning facility at
Sayda
Bay, repairing a floating dock that will be used to tow reactor
compartments, providing a computer-assisted waste monitoring system for Sayda
Bay, and helping to clear the bay of shipwrecks. The German company Energiewerke Nord (EWN)
will act as general contractor, while the work will be carried out by Russian
companies. The
first step is to construct a 5.5 hectare land-based interim reactor storage
facility and other infrastructure at Sayda. The reactor storage facility is to
house reactor compartments from 120 dismantled submarines; to date, approximately 40 of these vessels have
already been scrapped. The reactor compartments will be held in storage for at least
70 years prior to further dismantlement. During the first stage of the project, the
submarines and three-compartment modules currently stored afloat in Sayda Bay
will be towed to Nerpa, where the reactor compartments will be cut out, given a
biological shield, and welded shut. Other protective measures will also be
undertaken to ensure that the reactor compartments do not threaten the environment. They will then be towed back to Sayda and stored at the new onshore facility.
10/8/2003: NERPA CONTRACT WITH
GERMANY DRAWN UP FOR STORAGE SITE
On 8 October 2003, Nerpa Shipyard
Deputy Director for International and Commercial Affairs Oleg Yerin reported that a
group of German specialists investigating a possible contract between Germany and the Nerpa Shipyard for the construction at
Sayda Bay of a regional storage site
for reactors removed from decommissioned nuclear submarines had completed their
on-site work. Negotiations had been underway for seven months and, as planned,
the October 8 meeting resulted in the text of the contract--which has not yet
been finalized--being drawn up.
9/12/2003:
CANADIAN ASSISTANCE FOR RUSSIAN SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT DISCUSSED
On 12 September 2003, Interfax
reported that Russia and Canada are now working on an intergovernmental agreement on dismantling Russian submarines. According to
a Minatom
spokesman, Canada plans to finance the dismantlement of three submarines a year.
According to Minatom, roughly $5-6 million are
needed to dismantle one multi-purpose submarine.[1]
Talks on Canada's contribution to submarine dismantlement began in early
September at
Zvezdochka. The exact amount of
funds Canada might spend are unknown. However, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
Bill Graham stated in November 2002 that Canada planned to
provide $100 million for recycling radioactive wastes and dismantling Russian
submarines.[1] It is expected that the funds will be distributed among eight
shipyards that dismantle submarines, including Zvezdochka and
Sevmash.[2]
9/5/2003: TALKS ON ITALY'S
PARTICIPATION IN SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT UNDER WAY
According to a 5 September 2003 Interfax report, talks are under way between
representatives of Minatom
and
Italy on Italian government assistance to Russia's dismantlement efforts. According to a
Minatom spokesman, the discussions are focusing on the provision of special vessels and
infrastructure needed for dismantlement. Earlier, on 30 August 2003, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed
that his country is ready to assist Russia in this project as part of the
G8 Global Partnership.[1,2]
8/7/2003:
U.S. CONGRESSMEN NOT ALLOWED TO VISIT NERPA SHIPYARD
On 7 August 2003, representatives of the
U.S. Congress and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with Deputy
Governor of Murmansk
Oblast Vladimir Motlokhov to
discuss cooperation in Russian submarine dismantlement. A visit to
Nerpa Shipyard to see how
money already provided for activities there was being spent was planned as part
of the trip. However, in spite of the fact that the regional administration had
prepared all of the required documents, the Ministry of Defense, in whose
jurisdiction the site is located, would not approve access to the U.S.
participants in the delegation. Torbjorn Norendahl
of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quoted as saying that the
Norwegian delegation would not go to Nerpa,
if everyone in the delegation was not permitted to go. Further, he said that the
U.S. members
of the delegation agreed with this decision.
7/7/2003: GERMANY HAS COMMITTED $1.7 BILLION FOR
ASSISTANCE PROJECTS IN RUSSIA
As of July 2003, Germany had committed €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion)
for assistance projects in Russia under the Global Partnership Program.[1] In addition, it has announced
particular projects that will be funded during the first half of the program. These include the construction of a land-based
reactor storage facility in
Sayda Bay, as well as funds for handling radioactive
waste and carrying out environmental remediation at the site (€300 million),
€170 million for technical designs and equipment to improve the physical
protection of radioactive material and spent fuel, €10 million for the
European Union's
Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) nuclear projects,
including projects involving the disposal of nuclear materials and the
dismantlement of decommissioned submarines in particular. [For more
information on Germany's nuclear assistance to Russia, see the
Russia: International Assistance
Programs: Germany page.]
7/7/2003: $56 MILLION IN ASSISTANCE CONTRACTS MAY BE
SIGNED BY RUSSIA AND THE UK
According to Russian Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Sergey Antipov, Russia anticipates signing contracts
worth a total of $56 million with the United Kingdom in the fall of 2003.
These contracts will be for submarine dismantlement and other nuclear and
environmental projects, Interfax reported on 7 July 2003. Antipov said that the
United Kingdom had confirmed its readiness to allot
$750 million to Russia under the Global Partnership program in the next 10
years. Most of these funds will be spent on addressing nuclear and environmental
problems in Russia. The first $56 million is already earmarked for 2003.
Two $8 million contracts will fund the
scrapping of two Antey-class [NATO Name 'Oscar II'] SSGNs at
Sevmash. Another $8 million
contract will be devoted to environmental cleanup at
Andreyeva Bay, and
a final $8 million contract will fund the construction of a temporary nuclear fuel storage
facility at Atomflot. In addition, the
United Kingdom is
prepared to provide $16
million to the European Union's
Northern Dimension Environmental
Partnership, which is funding
environmental cleanup in Northwest Russia. According to Antipov, the
United Kingdom expects that
no less than 80% of the funds it provides will be spent in Russia.
6/27/2003: GREAT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA
SIGN SUPPLEMENTAL NUCLEAR AGREEMENT, PAVING THE WAY FOR SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT ASSISTANCE
On 26 June 2003, the British and Russian Ministers of Foreign Affairs signed
the
Supplementary Agreement to the Agreement between the Government of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Russian
Federation on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy of 3 September
1996.[1] This new agreement allows
programs on the dismantlement of nuclear submarines and spent fuel in northwest Russia
to move forward, creating a legal framework for the implementation of Britain's
1999 initiative to
help Russia deal with the region's nuclear legacy. The UK aid
will be rendered under the framework of the
Global Partnership
agreement.[2,3]
6/26/2003: UK COMMITS $33.5 MILLION
TO NAVAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
On 26 June 2003, Russia and the United Kingdom signed an agreement according
to which London will
provide £30 million (about $50.1 million as of 26 June 2003) for submarine
dismantlement and the elimination of Russian chemical weapons. The program
includes up to £20 million (about $33.5 million as of 26 June 2003) for the dismantlement
of decommissioned nuclear submarines and construction of a spent nuclear
fuel storage facility. The United Kingdom has agreed to dismantle two
submarines at Sevmash in Arkhangelsk Oblast. The
United Kingdom also plans to provide £10 million (about $16.7 million) to the
Northern Dimension Environmental
Partnership, which the
European Commission, Sweden, Norway, and Finland initiated in 2001 to fund
environmental clean-up in Northwest Russia.
