NIKIET Moscow
Background
Activities
Structure
Fissile Material
MPC&A
Reactors
Critical Assemblies
NIKIET Sverdlovsk
Background
Activities
Fissile Material
MPC&A
Reactors
Critical Assemblies
Moscow
Address: P.O. Box 788, Moscow
101000
Telephone: (095) 263-73-13
Fax: (095) 975-20-19
http://www.entek.ru/
Director: Boris
Arsentevich Gabarayev
NIKIET, also known as the Research and Design Institute
for Power Engineering (RDIPE), is one of the largest nuclear technology and
engineering research and development centers in Russia. Headquartered in
northeast Moscow, NIKIET has a branch, SF NIKIET,
in Zarechnyy, Sverdlovsk Oblast.[1]
The institute was founded in 1952 with the main aim of developing nuclear power
systems for nuclear submarines. In 1954 a nuclear power installation for the
first Soviet nuclear submarine was designed at the Institute. NIKIET also
designed the first Soviet nuclear power reactors.
NIKIET is the major designer and developer of power reactors in
the Russian nuclear power industry.[1] NIKIET designs nuclear reactors
(including graphite reactors) for power generation, for propulsion and
power generation for outer-space apparata, naval propulsion, heat
production, and research.[2,3] NIKIET is the
designer of the BREST (Russian abbreviation for "Bystryy reaktor so svintsovym
teplonositelem") fast-neutron lead-cooled reactor, considered by Minatom
to be the model for the next generation of Russian power reactors.[4,5] NIKIET
designed and participated in construction of 27 research reactors in Russia and
abroad.[6] NIKIET also conducts research in the
areas of reactor materials and reactor physics, and develops and tests
instruments and control systems for the nuclear power industry.[2] NIKIET is collaborating with many
countries and organizations. It participates in the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, works with the
European Nuclear Research Center
(CERN), and conducts research within the framework of the
International Scientific and
Technical Center (ISTC). The Institute also participates in
TACIS and
EBRD
Nuclear Safety Account projects, and collaborates with Germany, Japan, the UK,
France and Canada on the issues of enhancing safety of nuclear power plants.[7] Before the
US imposed sanctions in 1998, NIKIET was
the leading organization for the Russian Reduced Enrichment for Research and
Test Reactors (RERTR) program and the general manager for
DOE RERTR contracts in Russia.[8]
NIKIET has the following departments:
Design Department
Strength Engineering Center
Department of Physical Research and Nuclear Safety
Department of Thermal Physics and Complex Tests
Department of Control, Monitoring, and Diagnostics
Department of Environmental Protection and Radiation Safety
Department of Computer Engineering and Automation
4 to 5kg
of HEU
NIKIET participates in the US Department
of Energy MPC&A program. DOE
conducted a site survey in September 1996 and completed upgrades in June
1998.[1,2] At
the time of the site survey, NIKIET controlled nuclear material in three
separate parts of Moscow: the non-operational IR-50
research reactor at NIKIET headquarters contained LEU; three critical assemblies
at Bauman Moscow State Technical University contained approximately 1kg of
HEU; and a storage warehouse owned by NIKIET contained 3 to 4kg of HEU.
Material at the warehouse was moved to an upgraded storage vault at NIKIET
headquarters. Minor upgrades, including the hardening of doors and
windows, improved communications, and magnetic balance switches, were made at
the critical assembly facility at Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Physical protection
work at the upgraded storage vault included a badge reader, video assessment,
microwave sensors, hardening of doors and windows, magnetic balance switches,
and intrusion detection equipment. Upgrades were also made to the guard force
communications system and the central alarm station. MC&A upgrades
included a nondestructive assay inspector, tamper indicating devices, and a
basic computerized material accounting system. No upgrades were made to
the IR-50.[2]
For a description of the MPC&A work 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.
One
IR-50
pool
50 kWt
The
IR-50 reactor operates on UO2-Al fuel with 10% enriched uranium.
Shut down in 1993.
