OREANDA-NEWS. The 12th meeting of the Russian-Norwegian commission on nuclear and radiological safety cooperation will take place in Svanhovd, Norway, Sept 3 2009.

The commission will examine the results of the work to dismantle nuclear submarines and radioisotope thermoelectric generators, will discuss Russia’s plans to treat and to safely store spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in Russia’s North-Western region and to rehabilitate Andreeva Bay as well as a number of joint projects, particularly, the G8 Global Partnership Program. 

The co-chairs of the commission are Deputy Director General of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation Yevgeny Yevstratov and member of the Government of Norway Elisabeth Walaas.

Before 2003 the parties cooperated in the framework of the inter-governmental agreement (signed in 1998) for joint efforts to ensure the ecological safety of the project to dismantle decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines and to enhance radiological and nuclear safety.

The parties did quite big work to rehabilitate areas in Northern Russia. Norway provided USD 12mln-15mln a year for the projects to build special railway cars for transportation of containers with spent nuclear fuel, to modernize the interim storage facility for liquid radioactive waste at Zvezdochka shipyard (Severodvonsk), to build administration and living quarters at Andreeva Bay.

In May 2003 the parties signed a framework agreement on multilateral nuclear environmental program in Russia, which serves as a legislative basis for nuclear and radiological safety projects implemented by Western countries in North-Western Russia. In 2003 Norway provided \\$100mln for projects to ensure nuclear and radiation safety in the North-Western region of Russia.

As of today, the parties have dismantled four decommissioned nuclear submarines, have built a number of physical protection and infrastructural facilities at the interim spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste storage site of Andreeva Bay, are reconstructing the dock used for the dispatch of spent nuclear fuel to Rosatom’s processing enterprise, are designing onsite engineering networks, have replaced the old storage batteries of radioisotope thermoelectric generators 127 and 153 (in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions) with new ecologically safe one.

The Russian and Norwegian regulatory authorities have developed criteria for rehabilitation of territories and sites at Andreeva Bay, have set safety requirements for the personnel involved in these activities and have assessed the safety of the project for the local population. This work is being carried out in close cooperation with Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation and Russian nuclear companies and organizations.