Nuclear.Ru. �� "Article & Opinion"

Prove to the public that atomic energy is good

info@nuclear.ru — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:31:00 +0400

Kazakhstan is just planning the construction of nuclear power plants of its own, but it is hard to overestimate its influence on the world nuclear power, because the country is the world�s largest producer of natural uranium. Correspondingly, Kazakhstan�s...

Accident as a result of a lack of imagination

info@nuclear.ru — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:42:00 +0400

The past year of the world nuclear power was marked by the Fukushima-Daiichi accident happened on March 11, 2011. An event of such scale will inevitably affect the nuclear power future, and its consequences, as most of experts believe, will be seen for more than a year....

Adamov: No one is impervious to an accident

info@nuclear.ru — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:42:00 +0400

As a sequel of the series of interviews on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in Japan, Nuclear.Ru asked Yevgeny ADAMOV, Scientific Supervisor of the N.A. Dollezhal NIKIET, to share his views on lessons of the Japanese...

Nuclear should be treated with respect

info@nuclear.ru — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:40:00 +0400

March 11 marked the first anniversary of the beginning of the accident at Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The accident which consequences have not been eliminated yet. The accident which has become a sort of divide for the world nuclear...

Society has to be informed and educated

info@nuclear.ru — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:09:00 +0400

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) in Japan, which led to radioactive contamination of territories and entailed evacuation of dozen thousands of people, still remains in the public eye of the whole world. This is true not only of specialists but also the general public of the countries where nuclear power plants are in operation or under construction. The issue of nuclear power safety is actively revisited along with the topic on what threat could be posed by higher radiation levels for the general public, which are regularly reported on from Japan. A real degree of hazard posed by the accident, situation with the nuclear power safety on the whole in light of the Japanese event were elaborated on by Rafael ARUTYUNYAN, First Deputy Director of the Nuclear Safety Institute (IBRAE) of RAS in his interview with Nuclear.Ru. Nuclear.Ru: During these months there has been much information from Japan concerning excesses of maximum permissible concentrations of radionuclides in sea and tap water, in foodstuff. Meantime, in most cases the recorded radiation levels are not harmful for humans. How should the Japanese and people in other countries react to such reports? How dangerous such values are? R. Arutyunyan: As regards regulation of radiation risks and public information, the situation is, in fact, extremely confusing and very difficult for understanding by a person who should assess a real degree of danger for own health in the long run. Regretfully, it is a common problem. It relates not only to the situation in Japan but also in Russia and other countries. The thing is that over several recent decades officially established limiting levels of radiation and radionuclide content have been continuously reducing. In 1928 the International Commission for Radiological Protection was established. It�s a non-governmental organization which now works jointly with the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) where world�s leading specialists produce recommendations on how to regulate issues of the radiation safety. Thereat, these recommendations, as a rule, are used in the national legislation. So about the 1970�s the commission, basing on scientific data and results of large-scale research, approached the impact level where science already didn�t know about any health effects. However, the process did not stop there and ultimately the levels for professionals and, especially, for the general public were reduced by dozens of times. Currently, a maximum permissible radiation exposure level for professionals is 20 millisieverts (mSv) per year and for the general public it is 1 mSv. Both levels are doses at which human health effects are unknown; moreover, they will never be detected. This means that a risk of impact at such levels is so low that the issue of concerns about human health even cannot be raised. Moreover, additional levels are introduced to control a content of radionuclides in the environment, which, in their turn, yet 10 times lower on top of the marginally low radiation exposure levels. And when they say that a maximum concentration limit has been exceeded, any sane person perceives this as a threat to health. While in fact, there are 100 or 1,000 points to go before the values which actually pose a threat are reached. These are features of regulation in the radiation safety where reference levels correspond to either complete absence of risks or these risks have not been detected. This is so-called linear no-threshold concept. As a result, the guidelines are so that they completely disorient people. Often, they try to attribute this problem to the general public, making them out illiterate and uneducated. People have to be informed and educated, but before informing them it is necessary to introduce a set of indicators which will allow a sane person to understand what he/she is informed on when an excess of some guidelines is spoken about. In addition, the general public has built up a special attitude to radiation. For example, chemicals also have maximum concentration limits (MCL) and if we take a real statistical data, there are a lot of cases where MCL of airborne chemicals was exceeded by several times. Indeed, maximum concentration limits, both in water and air, which serve as regulatory guidelines today, as a rule, correspond to risks which by 10, 100 times higher than those established for radiation. But with that, the general public takes calmly exceeded chemicals values while being keen on radiation. This issue is in part historical and psychological. Therefore, it is necessary to make it clear for people what is what. And a person is disoriented all the time; on the one hand, they say that a maximum concentration limit is exceeded by 2, 5, 10, 100 times, and at the same time, the same governmental bodies of Japan state that there is no a real threat to health. So how all that should settle in the head of an ordinary person? At the same time, one has to understand that there are no failure-free systems. There is an acceptable safety level and it should be raised all the time. But we see that any radiation accident is always a burst of emotions, anxiety which are followed by socioeconomic consequences. The government is forced to take measures which the general public treat as a care of their health, though sometimes it has nothing to do with the health care. For example, an evacuation is carried out when there is no need in it; limitations are imposed on foodstuff consumption, for instance, when they are completely unnecessary. In this sense, the way this country reacted to the accident in Japan, for me personally, was the first experience where the information realm notably demonstrated some distinct messages. Also, there were serious efforts made on the part of the Government, EMERCOM, Rosatom and other federal executive bodies, when on the very first days since the beginning of the accident the Cabinet received all necessary information, data, calculations, and forecasts. Our institute, literally, on March 12 already answered the question of highest concern: could problems related to transfer of radiation to the territory of Russia arise? We analyzed the worst scenarios and answered: no, never......