Spent fuel that
accumulated from 1961 to 1993 is stored in an on-site wet storage
facility. There is no liquid radioactive waste at the reactor.
This reactor was commissioned in 1961 and was designed by the State Specialized Design Institute.
NIKIET controls nuclear material, approximately 1kg of
HEU, at three critical assemblies located on the campus of Bauman
Moscow State Technical University.
Four
SO- 2M
FS-2
FS-4
FS-5
(For more recent developments, see the Research Facilities
Developments file):
3/2003:
NIKIET RECEIVES THE CMS GOLD AWARD
In March 2003, NIKIET and the Minsk enterprise
GP MZOR received the CMS 2003 Gold Award
from the European Nuclear Research Center (CERN) for developing hadron
calorimeters for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS)
detector.[1] The calorimeters were developed within the framework of an international research project
that is developing the world's largest accelerator, the
Large Hadron Collider
(LHC). The LHC is due to be commissioned in 2006 or 2007.[2]
9/2002: NIKIET REJECTS US PROPOSAL FOR ON-SITE OBSERVER
Nezavisimaya gazeta
newspaper reported, with a reference to NIKIET Director Boris Gabarayev, that
the United States would agree to lift sanctions on NIKIET in return for the
right to place a permanent observer at the Institute with unrestricted access to
all information and technical documentation. "Such conditions are absolutely
unacceptable to us," said Gabarayev.
2/20/2001: DUMA ACCUSES ADAMOV OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES
A 20 February 2001 report of the Duma's
anti-corruption commission accused then Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov
of violating security regulations and engaging in business activities while
serving as head of NIKIET from 1986 to 1998. According to the report,
Adamov set up several companies, including consulting and real estate firms,
at security-sensitive nuclear research facilities, including NIKIET. The
report also cited Adamov's involvement in a 1996 contract between NIKIET and Iran to conduct an assessment of
plans to build a heavy-water production facility in Iran. The contract
with Iran was the subject of a criminal investigation filed by the Russian Prosecutor General's
office in December 2000. The report accused Adamov of
nepotism and financial misconduct while serving as Minister of Atomic Energy
from 1998 to 2001. The anti-corruption commission does not have the
right to prosecute individuals, but recommended in its report that the
Prosecutor General and the Federal Security Service launch a formal
investigation.[1,2]
3/17/99: ADAMOV OFFERS DEAL
TO LIFT SANCTIONS ON NUCLEAR INSTITUTES
Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy
Adamov said in an interview with the New York Times on 17 March 1999 that
Russia had proposed that the United States lift all sanctions imposed on
two leading Russian nuclear research centers in exchange for the complete
cessation of the centers' cooperation with Iran. The aim of the
proposal is to reinstate valuable contracts between the United States and
the institutions. Adamov proposed signing a separate agreement for each
institution: one for the Scientific Research and Design Institute of Energy
Technologies (NIKIET) and one for the D.I.
Mendeleyev Russian Chemical-Technological University. NIKIET was preparing
a contract to sell a research reactor to Iran, but the Russian government
decided not to sell the reactor. A US expert said that NIKIET was the focus
of US concerns, because it is the principal Russian entity that could have
provided assistance beyond the Bushehr nuclear power plant. The D.I. Mendeleyev
Russian Chemical-Technological University provided unclassified information
on heavy water technologies to Iran.[1] According to a senior US official,
Adamov allegedly has Prime Minister Primakov's support for putting forward
the proposals.[2] Adamov also said that Russia had questions for the United
States regarding its activities in the nuclear energy sector in Pakistan.[2]
Under Adamov's proposal, a procedure would be established to
resolve future disputes regarding the provision of Russian nuclear technology
to Iran. The US Department of Energy has reportedly been so worried about
the safety implications of the sanctions that it secretly appealed to the
White House, asking that some exceptions be made so that important safety
work could go forward, a US official said.[3] (For more information
on nuclear trade between Russia and Iran please see the Russian
Nuclear and Missile Exports to Iran section of the NIS Nuclear Profiles
Database.)