According to other sources, the United
Kingdom will also join the
the
Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation Program, which
was started in 1996 to tackle environmental problems caused by military
activities in the Arctic region. Currently, Russia, Norway, and the United States
participate in this program.
5/21/2003: MNEPR SIGNED IN STOCKHOLM
The
Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR)
Framework Agreement was
signed in Stockholm on 21 May 2003.
According to EC estimates, donor states intend to allot up to €1.8 billion (about
$2.1 billion as of 21 May 2003) for Russian environmental programs in the Baltic
and Barents Sea basins. About €1.3 billion (about $1.5 billion) of this amount
will be spent on non-nuclear projects, and about €500 million (nearly $586
million) on handling radioactive waste.[1]
According to Norway's Bellona Foundation, several countries, including Germany, Canada, the
United Kingdom,
and Sweden have already expressed their intentions to participate in financing
the management of spent fuel, radioactive waste and reactors from dismantled nuclear
submarines. Canada is also ready to allocate about $100 million a year for environmental programs
under the Global Partnership initiative.
The
MNEPR agreement furthers implementation of both these projects and activities
under the framework of the European Union's
Northern Dimension Environmental
Partnership (NDEP). More
than €60 million (about $70.3 million) have been already promised within the
framework of the NDEP.[2] Russia has committed €10 million (about $11.7
million) to a special fund to finance MNEPR
projects.[3] (For more information on
MNEPR, see the
International Assistance
section.)
5/21/2003:
MNEPR MAKES ASSISTANCE FOR SUB DISMANTLEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF STORAGE FACILITIES
POSSIBLE
Minatom spokesperson Viktor Kovalenko declared that with the
signing of the MNEPR agreement, Minatom is now able to contract
with foreign
companies for the dismantlement of more than 100 submarines and for the
construction of spent fuel storage facilities on the Kola Peninsula. Minatom
specialists have estimated costs for dismantlement and storage at $3 billion.
Minatom expects the disbursement of $68 million for the first stage of spent
fuel processing from decommissioned submarines.
2/16/2003: JAPAN AND RUSSIA TO BEGIN DISMANTLING VICTOR III SSN
At a 16 February 2003 meeting of the Russian-Japanese Committee
on Cooperation to Assist in Eliminating Nuclear Weapons Subject to Reduction in
the Russian Federation, the two countries agreed to begin dismantling one Shchuka [NATO
name 'Victor III'] class SSN in the near future.
Japan pledged to modernize the Smolyaninovo-Bolshoy Kamen railway in order to ensure the secure
transport of spent nuclear materials. These measures are a step forward in
achieving the goals of the joint Russian-Japanese plans adopted during the
January 2003 visit of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Moscow.[1,2,3]
[For the text of the Japan-Russia Action Plan, see
http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/pmv0301/plan.html.]
2/11/2003: TESTING OF ONSHORE
FACILITY FOR UNLOADING SPENT SUBMARINE FUEL SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED IN SEVERODVINSK
According to an 11 February 2003 Interfax report, the testing of an onshore
facility at Zvezdochka Shipyard to unload spent nuclear fuel from submarines
has been successfully completed. The testing
involved the defueling of an Akula [NATO name 'Typhoon'] class SSBN. The
construction of the $15 million
facility was financed by the United States under the
Cooperative Threat Reduction Program.[1,2]
1/22/2003: PUTIN
SAYS ACCESS TO NUCLEAR SITES SHOULD BE EASED
At a State Council session on 22 January
2003, President Vladimir Putin argued that
international cooperation has become excessively bureaucratic, especially where nuclear security and
radioactive waste management are concerned.[1] Putin stressed that it is important to "ensure
national security interests and maintain the necessary secrecy regime." [2] But
"excessive bureaucratization" and "spy mania" only harms work. Putin was
answering a plea by Murmansk Governor Yuriy Yevdokimov, who told the council that local rather than federal authorities should
decide on giving foreigners access to nuclear facilities.[2] According to
Minatom sources cited by APN, there will soon be simplified procedures for
granting foreigners access to nuclear sites.[3]
1/11-12/2003: MNEPR
AGREEMENT MOVES FORWARD
At the Barents Euro-Arctic Council summit in Kirkenes
on 11-12 January 2003, Russian and western negotiators
reportedly reached an agreement on the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental
Program in Russia (MNEPR).
The agreement is scheduled to be signed later this year in Sweden, and will
finally allows the release of funding for several international programs dealing
with nuclear waste and spent nuclear in Northwest Russia.[1]
The head of the Barents Council, Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson,
called the agreement a breakthrough. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov
made it clear that the Russian parliament would waive the VAT on material used
for nuclear waste clean up in Northwest Russia.[2] While the Duma
has to approve the agreement, Russian officials said clean up work could begin
after the document is signed, without waiting for Duma
ratification. In addition to dropping the demand that VAT be paid and later
reimbursed, there was a breakthrough in the legal responsibility issue. The
Russians had argued that foreigners who actually do work are also responsible
parties, and the western parties have now accepted this promise.
1/10/2003: JAPAN TO HELP RUSSIA
DISPOSE OF DECOMMISSIONED NUCLEAR SUBMARINES
At a 10 January 2003 summit in Moscow, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed, among other topics,
Japan's intention to provide aid to Russia for
nuclear submarine dismantlement.[1] Speaking at the
Kurchatov Institute, Koizumi
stated, "in the name of global security and the planet's environmental
preservation, the issue of Russia's huge stores of weapons of mass destruction
and decommissioned submarines that have been abandoned in a hazardous condition
must be addressed immediately." He also announced that a decision had been
made "to create a joint Japanese-Russian team to cooperate on implementing the
nuclear submarine disposal program."[2] Funds for the project will be drawn from the approximately
$200 million that the Japanese government committed to the
G8 Global
Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction at
the Kananaskis G8 summit meeting on 27 June 2002.[2,3,4,5] Of this amount, $100
million has been earmarked to address the disposal of 34 tons of surplus
weapons-grade plutonium.[3,4,5] The remaining funds will be dispersed for other
denuclearization projects in Russia, including submarine dismantlement and
related infrastructure projects.[5]
12/5/2002: GREAT BRITAIN APPROPRIATES
ABOUT $1.1 MILLION FOR YAMAL AND
ARKTIKA
On 5 December 2002, the Regnum
information agency reported that the United Kingdom had decided to appropriate
£700,000 (about
$1.1 million as of 5 December 2002) in the form of a grant to equip two
icebreakers, Yamal
and Arktika,
with a new physical protection system in 2003. For more information, please see
the 12/5/2002 entry in the
Atomflot file.
12/2/2002: GERMANY
TO PROVIDE $65.6 MILLION FOR SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT AT NERPA
According to a 2 December 2002
TVTs television report, Germany's federal budget includes €66 million (about $65.6 million
as of 2 December 2002) for the dismantlement of Russian submarines. The total amount of funds allocated by Germany
for
environmental work in Russia is €200 million (about $199 million).
9/25/2002: ATOMFLOT SPENT FUEL
STORAGE
DISCUSSED
At a meeting between Murmansk Governor Yuriy Yevdokimov and
State
Secretary of the Norwegian Defense Ministry
Gunnar Heloe on 25 September 2002, Yevdokimov brought the need to complete
a
temporary spent fuel storage site at Atomflot this year
to the Norwegian's attention. The site is needed to facilitate the transport
and processing of spent fuel from nuclear submarines and the civilian nuclear fleet. The use of the site would
significantly speed up the removal of spent nuclear fuel from the region.