Handling the acceleration

info@nuclear.ru — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:22:00 +0400

Production of molybdenum-99 became one of key themes of the 7th International Conference on Isotopes held in Moscow on September 5-7. Several years ago the market faced a shortage of this isotope, which is used to produce technetium-99m broadly applied in medicine. Producers have already developed and taken a number of measures to cope with the shortage, while specialists continue a search for ways of securing supplies of required quantities of Mo-99. In particular, in Russia, Dimitrovgrad-based NIIAR (Research Institute of Atomic Reactors) has launched additional capacities for Mo-99 production. In Canada, several projects are ongoing to develop a technology of molybdenum production at linear accelerators and in the United States the material is to be produced at Clinton Power Station. On its part, the IAEA proposes to consolidate activities in this area and build up a system of secured radioisotope supplies. Nuclear.Ru has obtained more details of this initiative from IAEA Deputy Director General Alexander BYCHKOV who attended the isotope conference. Nuclear.Ru: What is the essence of the system of secured isotope supplies proposed by the IAEA? A. Bychkov: Events of several recent years, which were related to molybdenum-99, have demonstrated that the IAEA can consolidate efforts in this or other direction. It is known that the Canadian reactor NRU, with is the largest producer of Mo-99, was shut down for a prolonged repair due to malfunctions. Then, the HFR reactor in Petten, the Netherlands � also a key producer of molybdenum-99 � was shut down for a prolonged preventive maintenance outage. A number of diagnostic procedures dropped in many countries. I am not to describe this in detail; there have been many reports on this. I will tell you about some measures which have been taken. To ensure supplies of targets irradiated in other reactors, in Europe several organizations arranged for logistics interaction. As a result, targets irradiated in research reactors of other countries were quickly delivered to the Netherlands for processing. All this work was done in frames of activities of a coalition of research reactors established under the IAEA aegis. Research reactors are costly equipment which not all of the countries can afford. On the other hand, in many countries these facilities are not loaded with orders and can be used for irradiation of materials and targets intended for medical isotope production. It looks that it will be possible to build more installations for processing irradiated uranium in different world countries to ensure maximum production of molybdenum-99. However, my colleagues from the safety domain stick to a different opinion. We believe that is would be more appropriate to build such facilities in large centers, because a sound radiochemistry culture is required to operate them. Production of molybdenum out of irradiated uranium has another side: the necessity to process newly irradiated uranium, which, in addition to molybdenum, contains many hazardous and volatile isotopes. So if such installations are sited in places where there has never been a radiochemical facility or a radiochemical laboratory, a probability of radioactive iodine release incident will increase. This is one of key reasons why we should pursue several paths in dealing with molybdenum-99. Specifically, this means broadening a network of large centers, such as in Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, Argentina, Russia, which support the chain of supply of Mo-99 produced from uranium. And in parallel, development of non-uranium technologies for production of molybdenum-99 (or technetium-99m, to be more precise). This is either �activated� molybdenum-99 or accelerator-produced Mo-99 which will be produced exactly in the place where it is going to be used. By the way, in Russia � in St. Petersburg and Tomsk � they pursue exactly this path: there, technetium-99m is produced from �activated� molybdenum-99 in large centralized generators and delivered to hospitals as ready-made injections. In the long run, such approach will form, firstly, a sustainable chain of supplies and, secondly, will allow broadening cancer and cardio-vascular disease diagnostics. Investments in diagnostics are investments in most precious thing, i.e. human health......

