To return to the main
Northern Fleet entry, see the Northern Fleet
file.
Zaozersk, Murmansk Oblast, on Litsa Bay, about 45 kilometers
from the Norwegian border
The Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base includes four naval facilities: Andreyeva
Bay on the western side, and Bolshaya Lopatka,
Malaya
Lopatka, and Nerpichya situated on the eastern side. Zaozersk is the closed residential city associated with the
naval base, which was also previously called Severomorsk-7, Murmansk-150,
and Zaozerniy.[1, 2]
Zapadnaya Litsa is the largest Northern Fleet base and maintains most of
the active nuclear-powered submarine fleet. As of January 1998, it
is estimated that at least 30 nuclear-powered submarines of the Victor,
Sierra, Oscar, and Typhoon classes are based out of the Zapadnaya Litsa
Naval Base. Thus, more radioactive waste is generated here than at
the other locations on the Kola Peninsula. The waste is stored in
special containers which are then placed in a concrete bunker. Previously,
bunkers were sealed with additional concrete as they filled up. Zapadnaya
Litsa also refuels nuclear submarines.[2,3]
Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base
Ministry of Atomic Energy (formerly the site was
under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense)
Andreyeva Bay, also known as Installation 928-III,[1] is the largest storage
facility in the Northern Fleet for radioactive waste, particularly spent
nuclear fuel. Although the storage facility was built in the 1960s,
is in need of modernization, and is inaccessible by rail, it remains operational.
Reportedly, 21,000 spent fuel rods (equivalent to about 90 nuclear reactors)
are stored in three concrete containers, which have been filled to capacity
since early 1990. As a result of the termination of spent fuel transportation
to Mayak in 1997, new deliveries of containers of spent nuclear fuel are
stored at Andreyeva Bay out in the open and unprotected. TK-11 and
TK-18 containers, storing 35 spent fuel rods each, are located on the grounds
of the facility and may potentially develop cracks and leak radioactivity.
Thirty-two such containers, which have been stored in the open, are leaking
radioactivity.[2,3,4] During the summer of 1998, the Norwegian government
spent about $800,000 on a project to direct a brook into an underground
channel so that it
would not run near underground pools and containers storing radioactive
materials.[5] Since 2002, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have initiated
assistance projects for Andreyeva Bay.
Andreyeva Bay formerly housed fresh fuel in Building
No. 34, from which 1.8 kilograms of 36 percent enriched HEU from two fuel
assemblies was stolen in 1993.[1] (Please see the CNS
Nuclear Trafficking Database for more information on this incident.)
All fresh fuel formerly stored at Andreyeva Bay has since been consolidated
at Site 49 (near Severomorsk). As of
January 2000, DOE and the Russian Navy are discussing making MPC&A
improvements at spent fuel storage facilities.[2]
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.
7/25/2003: OVER TWO MILLION RUBLES
EARMARKED FOR ANDREYEVA BAY
On 25 July 2003, Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Aleksandr
Rumyantsev visited the Andreyeva Bay radioactive waste storage site and remarked that the
area has improved considerably since 2000. This year alone, over 200 million
rubles (roughly $6.6 million as of 25 July 2003) in Russia's federal
budget were earmarked for renovation of the site. Western countries, including
Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, have also contributed funds. France has
also expressed its readiness to assist in cleaning up the region, according to
SevRAO Director Valeriy Panteleyev. The French funds would reportedly be used
for work not only in Andreyeva Bay, but also in Gremikha.(For
more information on foreign assistance for Andreyeva, see the
10/15/2003,
7/7/2003,
3/18/2003, and
6/6/2002 entries in the
Naval Foreign Assistance Developments
section.
7/7/2003: $8 MILLION FROM UNITED KINGDOM FOR ANDREYEVA BAY
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.
6/6/2002: NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT
ALLOCATES MONEY FOR ANDREYEVA BAY
On 6 June 2002, Murmansk Governor Yuriy 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.
9/4/2001: RUSSIAN-NORWEGIAN AGREEMENT SIGNED TO
START WORK ON IMPROVING CONDITIONS AT ANDREYEVA BAY
On 4 September 2001, the Murmansk Oblast administration
signed an agreement with Norway's Finnmark County to start work on improving conditions at
the Andreyeva Bay storage facility. The plan calls
for creation of a deactivation center and a radiation control system, as well
as construction of administrative buildings and housing for the facility's
staff. The Norwegian government has already provided NKr 9.705 million (over $1.1 million as of 4 September 2001) to implement the
agreement and has pledged another NKr 15 million (over $1.7
million as of 4 September 2001) in 2002 for the same purposes. In mid-2002, the Norwegians will
supply construction modules for the buildings. According to Murmansk Oblast Governor Yuriy Yevdokimov, by
the end of 2001, Minatom will provide about 10 million rubles (about $340,000 as of 4 September
2001) for realization of this joint project.