1/14/99: FSB SAYS SANCTIONED INSTITUTES DID NOT VIOLATE EXPORT CONTROLS
The Public Relations Center of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)
stated that thorough checks on the three institutes accused of supplying
nuclear and missile technology to Iran (the Scientific Research and Design
Institute of Energy Technologies (NIKIET), the Moscow Aviation Institute,
and the D. I. Mendeleyev Russian Chemical-Technological
University) have shown that the organizations did not violate nonproliferation
export control requirements. The FSB statement suggested that the US sanctions
may have resulted from misunderstandings or incomplete work by US intelligence
agencies, and said that the decision to impose sanctions indicates US bias
against Russian agencies that cooperate with Iran and other foreign countries.
1/13/99: SERGEYEV DENIES MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TO IRAN
Russian Minister of Defense Igor Sergeyev said that control over nonproliferation
of nuclear missile technologies does exist in Russia. Commenting
on the imposition of sanctions by the United States on three Russian research
institutes (the Scientific Research and Design Institute of Energy Technologies
(NIKIET), the Moscow Aviation Institute, and the D. I. Mendeleyev Russian Chemical-Technological University), Sergeyev said that those institutes
could not supply Iran with missile technologies that they do not possess.
Sergeyev further commented that the US decision to apply sanctions was
a pretext for something not yet clear, and that while every country has
the right to apply sanctions, what the United States has done is unethical.
1/12/99: THREE RUSSIAN ENTITIES SANCTIONED
On 12 January 1999, the White House Press Secretary announced that the
US government instituted sanctions against three Russian organizations
for "materially contributing to Iran's nuclear weapons and missile programs."
The sanctions forbid exports and US government assistance to, or imports
and US government procurements from, the following: the Scientific Research
and Design Institute for Energy Technologies (NIKIET), the D.
I. Mendeleyev Russian Chemical-Technological University, and the Moscow
Aviation Institute. The sanctions apply only to the three entities,
not to the Russian government or the country as a whole. The White
House reaffirmed its intentions to work with Russia to help it enforce
its laws and international obligations in the sphere of nonproliferation
and export controls.
8/23/95: NIKIET MODERNIZING IR-50 REACTOR
NIKIET is currently working to modernize the IR-50, in order to operate
it in a different mode, and to increase its capacity by 400 times. In the
past two years the reactor was shut down twice due to safety violations.
3/10/95: NIKIET TO REACTIVATE RESEARCH REACTOR
NIKIET plans to reactivate its IR-50 nuclear reactor and to increase its
capacity 400-fold. The reactor, which was decommissioned due to non-compliance
with safety standards in October 1992 and in 1993, is now going to be put back
on line to execute a research project for Minatom.
Zarechnyy, Sverdlovsk Oblast
(not to be
confused with Zarechnyy (Penza-19),
Penza Oblast)
Telephone: (34377) 3-12-05
Fax: (34377) 3-33-96
Director: Yuriy
Perekhozhev
SF NIKIET is the Sverdlovsk branch of Moscow-based
NIKIET and is located in Zarechnyy, a closed city approximately 60km east of
Yekaterinburg. SF NIKIET shares a common
perimeter with the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power
Plant (BNPP). It receives power and heat from Beloyarsk and also
relies on the NPP to handle its nuclear waste. SF NIKIET
employs approximately 500 personnel.