9/23/2002: LEPSE AGREEMENT SIGNED
On 23 September 2002, the final framework agreement was signed to release funds
and to start working on the service ship
Lepse.[1,2]
Project participants include NEFCO
(The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation,
established in 1990 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,
Norway and Sweden http://www.nefco.org), France, the Netherlands, and Norway (in addition to
its participation via NEFCO). NEFCO will allocate €1.3
million
(about $1.27 million as of 24 September 2002), the Netherlands - €222,450 (about $217,700),
and Norway - NOK 23.5 million (about $3.1 million).[3]
Two to four years will be spent on project preparation: the unloading of damaged fuel assemblies from the ship's hold with the
use of robots.[1,2] This preparatory work, which will reportedly be done
by French and UK specialists, most likely from
SGN (Société Générale pour les Techniques Nouvelles, formerly Saint
Gobain Nucléaire) and AEA
Technology (a private company that was formerly part of the United Kingdom
Atomic Energy Authority), and the unloading operation
itself, will be funded by
Western donors, including the European Union
and Norway.[1,2,4] Russia will have to cover expenses for managing the fuel
after it is extracted from the Lepse
and put onshore, as well as dismantling the ship. In 2002, the
Murmansk Shipping Company (MSC) received 50 million rubles
(about $1.58 million) from the Russian federal budget to maintain the ship, but Bellona reported that in 2003 the money intended for federal nuclear safety
programs like Lepse would be transferred to the security forces instead.[1] Upon signing the
agreement, MSC accepted liability in case of an accident.[2]
Other possible funding sources depend on the signing of the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program
for the Russian Federation (MNEPR). (For information on
MNEPR, please see the 6/19/2002 entry, below.) After MNEPR is signed, the first part of
the €62 million fund (about $60.7 million as of 24 September 2002) pledged by the European countries can be spent
on projects in northwest Russia. Russia itself must contribute €10 million (about $9.8 million).
9/19/2002: JAPANESE AID DISCUSSED AT CONFERENCE IN VLADIVOSTOK
From 16 to 20 September 2002,
Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy
sponsored a conference, entitled "Ecological Problems in Nuclear-Powered
Submarine Dismantlement and the Development of Nuclear Power in the Region" in
Vladivostok. Invitees included Minatom and Defense Ministry experts as well as
governmental and other experts from the United States, Japan, Germany, the
United Kingdom, France, Norway, and international organizations. Foreign
assistance was an important topic of discussion. Both Japanese and Russian
representatives voiced their dissatisfaction that most of the money promised by
Japan had yet to be spent. They said that contracts were being detained by
the lengthy agreements process at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For instance, reconstruction of 35km of railroad between
Smolyaninovo and Bolshoy Kamen,
promised by Japan in 2000, has yet to begin.
9/16/2002: UK READY TO GIVE $125
MILLION FOR SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT
On 16 September 2002, RosBusinessConsulting reported that the United Kingdom
was ready to
spend $125 million to help Russia dismantle its nuclear submarines. However, this would
only be possible under two conditions: if the United Kingdom could
control the distribution of its funds and analyze the dismantlement
work. According to the article, this analysis would help the United Kingdom solve problems it
will face when first-generation UK submarines are dismantled. As of September
2002, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was considering these conditions.
9/10/2002: AGREEMENT ON RTG
ASSISTANCE EXTENDED
Russia and Norway have agreed to
continue the dismantlement of ionizing radiation sources, including radioisotope
thermoelectric generators (RTGs), reported Rossiyskaya gazeta on 10
September 2002. For more information, please see the
9/10/2002 entry in the
Russia: General Civilian Naval Reactor
Developments file.
7/25/2002: LUGAR PROPOSES CTR
MONEY BE SPENT ON DISMANTLEMENT OF NON-STRATEGIC NUCLEAR CAPABLE SUBMARINES
Following the approval by both the
U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate of a measure to temporarily
suspend a key funding requirement that was preventing the spending of $400
million in aid through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program (CTR), Senator
Richard Lugar called for CTR money to be spent, among other things, on the
dismantlement of non-strategic
submarines that could be equipped with nuclear-capable cruise missiles.
Nuclear cruise missile capable submarines include both
nuclear-powered and diesel boats. [For more information on the CTR
funding waiver see the 7/25/2002
entry in the CTR Program Developments
file.]
6/28/2002: G8 AID PACKAGE MAY
PAY FOR SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT
At the 24-28 June 2002 G8
summit in Kananaskis, Canada, leaders approved an initiative backed by U.S. President George W.
Bush to provide $20 billion dollars to Russia over the next 10 years to assist
in
the dismantlement of weapons of mass destruction. According to Minatom, $3
billion would be sufficient to complete the dismantlement of all decommissioned
submarines and the rest could be devoted to other tasks. Half of the money supplied will come from the United States, with
the other countries providing the other half. There has been speculation that
Russia might be required to suspend nuclear assistance programs to Iran, India, and/or China in exchange for this aid. Specifics of the agreement
were not made public.
6/19/2002: WEST REFUSES TO
REOPEN MNEPR NEGOTIATIONS, AGREEMENT NOT SIGNED
On 19 June 2002, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan
Peterson expressed continued interest in the completion of the Multilateral Nuclear
Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR) agreement, despite the
fact that the agreement has not been signed. He cited fears of terrorists acquiring
Russian chemical, nuclear, or radioactive materials as the reason for Norway's continued
interest in the storage or destruction of Russia's WMD materials.[2] Torbjoern Norendal,
a senior Norwegian Foreign Ministry official and
chief Western negotiator on the MNEPR,
had said in April that he would not reopen negotiations with Russia, which was seeking to
amend the rules for taxation of foreigners working in Russia and Russians
living abroad who return to work on the project. The MNEPR signing ceremony
was set for 15-16 June 2002 in Stockholm. Failure to conclude the treaty would have widespread ramifications. Without MNEPR,
the European Bank for Reconstruction Development cannot fund the Barents Sea
Program of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership, which is designed
to facilitate cleanup in northwestern Russia. The estimated cost of the
program is $443.6 million.[1] (For earlier MNEPR developments, see the 6/2001
entry, below.)
6/6/2002: NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT
ALLOCATES MONEY FOR ANDREYEVA BAY
On 6 June 2002, Murmansk Governor Yuri Yevdokimov
and the governor of Norway's Finnmark province, Gunnar Kjonnoy,
signed a series of agreements aimed at financing environmental rehabilitation
projects in Murmansk.
Included in the agreements are NKr 14 million (approximately $1.8 million as of
6 June 2002) to be spent on the rehabilitation of the Northern Fleet's largest nuclear waste and spent fuel storage facility at
Andreyeva Guba. Norway has also
promised NKr 1.5 million (approximately $191,000 as of 6 June 2002) for
the decommissioning of radioisotope thermoelectrical generators used to power
lighthouses.
