This file is no longer being updated. For information on
developments in the nuclear power industry, please see the Nuclear
Power Developments section.
Zarechnyy, 30 km from Yekaterinburg
Rosenergoatom
Plant Manager: Oleg Sarayev
Deputy Manager, BN-600: Aleksandr Shestakov
Unit 1: RBMK
Unit 2: RBMK
Unit 3: BN-600 sodium-cooled fast-breeder
reactor (FBR)
Three; only Unit 3 is operational
Unit 1: initial criticality 9/63 (operational 4/64)
Unit 2: initial criticality 10/67 (operational 12/67)
Unit 3: initial criticality 2/80 (operational 4/80)
600 MWe (Unit 3)
Enriched to 20-25 percent
uranium-235 (Unit 3)
Nuclear Engineering International reports that Units
1 and 2, the nation's first light-water cooled graphite-moderated (RBMK)
reactors, were shut down in 1981 and 1990, respectively.[4] Nuclear
News, however, reports that these reactors were shut down in 1983 and January
1990, respectively. A Nuclear Weapons Databook report from January
1996 indicated that all units have been shut down for decommissioning.[3]
(Note: this information has not been corroborated by any other sources;
Nuclear
Engineering International's "World Nuclear Industry Handbook 1996"(released
2/96) lists Beloyarsk-3 as operable.)[1] According to Professor Tsypin
from Gosatomnadzor, fuel has been unloaded from Units 1 and 2, and their
primary and secondary circuits are decontaminated.[2] According to
Core
Issues, the BN-600 has a fuel breeding 'blanket' which contains unenriched
uranium elements that are slowly converted to plutonium as the reactor
runs. However, most of the elements have not been reprocessed to
extract plutonium.[5]
Unit 3 has a lifetime average annual capacity factor of 69.8 percent and
a 1996 capacity factor of 76.3 percent.
This site participates in the US Department
of Energy MPCA program. DOE personnel conducted an initial
site visit in May 1996. Hardware and software for a computerized material
accounting system and tamper indicating devices have been delivered.
A fresh fuel measurement system and protective forces communication equipment
were delivered in January 1997. The final design for a physical protection
system is being negotiated. Training has been provided in physical
protection, MPC&A, non-destructive assay techniques, and tamper indicating
devices.
For a description of the MPC&A work being performed
at this site please see the Department of Energy's December 1997 document,
United
States/ Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material
Protection, Control, and Accounting: Partnership for Nuclear Security
and the Department of Energy's September 1998 document, United
States/ Former Soviet Union Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material
Protection, Control, and Accounting: Partnership for Nuclear Security.
The US Department of Energy has also
been assisting with the training of plant management and operators. The
transfer of training methodology and materials developed at the Balakovo
Training Center to the Beloyarsk NPP is ongoing. Beloyarsk instructors have been trained in the methodology
for maintenance and safety measures used at the Balakovo Training Center. To support the training courses, Beloyarsk NPP was fully equipped
with basic training equipment including office machines, equipment, and office supplies. With the assistance of US and Balakovo
training specialists, a pilot course on sodium pump repair was implemented.
At Beloyarsk, solid waste is compacted after sorting, while
combustible waste is burned. As of October 1996, the liquid waste
storage facility was 70-85 percent full; the solid waste storage facility
was 65-85 percent full.
Unit 4, a BN-800 reactor, is scheduled to be completed sometime
after the year 2000.[1] During a meeting with the
Japan Atomic Industrial Forum on 24 March 1998, a Minatom delegation echoed
interest expressed in February by Rosenergoatom's former president Erik
Pozdyshev regarding the purchase of Japanese equipment for the Beloyarsk
BN-800 fast breeder reactor. Items to be purchased may include testing
equipment, control systems, and air-conditioning equipment. As of
2 April 1998, no further plans had been made for the transaction. [2]
(For more recent developments,
see the Nuclear
Power Developments file):
7/28/99: UNIT 3 MAY GET MATERIAL
FROM FRANCE'S SUPERPHENIX
On July 28 a delegation from the Beloyarsk
NPP went to France to determine what equipment they might wish to purchase
from the decommissioned Superphenix fast reactor. They were particularly
interested in equipment from secondary loops, such as sodium valves and
electromagnetic pumps.
