OREANDA-NEWS. January 24, 2008. Representatives of Angarsk Electrolytic Chemical Combine, led by the acting director general of the plant Sergey Koshelyov, welcomed members of the Public Council for Safe Use of Nuclear Energy in Irkutsk region.

The Council comprises well-known public and political figures, scientists, journalists and deputies.

The guests visited the plant and inspected its equipment. All of them were given individual dose meters so they could see that gamma radiation at the plant was within norm.

The guests visited the uranium isotope separation workshop. The director of the workshop Leonid Chernov told them about the advantages of the gas centrifuge technology and the safety systems used at the plant. The guests pointed out that the plant had ideal labor conditions. “It seems we have visited a comfortable sanatorium rather than a plant,” one of the guests said.

The next place the guests went was Chelnok, a system for liquid-phase filling of containers with uranium hexafluoride.

Chernov said that the system was automated, had several safety barriers, was controlled round-the-clock and met all international safety standards. He showed the guests the plant’s depleted uranium hexafluoride storage technology. The information policy assistant of the director general Alexander Teterin said that they stored depleted uranium hexafluoride in special containers. He pointed out that depleted uranium hexafluoride was a state reserves, an almost ready raw material for fast-breeder reactors.

Depleted uranium hexafluoride is also used for dilution of highly enriched uranium. Now that raw uranium prices are growing, depleted uranium hexafluoride is becoming an additional source of U-235. 

Besides, depleted uranium hexafluoride is a valuable source of fluorine. By 2011 AECC is planning to launch a system for processing depleted uranium hexafluoride into ion-fluorine and passive chemical form of depleted uranium – tetrafluoride. 

The guests also visited the Central Laboratory and familiarized themselves with its work.

In conclusion, the visitors exchanged views and gave a press-conference. They pointed out the high efficiency and safety of AECC.

One of the guests, former governor of Irkutsk region Yuri Nozhikov said: “We must stop misinformation! We must develop such contacts for raising public awareness and disseminating true information about nuclear power engineering. In the coming 50 years we have no alternative to nuclear energy.”

The leader of Baikal Movement and the chief editor of Babr.ru Dmitry Tayevsky was of quite opposite opinion – “We must not develop nuclear power engineering!” – but said that he was not against dialogue.

The primate of the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Angarsk Father Vladimir said: “Today, we must separate reality from allegation. AECC is a technological huge organism with highly-qualified personnel and unique equipment. Today, we must trust each other as confidence is the basis mutual respect and openness.”