5/29/2002: JAPAN RECONSIDERS
AID TO RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN,
BELARUS, AND UKRAINE FOR NUCLEAR ARMS DISPOSAL
The Japanese Foreign Ministry is
reassessing the usefulness of bilateral cooperation committees established to
disperse financial aid to Russia,
Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Ukraine to assist them with disposal of nuclear waste,
Yuji Miyamoto, the Foreign Ministry's director general of arms control and
scientific affairs, reported to the Diet's Foreign Committee
on 29 May 2002. Miyamoto cited the ill-equipped nature of the former Soviet
states to dispose of their nuclear waste, and the Russian government's continued
secrecy about its military affairs. He also said that 16.5 billion yen
(approximately $132.5 million as of 29 May 2002) of the 25 billion
(approximately $200.5 million) set aside for use by the former
Soviet republics had not yet been used.[1,2] As part of its investigation
into the unused funds, Japan sent a team of specialists to Kazakhstan. However, the main opposition party in Japan, the Minshu To
(Democratic Party), has already come out against further economic aid to Kazakhstan.[3]
5/27/2002: MURMANSK ESTIMATES
COST TO DISMANTLE SUBS AND CLEAN UP NAVAL NUCLEAR REACTORS AT $1.5 BILLION
Murmansk Governor Yuriy Yevdokimov claims that his region requires $1.5 billion in order to dismantle decommissioned nuclear submarines and dispose of radioactive
waste and spent fuel. The region is able to raise only 20 percent of the amount
needed and is therefore relying on funding from other sources, such an agreement
with the Norwegian province of Finnmark. Regional authorities are particularly
worried about the state of Sayda Bay, where reactor compartments are stored. Yevdokimov stated that unless conditions at Sayda
Bay improve, submarine dismantlement will come to a halt in 2007, as there will be nowhere to store the
reactors. There are plans to build a ground storage facility for 120 reactor
compartments, but construction would require $80 million.
4/1/2002: LIABILITY DISPUTE
CONTINUES TO BLOCK JAPANESE AID FOR SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT
On 1 April 2002, the Japanese Foreign
Ministry reported that Japanese aid for the dismantlement of Russia's retired
nuclear submarines, as per the two nations' 1999 agreement (for more information
see the 5/29/99 entry, below), was still stalled due to a disagreement between
Russia and Japan regarding responsibility for potential accidents that might
occur during the dismantlement process. As a result, the 15.5 billion yen
(approximately $117 million as of 1 April 2002) Japan has offered for the
dismantlement work remains unused.
3/19/2002: RUSSIA TO RECEIVE A NEW VESSEL TO
TRANSPORT SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
On 19 March 2002, Simon Evans,
first
secretary for science, technology and environment of the British Embassy in
Moscow, said that Great Britain and Norway had signed an agreement to finance
construction of a vessel to be used in transporting spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned
Russian nuclear submarines. According to Evans, the
UK government has allocated £84 million (almost $120
million as of 19 March 2002) for nuclear safety and nonproliferation projects
in the countries of the former Soviet Union. He added that Great Britain would
also assist Russia in the construction of a temporary spent nuclear fuel storage facility
in northwestern Russia.
3/15/2002: FOUR RAILROAD CARS
TO TRANSPORT SPENT FUEL FROM MURMANSK TO MAYAK BROUGHT INTO SERVICE
Four new railroad cars for
transporting spent fuel assemblies from nuclear submarines and
nuclear-powered
icebreakers has been brought into service. The cars were built with financial
assistance from Norway, and will be used to move spent fuel from the Kola
Peninsula to
Mayak.
While the addition of four new cars should double the volume of spent fuel
moved, up to 50 special cars would be necessary to complete the
task in a timely fashion. This is because one car can only carry slightly more than
the spent fuel from a single nuclear submarine and because over the last eight
years, prior to the building of the second special train, the lone train
visited the region fewer than 30 times. The design of the cars features steel
walls 30cm thick that can prevent fuel leakage even in the event of a train
crash. For previous articles on this issue, see the 7/20/2000
item, below. [1,2,3,4]
10/15-26/2001: CONTRACTS SIGNED ON CONSTRUCTION
OF KOLA TECHNICAL CENTER
During its 15-26 October 2001 visit to the
Kurchatov
Institute, a US delegation, consisting of DOE
officials and experts from the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory and Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory, signed contracts concerning the design of the
Kola Technical Center. The center will provide technical support
for MPC&A
activities on the Kola Peninsula and will be staffed by navy and local
civilian personnel. It will also provide facilities for training
purposes, spare parts storage for MPC&A equipment, and minor
equipment repair. Construction is supposed to start in spring 2002; the
center should start operations by spring 2003. The Kola Technical Center
will become a pilot project for the development of two other technical centers
in Vladivostok and Kamchatka.
9/4/2001: RUSSIAN-NORWEGIAN AGREEMENT SIGNED TO
START WORK ON IMPROVING CONDITIONS AT ANDREYEVA BAY
For more information see the 9/4/2001
entry in Zapadnaya
Litsa Naval Base section.
8/28/2001: $300 MILLION OF FOREIGN AID TO BE SPENT
ON SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT IN 2001
On 28 August 2001, Interfax reported that, according
to Minatom's press service, about
$300 million of foreign aid would be spent on different nuclear submarine
dismantlement projects in 2001.
6/25/2001: MURMANSK GOVERNOR FRUSTRATED WITH
UNITED KINGDOM FOR NOT PROVIDING PROMISED AID
On 25 June 2001, during a meeting with a visiting
delegation headed by British Prince Michael of Kent,
Murmansk Oblast Governor Yuriy
Yevdokimov expressed his frustration with the UK government because the region
had not received any of the £5 million (over $7
million as of 25 June 2001) promised by the United Kingdom for improving
nuclear safety on the Kola Peninsula. The UK government insists that no money
will be handed over until the Russian government agrees not to hold London
liable for nuclear accidents and grants access to the
sites.
6/2001: MNEPR NEGOTIATIONS
SUSPENDED
Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program
for Russia (MNEPR)
negotiations were suspended in late June 2001. Although Sweden had pressed for an
agreement to be signed before its EU presidency ended on 30 June 2001,
Russia's unwillingness to compromise on taxation and liability issues
prevented the parties from working out a solution acceptable to all. In
addition, the United States stated that even though it could sign the main MNEPR
agreement, it would not sign the liability protocol negotiated by other donor
parties.
Russia insisted that Western companies involved in nuclear clean-up in
Russia under the project be subject to Russian taxation laws and, in
case of accidents, be held responsible for damages. According to
Chris Patten, the European Union's external relations commissioner, Norway is trying to find
ways to renew the negotiations. (For more information on MNEPR see the 4/2000
entry in this section.)
3/23/2001: MSC TO PROCESS 3,000M3 OF LIQUID
RADIOACTIVE WASTE ANNUALLY
For more information see the 3/23/2001
entry in the Atomflot Developments section.
