CEG Newsletter (September 2010) Canada During the past six months Canada has effectively completed all NPS dismantling activity in Russia. The NPS Dismantling Program has one remaining submarine to de-fuel in the Far East; an Akula type 1 Hull 502 (single reactor) which will be completed early 2011. The Republic of Korea may also contribute funds to this last initiative. Canada has now accomplished the de-fuelling of 34 reactors and the dismantlement of 15 NPS over the past six years. France NPS #300 Three Compartment Unit Undergoing Final Preparations Canada s NPS Dismantling Program is engaged in compiling a close out report for publication April 2011. Future activity is anticipated to be focussed on SNF recovery only from Russian strategic submarines being eliminated by the USA and the Russian Federation under the CTR and START Follow-on treaties. Canada s support for RTG removals is effectively completed with 59 RTGs removed under Canadian funding. Potential assistance in regard to RTG removals from the Chukotka Autonomous District in 2011 is being considered. Canada assisted to the French feasibility study for upgrading the rail infrastructure in Dimitrovgrad, for moving Alpha Class NPS reactor blocks to NIIAR for processing. After the successful removal of almost 600 VVR spent fuel assemblies (SFA) from Gremikha and the unloading of the damaged alpha core n 910 France decided to continue financing of the spent nuclear fuel removal from Gremikha. This implies: Characterisation and conditioning of the remaining VVR SFA at Gremikha; Preparation of a hot cell at Mayak for conditioning of the damaged VVR SFA; Preparation of the infrastructure in NIIAR for reception and storage of the alpha cores; Preparation for unloading of the alpha core n 900 (that has been conditioned to be sunk in 1980th). Together with Rosatom, CEA performs the analysis of the infrastructures of all sites on the SNF path from Gremikha to the end destination (RIAR and Mayak). All identified needs of the infrastructure or equipment enhancement must be recovered. The corresponding funds come from France and Russia. In 2009 2010 France financed the removal of four high-power RTG (6 Sr 90 sources per RTG) from the Baltic Sea. All 24 Sr 90 sources have been disposed at Mayak. A new contract is signed in July 2010 for removal and disposal of 12 RTG from the Baltic Sea. CEG Newsletter Sept 2010.doc.docx
Page 2 Germany The German funded Long Term Storage Facility at Saida is now being filled with reactor compartments. To date 40 reactor compartments have been placed there for long term storage (see picture) The work is underway on the construction of the Regional Centre for RW Conditioning and Long Term Storage (see pictures). Concrete pillars of the building are being manufactured and erected according to the schedule. Foundations of technological caissons are being built. Preparatory work is being done for manufacturing of monolith walls. Alongside with the construction work at Saida, the production of the main technological equipment for the Centre has started in Germany. Sweden joins Norway in RTG programme In September 2010, Norway and Sweden signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with Russia on decommissioning of RTGs in the Baltic Sea. Sweden will contribute 18m Swedish Kroner, (about 2m Euro) via the Norwegian programme. In the Russian part of the Baltic Sea, there are 87 lighthouses with RTGs. Together with Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland aim to decommission and remove 71 RTGs, while France removes the remaining 16 RTGs. The project initiated in 2009 and will be completed in 2012. Japan In August contracts were signed for the provision of two jib-cranes and a floating dock for the Long Term Storage Facility of Reactor Compartments at Razboynik Bay in the Far East. A contract for construction of a tugboat will be signed in September. The equipment will be manufactured in Japan and will be used for transportation and placement of reactor compartments at the Storage Facility.
