STORAGE OF SOLID RADIOACTIVE WASTE FROM THE NORTHERN FLEETOF THE RUSSIAN NAVY UNDER THE AMEC PROGRAM

摘要

The Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) Program is a cooperative effort between thernmilitary establishments of the Kingdom of Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States. Thisrnpaper discusses joint activities over the past year among Norwegian, Russian, and U.S. technicalrnexperts on solid radioactive waste storage technologies in the Arctic for the Russian Navy. These arernWestern as well as Russian developments and will facilitate meeting the Russian Navy’s needs forrnstoring solid radioactive waste from decommissioned nuclear submarines. The first batch of multipleusernsteel containers for transportation and storage of solid radioactive waste have been fabricated at arnRussian shipyard and work on the second batch is in process. The partners are also working on singleusernconcrete containers for transportation and long-term storage, lightweight modular storage buildings,rnand Russian-made radiation monitoring equipment for use in waste storage facilities. All work isrndirected at applications in northwest Russia where the Russian Navy is decommissioning large numbersrnof nuclear submarines and accumulating large amounts of solid radioactive waste. The mission ofrnAMEC Project 1.4 is to improve the Russian Navy’s capabilities in solid radioactive waste storage andrnthus minimize the spread of radiological contamination. The ultimate goal of this project is a safe, secure,rnand self-sustaining solid radioactive waste storage capability in northwest Russia.