3/22/2001: RUSSIA TO RECEIVE NEW RADIATION
MONITORING SYSTEM
The United States, Norway, and Russia plan to install a new remote
radiation monitoring system at the Polyarninskiy
Shipyard on the Kola Peninsula. The project is being implemented within the framework of the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation
(AMEC)
Program. The monitoring system will use terrestrial and underwater smart
sensors to measure radiation, radio-modems for data transmission, and a computerized
display system for constant monitoring and historical comparisons. It will
cost less than $1 million. Installation should be complete by summer 2001 and
testing is planned for spring or summer 2002. Preliminary approval had been
given to place a similar system at the Severomorsk
Naval Base. More information on the project is available on the Russian Academy of Sciences Nuclear Safety Institute
Web Site, http://www.ibrae.ac.ru/~lgis/amec/eng/index.htm.
3/16/2001: FUNDING FOR RAISING KURSK UNCERTAIN
According to the St. Petersburg Times, the
European Union,
Norway, Japan, Canada, and the United States have agreed to provide half of the estimated
$70 million needed to raise the Kursk submarine under the condition that
Russia agree to a clean-up of radioactive sites near Arkhangelsk and
Murmansk. The
Russian government has not issued any statement regarding the proposal. Deputy
Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov and the navy privately expressed their support for linking proposed foreign
financial assistance to the Multilateral Nuclear and
Environmental Program for Russia (MNEPR), said Rio Praaning, head of the Kursk
Foundation, an international consortium based in Brussels, Belgium. However,
fearing that Western countries may get access to
military information during the clean-up process, Moscow may oppose the program,
reported Kommersant on 13 March 2001. On 14 March 2001, Russian
Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin said on the radio that the government would
provide $47.7 million to raise the submarine.
3/15/2001: EU TO HELP RUSSIA DISMANTLE NUCLEAR
SUBMARINES
On 15 March 2001, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh
said that the European Union would help Russia dispose of its nuclear
submarines. The statement was made after a meeting of the Barents Sea Euro-Arctic Council, to which Russia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland belong.
2/8/2001: RUSSIA WANTS TO EXPAND COOPERATION WITH
NORWAY
On 8 February 2001, the Russian government issued a decree approving the
Ministry of Atomic Energy's proposal to expand Russian-Norwegian cooperation
on nuclear safety issues within the framework of the 26 May 1998 agreement
between the two countries. The proposed projects include
development and construction of an 80t container for transportation and
storage of spent nuclear fuel, construction of a facility to process lead-containing waste, development of a prototype container for temporary
storage of solid radioactive waste, establishment of radiation monitoring
systems at nuclear submarine dismantlement facilities, and development and
construction of a vessel for collecting and processing waste from Russian
Navy ships. The
proposal has already been discussed with Norway. As of February 2001, the Russians
were waiting for an
official response from Norway.[1,2]
2/7/2001: NORWAY TO ASSIST RUSSIA IN DISPOSING
OF RADIOISOTOPE GENERATORS
On 7 February 2000, Murmansk Oblast Governor Yuriy
Yevdokimov and Norway's Finnmark County Governor Gunnar Kjonnoy signed an
agreement on disposing of used radioisotope thermoelectric generators that were
used to power Kola Peninsula lighthouses. The generators will be replaced by solar
batteries. After temporary storage at Atomflot,
they will be transferred to Mayak
in Chelyabinsk. The Norwegian side will cover
all expenses, which are estimated at three million Norwegian kroner (about
$341,000 as of 7 February 2001).[1,2]
1/10/2001: NORWAY'S GAO CRITICIZES RUSSIAN-NORWEGIAN NUCLEAR
PROJECTS
According to a 10 January 2001 article in Aftenposten,
the Norwegian General Accounting Office issued a report that is
very critical of Russian-Norwegian cooperation on nuclear safety. The
report says that the majority of 111 nuclear projects, worth about 500 million
kroner (over $57 million as of 10 January 2001), had not produced satisfactory
results. For example, construction of a liquid radioactive waste storage and
processing facility in Murmansk (see the 3/23/2001
and 1/11/2001
entries in the Atomflot Developments
section), which started in 1994 and to which Norway contributed 17.5 million
kroner (over $2 million as of 10 January 2001), has been plagued by many problems,
including equipment delivery delays, frequently changing Russian regulations,
unrealistic deadlines, and nonpayment of Russian workers. The report also
identified problems in cooperation with the United States. Some US equipment was not tested before being
sent to Russia, thus causing problems on site. For domestic political
reasons, the United States sometimes approved unrealistic deadlines set by Russians
in joint projects including Norway. When all the
US money was spent, the United States withdrew instead of increasing
funding.[1] The problem of
nuclear safety in the Russian Northeast may become one of the major issues during
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's visit to Russia on 18-19 June 2001.[2]
12/1/2000: UNITED KINGDOM CONFIRMS ITS FINANCIAL
SUPPORT FOR NUCLEAR SAFETY IN MURMANSK OBLAST
On 1 December 2000, Consul General of the United Kingdom
in St. Petersburg Barbara Hay said at a meeting with Murmansk Oblast Governor Yuriy Yevdokimov that the British might give the oblast
more than the previously promised five million pounds in financial aid for
improving nuclear safety in the region. Among the projects
discussed at the meeting were the design and construction of a storage facility for
naval nuclear reactors in Sayda
Bay, a nuclear submarine dismantlement facility in Gremikha,
and a solid radioactive waste
processing facility in Polyarnyy.[1,2]
11/2/2000: JAPAN ALLOCATES $200 MILLION FOR
NUCLEAR-RELATED ASSISTANCE TO RUSSIA
On 2 November 2000, Russian Deputy Prime Minister
Viktor Khristenko and Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono signed a
memorandum on the results of the fourth session of the Russo-Japanese trade and economic commission.
According to this
document, Japan will give Russia $200 million for disposing of weapons-origin
plutonium and dismantling nuclear submarines.[1] Kono made an
additional offer of $7 million to repair railways used in the dismantlement
process.[2] The Japanese also indicated
their intention to send new experts and equipment to a center that is being created
in Vladivostok to retrain retiring
military officers.[3] The Japanese center has already
conducted seminars for 129 navy officers.[4] For more information on
Japanese aid to Russia, see the 9/4/2000 entry, below.
10/10/2000: MURMANSK OBLAST TO RECEIVE OVER $7.2 MILLION
FROM UK IN 2001
On 9 October 2000, during a meeting in London with Murmansk
Oblast Governor Yuriy Yevdokimov, UK Undersecretary of Trade
and Industry Ian Downing confirmed that
Murmansk Oblast would receive five million pounds (more than $7.2 million as
of 10 October 2000) to improve nuclear safety on its territory.[1] Yuriy
Yevdokimov also visited British Nuclear Fuels,
Ltd. (BNFL) and met BNFL Chairman Hugh Collum. During this meeting, the two sides discussed
possible BNFL participation in such
projects as building a solid radioactive waste processing facility in Polyarnyy,
creating a defueling facility and a first-generation nuclear
submarine dismantlement facility in Gremikha,
and continuing cooperation at Atomflot.[1,2]
Yevdokimov also met Malcolm Havort,
head of the Central
and Eastern Europe Department of the UK Defence Ministry, and discussed prospects of
receiving financial assistance from the UK Defence Ministry for retraining
retiring Russian naval officers in the
Northern Fleet.[2]
10/2/2000: PM-12 NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSFER SHIP SECURITY SYSTEM MODERNIZED
On 2 October 2000, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced
that modernization of security systems on the PM-12 service ship,
based at Nerpa Shipyard,
had been completed.