Page 3 Italy The Fincantieri Company has almost completed (by 98%) the assembly of the hull of the ship for SNF and RW transportation (see pictures). Mounting of equipment is done by 72%. The ship should be launched in December 2010 and in March 2011 transferred to Atomflot. Russia In June SevRAO removed first party of SNF from Andreyeva Bay. Conditional spent fuel assemblies from 42 old casks (Type 6) were loaded into new canisters. The latter were then placed in six casks TUK-18 which were transported by the ship Serebrianka to Atomflot and then to Mayak plant for reprocessing. These 42 casks have been removed from the surface of the dry storage unit DSU 2A. This operation will facilitate the construction of the SNF retrieval facility at the site. 19 old casks (Type 11, 11/12, 12) containing SNF including damaged remain at Andreeva Bay. They have been removed from the open concrete pad next to DSU 3A to a new temporary storage pad near the Building 5. The nuclear submarine # 171 which suffered a serious nuclear accident in 1985 has been safely transferred from Pavlovsky Bay to the Zvezda shipyard for dismantlement. The buoyancy of the submarine was enhanced and secured by pontoons. This operation was preceded by decontamination
Page 4 of its outer and inner hulls. The submarine will be cut into three compartment unit with SNF remaining on board. In October the unit is due to be transferred to Razboynik bay and placed into the Ustrichny isolation facility. This is the second of three damaged nuclear submarines in the Far-East that is now being turned into safe condition. The third submarine (#610) will be addressed later in 2010. Supported by pontoons the # 171 is being towed to the Zvezda shipyard UK and Sweden Design and Construction of the SNF retrieval facility at Andreeva Bay. The design of the facility is funded by the UK and Sweden. In July 2010 the design of the main retrieval facility for removal of SNF from the Andreyeva Bay storage units was completed by the Design Institute VNIPIET. The Main State Expert Review of the facility commenced in August 2010. The earlier installed biological shielding over two SNF storage units at Andreyeva Bay provided a platform for the removal of casks with SNF from these units by SevRAO in June 2010. After that the remaining shielding was completely installed in August 2010. Remote installation of shielding on the third SNF storage unit using robots will commence in 2011. Preparation of the site at Andreyeva Bay is planned to continue to the end of 2010 with dismantling of the KPM-40 site crane, demolition of an underground store and removal of 18,000 cubic metres of soil to lower the ground level. Discussions are underway to establish a single-stage detailed design and build construction contract, subject to available funding, in 2011. Construction of the Decontamination, Maintenance and Storage Building at Andreeva Bay. Phase 1 of the project for the building construction, services and equipment for non-radiological areas started in 2008, at a cost of 6 million funded by the UK and is forecast for completion in March 2011. In 2009 the Phase 1 design of the facility was finalised and submitted for Main State Expert Review, now successfully concluded. In July 2010 the design for the decontamination area and equipment commenced (Phase 2 of the project). It will be completed in spring 2011. USA The U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration s Global Threat Reduction Initiative funded the successful recovery of 24 Beta-M type RTGs in the Chukotka region. This campaign involved the use of both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. All 24 RTGs were delivered to the Isotope Company in Moscow in late July where they will be disassembled. The radioactive heat
Page 5 sources will be sent to Mayak by the end of the calendar year. During this same campaign, 10 heavy RTGs were consolidated to a secure location and then in early September transported by ship to Murmansk. They will be later transported by trucks to the Isotope Company for disassembly. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) of the U.S. Department of Defense is currently funding dismantlement of a Delta III-class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) at Zvezdochka Shipyard, including the elimination of the ballistic missile launcher section and formation of its threecompartment reactor unit for storage. These efforts are being done in cooperation with Rosatom, which is funding partial dismantlement, and Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which funded its defueling. In anticipation of potential new work in the Far East, following the CEG meeting in Vladivostok in May 2010, DTRA representatives travelled to the Zvezda shipyard to see firsthand the condition of the US-provided equipment located there. The equipment, which would be used for any future SSBN dismantlement efforts at Zvezda, has been well maintained, and the representatives were well pleased with the visit. To date, DoD has spent $349m in Cooperative Threat Reduction assistance in the effort to cooperatively dismantle 32 SSBNs and their associated ballistic missile launchers. Specifically, DoD efforts have funded the procurement and maintenance of dismantlement facilities and equipment at Russian shipyards, to include designing and constructing on-shore defueling facilities at the Zvezdochka and Zvezda shipyards, providing both escort and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) transport railcars, and procuring SNF transport casks, among other projects. Proposed activities for 2011 include joint efforts to eliminate launcher sections and form defueled reactor units of an additional Typhoon-class SSBN and a Delta III-class SSBN, if requested.