SF NIKIET is the research and development branch of NIKIET and is responsible for reactor design. It performs
tests on reactor core elements and has hot cells for handling spent fuel
assemblies. The Institute's reactor, IVV-2M, is
used to test design aspects of core elements and coolants. SF NIKIET
also conducts research on nuclear power plants, space propulsion, and
determines the characteristics of non-Russian reactors. SF NIKIET has a
cooperative RERTR (Reduced Enrichment of Research and Test Reactor) project
with Argonne National Laboratory
to convert the IVV-2M reactor to burn low-enriched uranium. SF NIKIET produces
radioactive isotopes. It also extracts precious metals from mining
industry waste.[2]
Over
100kg of 90% enriched HEU
During its sixth meeting in January 1996, the Gore-Chernomyrdin
Commission agreed to include SF NIKIET in the US Department
of Energy MPC&A program.[1] An initial site visit was conducted in May
1996 and upgrades were
completed in May 1998.[2] MPC&A upgrades at SF NIKIET were concentrated
at the fresh and spent fuel storage and material handling facilities. US assistance included
training in the following areas: fundamentals of
detection, delay, and response; implementation of a newly-installed Tamper Indicating Devices (TID)
program; use of a newly-installed computerized material accounting system called COREMAS; and
MC&A and nondestructive assay techniques. Both the Institute's guard
force communication system and the office communications system were
upgraded. Physical
protection upgrades were made to the Central Alarm Station and the fresh fuel
storage buildings.[1]
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.
One, one planned
IVV-2M
15MW
pool
The IVV-2M operates on UO2 - Al fuel with 90%
enriched uranium. The reactor core contains 42 fuel assemblies.[1] The normal
core loading is 7kg U-235.[2]
Minatom
operational
Spent fuel that was discharged from the reactor
through 1991 was transferred to Mayak.
As of 1996, spent fuel discharged from 1992
to 1996 was stored in a permanent storage pool.
The IVV-2M reactor was commissioned in 1966 and underwent reconstruction in 1983. The
State Specialized Design Institute
designed the reactor.[1] As of 1997, the reactor is
expected to be operational for another 20 to 25 years.[2] The IVV-2M is used to test
fuel rods and reactor materials, for solid state physics research, and for
neutron scattering studies.[3]
Sfinks
200MWe
3.6kg, 90% enriched
As of July 1992, the State Specialized Design Institute was in the process of
designing this reactor model.
Three
FS-2
FS-4
FS-5
(For more recent developments, see the Research Facilities
Developments file):
9/98: LEAD-COOLED FAST REACTOR CONSTRUCTION APPROVED
The lead-cooled fast reactor (LCFR) being developed at NIKIET has been
approved by Minister of Atomic Energy Yevgeniy Adamov for construction
at Beloyarsk; the project is called
BREST-300. 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. More
than 40 years ago, Russia started the development of LCFRs for submarine
propulsion. Eight submarines were operated with this type of reactor
and although one was lost in a fire, the accident demonstrated the effective
isolation of the radioactive core offered by solidified lead coolant.
6/16/98: NUCLEAR FUEL STORAGE FACILITY COMPLETE
For the past two years, specialists at NIKIET's Sverdlovsk branch have
been involved in a federal program to remove Russian spent nuclear fuel
from the Semipalatinsk
facility in Kazakhstan. In two years, over 100kg of 90-percent
enriched uranium, used in the production of nuclear weapons, has been sent
to Sverdlovsk. The Russian government charged NIKIET with storing
the fuel temporarily and developing technology for processing it for non-military
use. While the fuel was being transported to Sverdlovsk, specialists
from the United States helped upgrade a part of the storage building for
fresh and spent fuel. Now all fuel is stored in a building equipped
with state-of-the-art technology. Unlike the former storage site
near the boundary of NIKIET, the new facility is located closer to the
center and is impossible to infiltrate, according to head engineer V. Barsanov.
The security system cost 3 billion old rubles; half was contributed by
the United States and half by Russia. Work was completed two days
before the arrival of the last uranium shipment. The fuel is in the
new storage facility awaiting processing.
1/6/95: SVERDLOVSK PLANTS INCREASE SECURITY
Extra security measures were instituted in the Sverdlovsk region in response
to fears of possible Chechen terrorist attack. Security was tightened at
nuclear facilities throughout the Sverdlovsk region.
Last updated 8 July 2004
Comments or questions? Contact Kenley Butler at MIIS CNS:
kenley.butlerATmiis.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 © 2003 by MIIS.
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