The ship conducts refueling for nuclear submarines and icebreakers. The
upgrade improved protection against theft or diversion of nuclear
materials aboard the ship.[1,2] In 1999, a similar modernization was completed on
PM-63,
based in Severodvinsk.
One more service ship is scheduled for security enhancement. The work is being
done
as part of cooperation between the DOE and the
Russian Federation.[1]
9/25/2000: NORWEGIANS NOT SATISFIED WITH NUKLID
At the request of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
the Fridtjof Nansen Institute conducted a study of Norwegian projects on
nuclear safety in Russia. The resulting report is highly critical of Nuklid,
a company established by the Ministry of Atomic Energy to coordinate
international aid in dealing with nuclear waste. The document pointed out a lack
of financial transparency and questionable methods Nuklid used in choosing subcontractors. It also noted that
Gosatommadzor is effectively left out
of the projects carried out by Nuklid, raising concerns about nuclear safety
in those projects. The report advises the Norwegian government to work
directly with local Russian companies and authorities rather than conducting
all work through Nuklid.[1,2]
9/14/2000: CONTRACTOR FOR AUXILIARY CONTAINERS FOUND
On 14 September 2000, the
Gorodets
Shipyard (Nizhniy Novgorod Oblast) announced that it had signed a $5 million contract with
the Ministry of
Atomic Energy for experimental production of containers designed to bury
radioactive instruments and clothes used in the process of handling spent
fuel. The enterprise will initially produce 30 such containers. It will also
manufacture supplementary equipment for
Izhorskiye Zavody's
construction of containers for transportation and storage of radioactive waste as part of the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation
(AMEC)
Program. This second contract is estimated at 250,000 rubles (almost $9,000
as of 14
September 2000).
9/4/2000: JAPAN TO CONTINUE FINANCIAL SUPPORT
FOR DEALING WITH NUCLEAR PROBLEMS IN RUSSIAN FAR EAST
On 4 September 2000, a Russian-Japanese memorandum on
cooperation in disarmament, nonproliferation, and scrapping nuclear weapons in
Russia was signed in Tokyo. The document was signed by Russian Minister
of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov. Adamov said the main goal is completion
of the Landysh liquid radioactive waste processing facility
and the processing of weapons grade plutonium into MOX fuel, to be used in BN-600
fast neutron reactors.[1,2,3] The two sides will also cooperate on nuclear
submarine dismantlement, defueling decommissioned submarines, constructing a
spent nuclear fuel storage facility at Zvezda
shipyard, reconstructing the railway between Bolshoy
Kamen and Smolyaninovo, and modernization of the Pinega tanker to
enable it to transport spent nuclear fuel from submarines to locations from where it will
be loaded onto railcars.[2,3,4]
9/1/2000: SECURITY UPGRADES AT TWO NUCLEAR FUEL STORAGE FACILITIES
IN PRIMORYE COMPLETE
On 1 September 2000, two nuclear fuel storage
facilities on the Shkotovo Peninsula resumed operations after modernization and security
upgrades.[1,2,3,4]
Site 32, at Cape Sysoyeva, is designed to handle irradiated and damaged fuel and
Chazhma (Site 34) stores fresh naval nuclear fuel.[2] New security systems were
installed to
prevent the theft or diversion of nuclear fuel. The United States financed construction
under the Material Protection, Control and Accounting Program
(MPC&A) program. The opening
ceremony was attended by US Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson and US Ambassador
to Russia James Collins. On 31 August, Richardson and Commander-in-Chief
of the Russian Navy Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov signed an agreement on future
expansion of cooperation between the two countries within the framework
of the MPC&A program. There were also talks about
possible US assistance in
financing the construction of a nuclear submarine dismantlement
facility and a nuclear fuel storage plant at Kamchatka
Shipyard (49K) in
Vilyuchinsk.[5] Secretary Richardson reportedly expressed his intention to try to get
congressional approval for the project.[6]
8/27/2000: UNITED KINGDOM PLEDGES $117 MILLION FOR NUCLEAR SAFETY IN
NIS
On 27 August 2000, UK Foreign
Secretary Robin Cook said that the United Kingdom would provide £80
million (over $117 million as of 27 August 2000) to assist the former
Soviet states in addressing nuclear safety problems over next three years.[1,2,3]
Five million pounds (over $7.3 million as of 27 August 2000) will go toward providing safe storage for spent nuclear
fuel. The Russian newspaper Kommersant
reported that only £10 million (almost $14.7 million as of 27 August 2000) would go to Russia and the rest of the
money would be spent for a new sarcophagus at the Chornobyl nuclear
plant.[4] However, in April 2001 CNS learned that £10 million (over
$14.3 million as of 25 April 2001) is earmarked for construction of a spent nuclear fuel storage cask
transport vessel. Some of the £80
million will be used in a EUR900,000 (about
$805,000 as of 25 April 2001) joint project with Norway and Sweden to
refurbish Building 301 at Mayak,
where spent nuclear fuel from Northern and Pacific Fleet submarines will be
stored. As of 25 April 2001, however, no actual work had started due to unresolved
issues of nuclear liability, taxes, and access. These problems should be
solved upon conclusion of a supplementary agreement to the Russia-UK bilateral
agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear materials.[5] British
Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. (BNFL) is expected to be the main contractor hired by the
UK government.[3] The Green
Cross International environmental organization, affiliated with former
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, has estimated that around $2.2 billion are needed
to make nuclear submarines and their waste safe.[1]
7/20/2000: NORWAY PAYS FOR ADDITIONAL RAILROAD CARS
TO
TRANSPORT SPENT FUEL
On 20 July 2000, Nezavisimaya gazeta reported that the Ministry of
Atomic Energy had placed an order with the Tver
Railcar Building Plant for construction of train cars for
nuclear waste transportation. Construction will be paid for with money
provided by Norway.
Thanks to Norwegian financial assistance the plant has already built four
special cars.
7/19/2000: EU INTENDS TO EXPAND COOPERATION ON
NUCLEAR SAFETY WITH RUSSIA
On 19 July 2000, at the European Union's request, Tractebel
Energy Engineering
experts went to Murmansk to assess the overall situation at various facilities
where nuclear waste is kept in order to design a project to improve their security. The ultimate goal of the project is
the construction of a radioactive waste storage facility. Belgatom
and the All-Russian
Scientific Research and Design Institute of Energy Technology are
preparing technical documentation, which is supposed to be completed by
January 2001. Financing
of the project is dependent upon EU approval.
The Murmansk Shipping
Company is very interested in the project because its own
storage facilities are already 85% full and in five to seven years there
will be no room to store low- and medium-level radioactive waste.
7/13/2000: PLAN TO DISMANTLE 60 SUBS REQUIRES
FOREIGN AID
On 13 July 2000, Interfax cited a Minatom press
release stating that the federal program "Comprehensive
Disposal of Nuclear Submarines and Surface Ships with Nuclear Power
Reactors" provides for the dismantlement of 60 nuclear submarines in the Russian Far East
by 2010. The project foresees financial assistance through programs
that the Russian government will conduct jointly with the United States and Japan.