6/20/99: UNIT 4 CONSTRUCTION POSTPONED FOR 2 YEARS
Minatom and the Sverdlovsk Oblast government have
decided to postpone construction of the new 800MW fast breeder reactor,
Unit 4, due to a lack of funds. Only $100 million are available,
while the total cost of the project is over $1 billion.
4/14/99: IONIZING RADIATION
SOURCE DISCOVERED IN BELOYARSK NPP SECURITY ZONE
An ionizing radiation source was discovered
in the town of Zarechnyy, within the Beloyarsk NPP security zone.
This led to an inspection of plant facilities where such radiation sources,
as well as plutonium, are stored. The inspection uncovered numerous
materials control and accounting violations. Measures are being taken
to improve the security of radiation source storage facilities, some of
which are located near housing facilities.
3/13/99: ENVIRONMENTALISTS PROTEST
UNIT 4 CONSTRUCTION
Activists from the groups Against Violence
(Protiv nasiliya) and Guardians of the Rainbow (Khraniteli radugi) held
protests in Yekaterinburg. They were protesting the construction
of the Unit 4 reactor at Beloyarsk NPP.
9/98: ADAMOV APPROVES CONSTRUCTION
OF LEAD-COOLED FAST REACTOR
Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov has approved
prototype construction of a new advanced reactor. This lead-cooled
fast reactor (LCFR), called the BREST-300 project, is planned for construction
at Beloyarsk, alongside the operating BN-600 (sodium-cooled) and the partially-built
BN-800. The LCFR was developed at the Scientific
Research and Design Institute of Energy Technologies (NIKIET) in Sverdlovsk.
Arguments have been made for the proliferation resistance of the LCFR,
due to its use of a mixed uranium/plutonium nitride fuel and a reprocessing
method that would partially "clean" fission products from the irradiated
fuel without separating plutonium from uranium.
1/98: UNIT 4 DESIGN LICENSED, BUT FUNDING INSUFFICIENT
Russian nuclear inspectors have permitted Rosenergoatom to begin construction
of Beloyarsk-4, an 800MW fast breeder reactor. However, a lack of funds
has frozen the actual construction of the $800 million reactor unit. According
to station manager Oleg Sarayev, only $100 million has been put into the
project. Construction stopped after economic reforms began in Russia. Sarayev
hopes to attract foreign organizations interested in fast breeder reactor
technology to invest needed funds, along with a local enterprise consisting
of Sverdlovenergo, Uralenergostroy, the local government, and Rosenergoatom,
to complete the construction. He stated that negotiations with Japan
might begin in the near future.
1/31/96: REPORT: BELOYARSK SHUT DOWN
According to one report, Beloyarsk has been shut down for
decommissioning. Fuel assemblies have been stored in cooling ponds in containers
designed for dry storage. Several of these containers have become unsealed,
allowing for the direct contact of the uranium with the cooling water.
In addition, the integrity of the ponds' steel linings is questionable.
1/96: PHYSICAL PROTECTION PROJECTS EXTENDED TO BELOYARSK
Under the "Joint Statement on Control, Accounting and Physical
Protection of Nuclear Materials," signed by Russia's Minatom and the US
Department of Energy in January 1996, cooperative physical protection projects
developed under the Sandia National Laboratory's leadership extended to
Beloyarsk NPP.
11/15/95: BELOYARSK SHUT DOWN FOR REPAIRS
Interfax reported that the reactor at Beloyarsk was shut
down for unscheduled repairs due to fluctuations in hydrogen levels in
a cooling unit.
1/6/95: PLANTS TIGHTEN SECURITY
Extra security measures were instituted in response to fears
of possible Chechen terrorist attack. Security was tightened at nuclear
facilities throughout the Sverdlovsk region.
5/6/94: BELOYARSK UNIT 3 FIRE: INES-1
A fire broke out at Unit 3 following a sodium leak from the
cooling system but no radiation was released. The reactor has been under
repair since 23 April 1994. The incident was rated 1 on the INES scale.
Page last updated 24 October 2000
For more recent developments,
see the Nuclear
Power Developments file.
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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