Russia

LOCATION: Ozersk, Chelyabinsk Oblast (location of Mayak Production Association): [International Nuclear Safety Center Database, http://www.ra.anl.gov/INSP/maps/location.]
ADMINISTRATION:: Director: Vladimir Morozov; [Sergey Blinovskikh, "Atomnoy stantsii - 'da'?" Chelyabinskiy rabochiy, 29 January 2000; in Natsionalnaya sluzhba novostey, http://nel.nns.ru.]{Entered 4/28/2000 CC}
TYPE: Sodium-cooled BN-800 fast breeder reactor (FBR). To view diagrams of BN-800 reactor systems, click here.: ["Fast Reactor Database: Specification Database," http://frdb.ippe.rssi.ru/database/database.html] {Entered 6/4/99 LBN}
UNITS: Two, planned: ["Nayti investora," Yadernaya bezopasnost, November-December 1998, No. 18-19, p. 15.] {Entered 5/12/99 LBB}
POWER: 800MWe, 2100MWt (nominal capacity): ["Fast Reactor Database: Specification Database," http://frdb.ippe.rssi.ru/database/database.html] {Entered 6/4/99 LBN}
FUEL: MOX fuel.: According to the IAEA's Fast Reactor Database (based on IAEA-TECDOC-866), when fully loaded, the reactor core will contain 30kg of U-235 and 1870kg of Pu-239.; ["Fast Reactor Database: Specification Database," http://frdb.ippe.rssi.ru/database/database.html] {Entered 6/4/99 LBN}
CURRENT STATUS:: In November 1998, Gosatomnadzor issued a license for the construction of the South Urals NPP.[1] Although the license provides for construction of two reactors, (for more details, see the 12/98 entry below), the original plans for the South Urals NPP called for the construction of three BN-800 reactors.[2] Construction of Units 1 and 2 was originally scheduled to be completed by 2000, with construction of Unit 3 to be completed after 2000.[5] Work began in 1984, but stopped due to funding problems.[2,3] When construction was stopped in 1987, only concrete foundations for two reactors had been laid.[4] Construction of the plant was suspended, but not officially stopped, after a local referendum.[6] Completion of Units 1 and 2, along with construction of Unit 3, became conditional upon the consent of the local administration and a positive environmental impact study.[7] In October 1993, it was reported that the local council in Chelyabinsk Oblast had approved the construction of the nuclear power plant, and completion of the three reactors was slated for 2005.[8] As of January 2000, an estimated $1.5 billion would be required to complete the project. According to Director Vladimir Morozov, if the government provided half that sum, investors could provide the rest. Vyacheslav Seredkin, Chief Engineer of the Chelyabinsk power company Chelyabenergo, says that while the project is not profitable, Chelyabinsk Oblast does not have enough coal or gas and will eventually turn to nuclear power. Environmental groups, such as Chelyabinsk's Movement for Nuclear Safety, continue to fight against the reactor, noting that the project has not passed an environmental review.[9] In April 2000 the South Ural NPP project was included in Minatom's plans for projects to be realized by 2010. In a visit to Chelyabinsk, Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Bulat Nigmatulin said that construction would begin in 2005 at the earliest.[10]; Sources:; [1] "Nayti investora," Yadernaya bezopasnost, November-December 1998, No. 18-19, p. 15. {Entered 6/4/99 LBN}; [2] Valeriy Bogdan, Victor Murogov, Vladimir Kagramanyan, Mikhail Troyanov, "Ispolzovaniye plutoniya v Rossii," Yadernyy Kontrol, 11/95, pp. 13-17.; [3] Oleg Bukharin, Yadernyy toplivnyy tsikl v byvshem SSSR i v Rossii: Struktura, vozmozhnosti, perspektivi (Moscow: Association for Cooperation in Nonproliferation, September 1993), p. 21.; [4] Nils Bohmer and Thomas Nilsen, "Reprocessing Plants in Siberia: Ozersk," online version located at http://www.ngo.grida.no/ngo/.../sibir/sibir1.htm#O2, 12 April 1996.; [5] Ann MacLachlan, "Russia Okays Plan To Proceed With Major Nuclear Construction," Nucleonics Week, 21 January 1993, pp. 1, 12-13.; [6] Natalya Mironova, "Yuzhnouralskaya NPP--A Chronicle of 1992," Soceco Agency Newsletter, No. 41-b, 15 November 1992, pp. 1-10.; [7] Komsomolskaya pravda, 26 January 1993, p. 3.; [8] Russian Ministry of Atomic Power; in "New Russian N-Plant Project Clears First Hurdle," Executive News Service, 8 October 1993.; [9] Sergey Blinovskikh, "Atomnoy stantsii - 'da'?" Chelyabinskiy rabochiy, 29 January 2000; in Natsionalnaya sluzhba novostey, http://nel.nns.ru.; [10] "South-Ural NPP included in Minatom development plan," Bellona Web Site, http://www.bellona.no.{Updated 4/28/2000 CC}
COMMENTS:: These reactors are designed to use reactor-grade plutonium extracted from spent fuel, then gradually switch over to using their own plutonium.[1] The BN-800 could be used to burn weapons-grade plutonium stored at the Mayak facility.[2] According to Victor Murogov, Director of the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE), MOX fuel using weapons-grade plutonium has been successfully burned in the BR-10, BN-350, and BN-600 reactors.[1] Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Bulat Nigmatulin noted in December 1998 that the plant would be environmentally beneficial for Chelyabinsk Oblast since it could not only burn weapons-grade plutonium, but also draw water from Mayak's liquid waste ponds, thereby averting the threat of a radioactive waste overflow.[3]; Sources; [1] Valeriy Bogdan, Victor Murogov, Vladimir Kagramanyan, Mikhail Troyanov, "Ispolzovaniye plutoniya v Rossii," Yadernyy Kontrol, 11/95, pp. 13-17.; [2] Jack Ashton, "Russians Ready To Re-Start Big Fast Breeder Project," Nucnet News, 25 May 1994.; [3]Sergey Rybak, "Minatom Seeks $1.5-Billion to Build New Fast Reactor," Nucleonics Week, 24 December 1998, pp. 15-16. {Entered 6/4/99 LBN}