6/20/2000: FRANCE, RUSSIA
SIGN BILATERAL LIABILITY AGREEMENT
On 20 June 2000, Russian Minister
of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov and French Industry Minister Christian
Pierret signed a bilateral liability agreement lifting barriers to cooperative
dismantlement projects, such as work on the ship Lepse, which serves as a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel removed
from Russian nuclear submarines.[1] Since Russia has not ratified
the Vienna Convention of 1963,
foreign countries providing assistance risk being held liable for disasters
unless they negotiate bilateral agreements. The new agreement also
paves the way for France to assist Norway's
Bellona
Foundation in building an on-shore complex, the Lepse
Village, for the Lepse's staff and monitoring equipment.[2] For
a copy of the liability agreement project in Russian, click
here.
6/7/2000: NORWAY TO AID RUSSIA
IN BUILDING SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL TRANSPORTATION SHIP AT ZVEZDOCHKA
At a meeting of the Russian-Norwegian commission
on radioactive waste and security on 7 June 2000, Russia and Norway reached
an agreement to build a ship for transporting containers with spent nuclear
fuel and liquid radioactive waste. The ship will be designed, constructed,
and commissioned by 2003. Russia and Norway plan to ask other industrialized
countries to aid in building this ship, a project that is estimated to cost $20 million.
Zvezdochka
State Machine-Building Enterprise in Severodvinsk will construct the vessel.
6/7/2000: NORWAY TO GIVE RUSSIA FUNDS FOR NUCLEAR
SAFETY PROJECTS
At a 7 June 2000 meeting of the
Russian-Norwegian commission on radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel,
Norwegian Foreign Ministry secretary and commission co-chairman Espen Barth
Eide announced that Norway plans to give Russia 105 million Norwegian kroner
($12.1 million as of 7 June 2000) to aid Russia with the implementation
of nuclear safety projects.
6/7/2000: LEPSE NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE PROJECT
IN JEOPARDY
For more information, see the 6/7/2000
entry in Northern Fleet Radioactive
Waste Developments file.
6/1/2000: BNFL TO CLEAN UP RUSSIAN NUCLEAR WASTE
AND SPENT FUEL
In late May 2000, a delegation of Russian State
Duma members visited the United Kingdom to consider the
possibility of contracting British Nuclear Fuels,
Ltd.
(BNFL) to assist in dealing with nuclear waste and spent fuel from decommissioned
Northern Fleet nuclear submarines.[1] The full participation of the British in
cleaning up Russian radioactive waste became possible only after the direct involvement of
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered military commanders to let BNFL
visit submarine bases on the Kola Peninsula. The region contains about 20 percent of
all naval nuclear reactors in the world. According to a preliminary
agreement, BNFL and Norwegian and French companies will remove
reactors and spent fuel from both nuclear submarines and icebreakers.[2]
5/25/2000: NORWAY, FRANCE HELP BUILD LEPSE
ON-SHORE COMPLEX
For more information, see the 5/25/2000
entry in the Atomflot
Developments file.
4/2000: NEGOTATIONS
CONTINUE TO CREATE MULTINATIONAL PROGRAM TO MANAGE RUSSIAN NUCLEAR ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS
As of April 2000, negotiations are under way to create
the Multilateral Nuclear and Environmental Program in the Russian Federation
(MNEPR). In response to a Norwegian initiative, a declaration regarding
the desirability of such a program was signed by US Undersecretary of State
Strobe Talbott, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, and European Union
(EU) Commissioner for Foreign Policy Hans van der Broek at the 4-5 March
1999 meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council
meeting in Bodo, Norway.[1,2] On 17 December 1999 the US and EU issued
a Joint Statement on Northern Europe which noted their expectation that
MNEPR would facilitate cooperation in the field of radioactive waste and
spent fuel management and establish a legal framework for effective project
implementation.[3] The next meeting regarding the program will take place
in Paris on 30 May 2000.[2]
2/18/2000: MORE THAN 100 SELF-READING DOSIMETERS
GIVEN TO THE RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
On 18 February 2000, the Brookhaven Bulletin
reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense had received more than 100
self-reading electronic dosimeters from Brookhaven National Laboratory under
the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC)
Program. These devices will help workers engaged in the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear
submarines to monitor their radiation exposure. BNL also organized training for
Russian and Norwegian naval officers in using the dosimeters and
other exposure-monitoring techniques.
2/11/2000: JAPAN PROMISES $120 MILLION FOR
SUB DISMANTLEMENT
For more information, see the the 2/11/2000
entry in the Bolshoy
Kamen file.
11/99: BNFL ASSESSES SITUATION IN RUSSIAN NORTHWEST
David Bosner, waste management and decommissioning
director at British
Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. (BNFL), delivered a report on nuclear safety in the Russian
Northwest before the House of Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee. He pointed
out environmental threats coming from spent nuclear fuel containers "that are
open to the atmosphere and deteriorating fast." Bosner mentioned building
No. 5 at Andreyeva
Bay, which is leaking radioactive waste into the bay. According to him the
total cost of cleaning up nuclear contamination in Russia could be as high as
$100 billion. As of November 1999, BNFL, French, and Scandinavian companies
had negotiated a provisional $50 million contract to build an interim storage
facility for spent nuclear fuel at Mayak
in Chelyabinsk. It remains undecided whether this will be a dry or wet storage
facility, with the Russians preferring wet storage and the foreign partners dry storage. For more information, see the 3/20/2000
and 5/28/1998
entries in the Mayak
spent fuel reprocessing developments section.
11/99: UK CONFIRMS PLANS TO GIVE RUSSIA NEARLY
$5 MILLION FOR LEPSE, MAY AID SUB DISMANTLEMENT
During his November 1999 visit to Murmansk, UK Consul
General John Guy confirmed his country's intention to allocate 3 million
pounds sterling (about $4.9 million as of 20 November 1999) toward ensuring
safe storage of spent nuclear fuel on the storage vessel Lepse.
(For more on UK promises, see 3/4/99 entry, below.)
Guy said that the UK intends to implement the Lepse project unilaterally.
A Murmansk Oblast official noted that Britain may well spend most of its
assistance money in St. Petersburg: the British are ordering spent
fuel containers there for use on the Kola Peninsula. The official
suggested that such containers could also have been produced in Murmansk
Oblast, but that the British were probably not well acquainted with the
Murmansk market, and afraid to risk their money there. In a further development,
the Murmansk administration suggested that the British begin assisting
Russia in the dismantlement of nuclear submarines, and proposed Polyarnyy
as a potential site for such dismantlement.[1] According to Norwegian sources,
British assistance will come under the umbrella of the Multilateral Nuclear
Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR).[2] (For more information
on MNEPR, see the 4/2000 entry, above).
8/99: US PROMISES RUSSIA
$15 MILLION FOR SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT AT NERPA
Under the Cooperative
Threat Reduction (CTR) program, the United States has allocated $15
million for Russian nuclear strategic submarine (SSBN) dismantlement at Nerpa Shipyard.
According to Nerpa's director, Pavel Steblin, Russia and the US have ratified
a protocol on the continuation of Northern Fleet submarine dismantlement.
Nerpa has already scrapped three nuclear submarines as part of the CTR
program.