5/28/2001: NORWEGIAN EXPERTS SHOCKED BY STATE OF ANDREYEVA
BAY
On 28 May 2001, a Norwegian delegation headed by
Deputy Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide visited Andreyeva Bay.[1] It was the first time
that a foreign
delegation was granted access to the base.[2] In an interview with Norway's NRK
radio, Eide expressed his concern
that the facility was in a state of serious decay.[3] The Norwegian delegation
was not granted access to the part of the base
where containers with radioactive waste were lying in the open. Nevertheless,
the Norwegians saw enough to convince them that urgent measures are
needed.[4] On 29 May 2001, Eide confirmed at
a meeting of the Russian-Norwegian Nuclear and Radiation Safety Cooperation
Committee in Kirkenes that Norway would allocate NKr10 million (over $1 million as of 28 May 2001)
in 2001 to address problems at Andreyeva
Bay.[1] One of the projects the Norwegians are planning to fund is the construction of a roof over
spent fuel storage tanks to prevent rain and snow from
washing radioactive matter into the sea.[3] Funding is dependent on whether
Norwegian experts are allowed to monitor the site, but Russia may
object because the Bolshaya Lopatka and Nerpichya nuclear submarine bases nearby can be seen from
the storage facility.[2] According to the Bellona Foundation, at least $10 million
is needed to improve safety and clean up Andreyeva Bay.[3] Deputy Minister of
Atomic Energy Valeriy Lebedev put the cost at $20 million.[5]
11/20/99: MINATOM TO TAKE
OVER ANDREYEVA BAY
On 20 November 1999 Kommersant reported that
the Andreyeva Bay facility, still subordinate to the Ministry
of Defense, would soon come under the control of Minatom.
6-8/98: NORWAY FINANCES PROJECT TO CHANGE COURSE OF
CONTAMINATED BROOK
For more information see the 6-8/98
entry in the Naval Foreign Assistance
Developments section.
2/24/98: DEFENSE MINISTRY ALLOCATES FUNDS FOR
STORAGE SITES
The Russian Ministry of Defense has allocated 3 million
rubles for reconstruction of a radioactive waste storage site and a spent
nuclear fuel storage site at Andreyeva Bay. According to experts
from an environmental corporation from Northern Europe, 80 percent of the
radioactive waste in northwestern Russia is concentrated on and around
the Kola Peninsula. The commander of Russia's fleet of nuclear-powered
submarines, Vice Admiral Mikhail Motsak, suggested that a government enterprise,
funded by the federal budget, be formed to replace the military unit responsible
for collecting and storing radioactive waste, and for preparing it for
transportation. Former Minister of Atomic Energy Viktor Mikhaylov
made a similar proposal in 1996, but the project was never completed.
In fall 1997, the Murmansk Oblast administration held a meeting during
which Motsak addressed the critical issue of radioactive waste at Andreyeva
Bay. A coordinating committee was created under the leadership of
the Murmansk Governor Yuriy Yevdokimov, and a plan for dealing with these
problems through the year 2010 was established. During Yevdokimov's
December 1997 visit to Luleo, Sweden, agreements were reached with the
United States and France regarding their participation in projects directed
at preventing radioactive accidents, including initiatives in Murmansk.
Therefore, according to Yevdokimov, "the problems are being solved."
8/97: FINNS SUSPEND WASTE PROCESSING PROJECT
For details, please see the 8/97
entry in the Naval Foreign Assistance Developments file.
Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base
Most of the operational nuclear submarines are based out of the Bolshaya
Lopatka facility. It was built in the 1960s as a bigger, more modern
facility than Malaya Lopatka. The Bolshaya Lopatka complex consists
of eight piers, a floating maintenance dock, and two storage facilities.
The smaller facility temporarily stores both liquid and solid radioactive
waste generated from monitoring the submarine reactors' cooling system.
The waste is then transferred to the Andreyeva Bay facility.
Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base
Malaya Lopatka, the oldest facility at Zapadnaya Litsa, was built in the
1950s to support the first nuclear-powered submarine, K-3.
The facility consists of five piers and a floating repair dock.
Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base
Nerpichya, the newest facility at Zapadnaya Litsa, is the only one connected
by both rail and road. Originally, Echo II-class submarines were
based out of this facility, until it was upgraded to support the largest
Russian nuclear submarines, the Typhoon class. Although not
all of the planned longer piers and land-based facilities were completed,
all six of the Typhoon-class submarines are based at Nerpichya. The
entire Nerpichya complex consists of three piers, a land-based repair dock,
a floating ship repair dock, and a small waste storage facility for both
solid and liquid waste.
Last updated 28 January 2004
Comments or questions? Contact Cristina Chuen at MIIS
CNS: Cristina.Chuen@miis.edu
This material is produced independently for NTI
by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the
Monterey Institute of International Studies and
does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has
not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers,
employees, agents. Copyright © 2002 by MIIS.
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