Russia
A.A. Bochvar High-Technology Scientific Research Institute for Inorganic Materials (VNIINM)
This page is part of the Facilities Collection.
Established in 1956, VNIINM’s mission was to solve materials-science and technological problems related to the production of nuclear weapons. The Institute participated in the development of the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons, nuclear naval and space technologies, and nuclear power plants. 1
Today, VNIINM is involved in the development of fuel rods, spent fuelrecycling and waste handling, superconductors, and nondestructive monitoring. Its scientific and engineering work is aimed at implementing Rosatom’s fundamental and applied research goals, fulfilling state defense orders, increasing the use of nuclear materials and technologies worldwide, and the safe and effective development and use of nuclear energy. 2
The Institute has a history of cooperation with foreign partners, including on fuel rod technologies, waste handling, fuel recycling, plutonium disposition, and materials protection, control, and accounting. VNIINM has cooperated with the IAEA, the U.S. Department of Energy and national laboratories, South Korea, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Kazakhstan. 3
Glossary
- Spent nuclear fuel
- Spent nuclear fuel: Irradiated nuclear fuel. Once irradiated, nuclear fuel is highly radioactive and extremely physically hot, necessitating special remote handling. Fuel is considered “self protecting” if it is sufficiently radioactive that those who might seek to divert it would not be able to handle it directly without suffering acute radiation exposure.
- Plutonium (Pu)
- Plutonium (Pu): A transuranic element with atomic number 94, produced when uranium is irradiated in a reactor. It is used primarily in nuclear weapons and, along with uranium, in mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. Plutonium-239, a fissile isotope, is the most suitable isotope for use in nuclear weapons.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- IAEA: Founded in 1957 and based in Vienna, Austria, the IAEA is an autonomous international organization in the United Nations system. The Agency’s mandate is the promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, technical assistance in this area, and verification that nuclear materials and technology stay in peaceful use. Article III of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) requires non-nuclear weapon states party to the NPT to accept safeguards administered by the IAEA. The IAEA consists of three principal organs: the General Conference (of member states); the Board of Governors; and the Secretariat. For additional information, see the IAEA.
Sources
- “Istoriia,” [History], Ofitsial’nyi sait OAO “VNIINM” im. akademika A.A. Bochvara, [Official site of open joint-stock company “VNIINM” named after the academic A.A. Bochvara], www.bochvar.ru.
- “Sfery deiatel’nosti,” [Spheres of activity], Ofitsial’nyi sait OAO “VNIINM” im. akademika A.A. Bochvara, [Official site of open joint-stock company “VNIINM” named after the academic A.A. Bochvara] , www.bochvar.ru.
- “Mezhdunarodnoe sotrudnichestvo,” [International cooperation], Ofitsial’nyi sait OAO “VNIINM” im. akademika A.A. Bochvara, [Official site of open joint-stock company “VNIINM” named after the academic A.A. Bochvara], www.bochvar.ru.