7/26/99: RUSSIA AND JAPAN SIGN AGREEMENT
ON NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DISMANTLEMENT
On 26 July 1999, Russian Deputy Minister
of Atomic Energy Nikolay Yegorov and Japanese Ambassador to Russia
Takehiro Togo, co-chairs of the Russian Japanese Committee for Cooperation,
signed an agreement on Japanese assistance for Pacific Fleet nuclear submarine
dismantlement.[1,2] The program will be financed within the framework
of the April 1993 aid package that allocated $100 million for nuclear weapon
disarmament in the former Soviet Union. Yegorov said that according
to the agreement, Russia will receive $38 million in aid this year for
several concrete projects.[1] (Please see the 5/29/99
entry below for more details.)
7/22/99: US AND RUSSIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON
FINANCING NAVAL SPENT FUEL REPROCESSING
For details, please see the 7/22/99
entry in the Naval Radioactive Waste
Developments file.
6/99: SSN DISMANTLEMENT FEASIBILITY AND PILOT
STUDIES UNDERWAY
As of June 1999, the Kurchatov
Institute was conducting a feasibility study on designing a dismantlement
program for Russian nuclear attack submarines (SSNs). The United
States provided funding for the feasibility study, and the US Departments
of Defense and Energy are conducting a simultaneous study to delineate
possible US interests in helping Russia dismantle its tactical nuclear
submarines. Russia plans to upgrade a facility in Petropavlovsk to
conduct the Pacific Fleet's SSN dismantlement on a "pilot" basis.
The United States hopes to decide on its participation in Russian SSN dismantlement
by the end of 1999.
5/29/99: JAPAN TO PROVIDE
ADDITIONAL AID TO PACIFIC FLEET
On 29 May 1999, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko
Komura and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov agreed upon plans to expand
Japanese foreign assistance for Russian Pacific Fleet nuclear submarine
dismantlement. This new assistance package will include feasability
studies for defueling decommissioned submarines, dismantling a Victor-class
SSN, and reconstructing the Pacific Fleet's Pinega tanker for transporting
containers of spent nuclear fuel. The defueling project consists
of removing the fuel from the submarines to transportation and packaging
units, building a storage facility at the Zvezda
Shipyard, and reconstruction of the Bolshoy Kamen-Smolyaninova railway.[1,2]
Japan will provide approximately $35 million to support these activities.
The Japanese funding comes from the remainder of the $100 million earmarked
in 1993 to aid in the disposal of the former Soviet Union's nuclear arms.
Japan intends to exchange information with other nations helping Russia
dismantle its submarines, such as Norway, Sweden, and the United States
and hopes that work on the projects will begin in April 2001.[3]
3/4/99: BRITAIN TO
AID RUSSIA IN NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL
Citing deep historical ties between Britain and Murmansk,
UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook paid a three-day visit to Northern Fleet
headquarters in Murmansk and pledged three million pounds (approximately
$4.83 million) to aid in cleaning up radioactive waste from decommissioned
nuclear submarines.[1,2] Most of the aid is to be specifically earmarked
for removing damaged spent fuel rods from the Lepse
storage ship and providing casks to house the spent fuel rods. Foreign
Secretary Cook said that the purpose of the visit was twofold: to illustrate
the desire of the West to assist Russia with nuclear waste issues and to
urge the Russians to cooperate with Western companies who want to help
them. In the past, Western companies have voiced concerns about Russian
duties on imported equipment, a lack of cooperation in waiving accident
liability, and in some instances, denial of access to sensitive sites.
Foreign Secretary Cook's announcement of aid will bolster British Nuclear
Fuels Limited's (BNFL) work in designing an interim spent fuel storage
system, a project funded by Norway, Sweden, and the EU. In addition,
BNFL has joined Norway in order to assist the Russian Navy in repairing
radioactive leaks at the Andreyeva Bay Naval Base.[1]
3/99: JAPANESE VISIT BRINGS HOPE OF MORE ASSISTANCE
In early March 1999, as part of a joint Russian-Japanese delegation, representatives
from the Japanese government visited the Zvezda
Shipyard in Bolshoy Kamen and expressed interest in increasing the
nuclear submarine dismantlement capacity there.[1,2] The Primorskiy
Kray administration told Interfax that the Japanese officials were specifically
interested in modernizing equipment at Zvezda, building a new submarine
dismantlement area there, and upgrading a railway linking the Zvezda facility
with the Trans-Siberian railway.[2] Following the delegates' visit
to Zvezda, the Japanese government began to consider funding for the program.[1,2]
2/24/99: RUSSIAN-US DISMANTLEMENT PROGRAM MAY INVOLVE
TACTICAL NUCLEAR SUBS
During a news conference on 24 February 1999, US Department of Energy Assistant
Secretary for Nonproliferation and National Security Rose Gottemoeller
stated that the United States may launch a project to help Russia dismantle
its nuclear attack submarines after the completion of feasibility studies
and cost assessments.[1,2] Gottemoeller noted that the United States and
Russia had been negotiating the possibility of including tactical nuclear
submarine dismantlement in US disarmament assistance for some time.[2]
Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Nikolay Yegorov initiated the official
discussions, and a letter addressed to the US Departments of Energy, Defense,
and State from Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Viktor Mikhailov followed
suit in early 1999.[1] According to Gottemoeller, "much remains to
be discussed," but tactical nuclear submarine dismantlement could become
a part of the US dismantlement assistance program (the Cooperative
Threat Reduction Program) by 2000.[2]
1/21/99: US MPC&A ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
EXPANDED
On 21 January 1999, US Secretary of Energy Bill
Richardson and representatives from the Russian
Navy and the Kurchatov
Institute agreed to expand the activities of the US MPC&A
program at naval sites. The Kurchatov Institute is the main contractor for MPC&A
upgrades at Russian naval facilities. Initial cooperation
between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Russian Navy began
with a joint statement signed in 1996. Rear Admiral Nikolay Yurasov
represented the Russian Navy and Nikolay Ponomarev-Stepnoy
represented the Kurchatov Institute.
6-8/98: NORWAY FINANCES PROJECT TO CHANGE COURSE OF
CONTAMINATED BROOK
In 1998, the Engineering Center for
Environmental Safety in Zaozersk designed a project to divert the path of a
brook that was
carrying radioactive waste from leaks at the Andreyeva
Bay nuclear
waste storage facility into the sea. During the summer of 1998, the Norwegian government
spent about $800,000 on a project to direct the brook into an underground
channel so that it
would not run near underground pools and containers storing radioactive
materials.
7/9/98: UNITED STATES TO AID PACIFIC FLEET
The latest stage of talks between the Mayak Chemical
Combine and the US Department of Defense concluded on 9 July 1998 in Chelyabinsk.
The United States has decided to pay for the transport of nuclear waste
produced by the Russian Pacific Fleet's nuclear submarines and partially
pay for storage of the waste there. US concerns about the environmental
situation in the Far East prompted the assistance, the exact amount of
which has not yet been negotiated. Discussions between UK, Swiss,
French, and Norwegian government officials on a similar agreement in the
Northern Fleet took place in December 1997. The Scandinavian countries
have decided to pay for the construction of a storage facility at Mayak.
5/28/98: INTERNATIONAL GROUP
RECONSIDERS MAYAK NAVAL SPENT FUEL STORAGE PROJECT
Since spring 1997, the
Foreign Nuclear Assistance