OREANDA-NEWS. October 1, 2009. On the instruction of the Government of the Russian Federation, Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation has developed the concept of a new program to dismantle decommissioned nuclear submarines and surface ships with nuclear reactors and to recover onshore technical facilities till 2015 and 2020, Deputy Director General of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation Yevgeny Yevstratov said during Atomtrans 2009 international forum in St.Petersburg Sept 29. “In 2010 we are going to submit this program for the Government’s consideration with a view to launch it in 2011. By the end of this year, in the framework of the current program, we are planning to dismantle 191 of 198 decommissioned nuclear submarines,” Yevstratov said.

The concept includes the activities that have not been completed under the current program. Particularly, we are going to dismantle the nuclear maintenance ships that have been just converted (rendered harmless) but are still afloat. We are also going to dismantle surface ships with nuclear reactors. Three of them have already been removed from the use of the Navy.  

The new program also covers the work to convert floating three-cell reactors into one-cell reactors and to transfer them to onshore facilities for long-term storage. One of the facilities is situated at Sayda Bay, the other – at Razboynik Bay in the Far East. The new program also stipulates the recovery of onshore technical facilities, particularly, the removal of spent nuclear fuel from Andreeva Bay and Gremikha. “We are planning to remove the Gremikha-based fuel in the framework of the current program. In the next five years we are going to remove the cores of damaged reactors with liquid metal coolant,” Yevstratov said.