SOUTH URALS DEVELOPMENTS (For more recent developments, see the Nuclear Power Developments file):

12/98: CONSTRUCTION LICENSED, REQUIRES SPONSOR: In November 1998, Gosatomnadzor issued a license to build a new fast breeder reactor power plant at Mayak, according to Deputy Minister of Atomic Energy Bulat Nigmatulin. He added that financial problems are the only remaining obstacle to construction of the South Urals NPP. The new power plant will have two BN-800 fast neutron reactor units. The estimated cost of each unit is $1.5 billion. It is expected that it will take six to eight years to build one unit and an average of $300 million will need to be invested annually. Nigmatulin said that local authorities support power plant construction since Chelyabinsk Oblast is experiencing an energy shortage.; ["Nayti investora," Yadernaya bezopasnost, November-December 1998, No. 18-19, p. 15.] {Entered 5/12/99 LBB}

6/6/96: RUSSIA PLANS TO BUILD NEW FAST-BREEDER REACTOR AT OZERSK: Russia plans to build up to three BN-800 fast reactors at Ozersk. The reactors will be adapted to use plutonium only for fuel and not to "breed" any additional plutonium, as did previous fast-breeder reactors in order to produce plutonium for nuclear bombs. The reactors are supposed to reduce Russia's plutonium stockpile by using plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads and highly radioactive waste stored at Ozersk. In 1989, a commission of the Soviet Academy of Sciences approved a new reactor design, although it noted two defects. Environmental experts at Gosplan opposed the building of new reactors claiming that hydro-geologists had discovered a geological fault where the first projected unit would be built. Since 1991, energy shortages and unemployment in the area have reduced opposition to the project. In 1996, it was estimated that at least one BN-800 reactor would be built.; ["The Biggest Fast-Breeder Reactor," Foreign Report, 6 June 1996.] {Entered 8/19/96 KD}

6/96: PLANT CONSTRUCTION TO COST AT LEAST 65 BILLION RUBLES: A government spokesman noted that the construction of the plant will require a minimum of 65 billion rubles ($12.6 million), so additional sources of funding would be necessary to complement the 15 billion rubles pledged earlier by the government for this project.; [UPI News Briefing 96/26-6.]

5/15/96: GOVERNMENT TO ALLOCATE FUNDS TO RESUME CONSTRUCTION: The Russian Government will allocate 15 billion rubles this year to resume construction of the Yuzhnouralskaya plant, said Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets on his visit to Ozersk. He claimed that the ecological situation in the region would improve after the plant is built. The plant will be situated on land contaminated with radiation and use radioactive water from Techa River as a cooler for the turbines' condensers. The reactors will run on plutonium. About 5,000 new jobs will be created in the region as a result of the plant's operation.; [Interfax, "Funds Allocated To Resume Nuclear Plant Construction," FBIS-TEN-96-006, 15 May 1996.]

10/28/95: RUSSIA TO BUILD BREEDER REACTOR: Russian and Western sources reported that Minister of Atomic Energy Mikhailov announced Russia will construct an $800 million fast breeder reactor at Chelyabinsk to burn plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons and to recycle nuclear waste from civilian reactors and nuclear submarines. Construction will start in 1996.; ["Russia To Build Breeder Reactor To Burn Plutonium," OMRI Daily Digest, 30 October 1995, p. 2.]

8/30/95: BREEDER REACTOR PLANS DELAYED: The Russian press has reported that plans for a plutonium-burning BN-800 reactor at the Mayak Chemical Combine in the South Urals region have been delayed due to lack of funding.; Sources:; [1] Penny Morvant, "... And The Urals Nuclear Legacy," OMRI Daily Digest, 1 September 1995, p. 2.; [2] Gennadiy Aleksandrov, "Moscow Is Planning To Sell Plutonium," Segodnya, 26 July 1995, p. 7.

1/2/95: THREE FAST BREEDER REACTORS TO BE BUILT IN SOUTH URALS: It was reported that Minatom plans to build three 800 MW fast-breeder reactors here, to be designated the South Urals NPP. No funding has yet been allocated to the project.; [Mark Hibbs, "Physical Protection Reportedly Eroding At Minatom's 10 'Closed Cities' In Russia," NuclearFuel, 2 January 1995, pp. 13-14.]

9/93: FAST BREEDER REACTOR CONSTRUCTION APPROVED BY MINATOM: Viktor Murogov, Director of the Institute for Physics and Power Engineering at Obninsk, reportedly stated that Minatom has approved the construction of three fast neutron reactors by the Mayak production association for converting Russia's stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium. One of the new reactors would use about 2.5 tons of plutonium per year.; [Segodnya, 25 September 1993, p. 3; in "Weapons Grade Plutonium Energy Program Proposed," JPRS-TND-93-031, 8 October 1993, p. 28.]

Page last updated 8 June 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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