Overseas nuclear campaign

info@nuclear.ru — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:57:00 +0400

June 8 the International Forum ATOMEXPO 2011 closed in Moscow. One of main topics at the three-day conference was nuclear power safety that covered its current state, necessity of new approaches, safety and economics of nuclear generation. Rosatom�s director general Sergey Kiriyenko highlighted as a priority the deterministic approach to safety, which guarantees that �under no any probabilistic concourse of natural conditions� anything would threaten life and safety of people. In this regard, Rosatom suggests �a three-stage action logic.� The first stage consists of reliability and safety checks of operating and being constructed nuclear power plants. The second stage envisages changes to the international law and the IAEA should play a key part in this process. Russia thinks that after the Fukushima accident safety standards should become �a norm of the international law which will be binding for all states.� The third stage should be the work on �an accelerated transition to a new generation� of technologies. The subject matter here is reactor technologies with intrinsic safety and closed nuclear fuel cycle and which ensure �guaranteed safety and negligible environmental impact of nuclear power.� With that, Kiriyenko especially stressed the national nature of the proposed initiatives. �These tasks are not tasks of each separate state, they are of global nature,� he said. The safety appears to be the foundation of a renovated competitive platform of the Russian nuclear power, if it is taken for granted that the Japanese crisis has not affected baseline prerequisites of its development. John Ritch, director general of the World Nuclear Association, noted that the phase out of nuclear power in Germany, Italy and Switzerland was �rather an exclusion from rules.� Most of countries, for instance, China, India, South Africa, South Korea, and the United Kingdom �do not reduce the pace [of nuclear power development].� According to Ritch, all necessary measures in response to Fukushima-I accident could be carried out without massive expenditures. Rosatom�s first deputy director general Alexander Lokshin continued on this idea, saying that no modernization at all would be needed for being constructed and planned Russian reactors, since they are �fitted with cutting-edge systems which are prepared even for conditions affected Fukushima nuclear power plants......

Closing the fuel cycle

info@nuclear.ru — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:07:00 +0400

In frames of two federal target programs ��Nuclear and Radiation Safety in 2008 and until 2015� and �Nuclear Technologies of New Generation in 2010-2015 and until 2020� � the Mining and Chemical Combine implements a number of projects of outmost importance aimed at closing the nuclear fuel cycle. These are construction of an air-cooled (dry) storage facility for spent nuclear fuel (SNF SF-2); development of a pilot demonstration center for testing SNF recycling technologies; building a dump site for solid radioactive waste; and development of a fabrication line for MOX-fuel for fast neutron reactors. This year, most of projects enter the critical stage of implementation. With this, MCC is successful in its daily operations and in timely fulfillment of commitments and contracts. Petr GAVRILOV, the MCC Director General, provided Nuclear.Ru an extensive overview of the above in his interview. Nuclear.Ru: In March, the second stage of startup of the equipment at the dry SNF storage facility was successfully completed. What is the further schedule? P. Gavrilov: This year the storage facility will be commissioned and, respectively, the first train with SNF (spent nuclear fuel) will be received. Certainly, there are difficulties, but, on the whole, we are on the right path. The project envisages four-stage pilot operation. We already completed the second stage and proceed to the third stage of pilot operation using dummy fuel assemblies. The work is at full gear. Nuclear.Ru: What is the fourth stage about and what is its timeline? P. Gavrilov: The fourth stage is tests of how well tubes are installed in the storage nests. Completion of all works and receipt of the first train is set for November-December 2011. I have no doubts that we will be ready by that time. The system is well-established and works consistently. All specialized organizations involved in the project are coping well with good quality and on time. Nuclear.Ru: The MCC is identified as the site to host commercial-scale production of pelletized MOX-fuel for BN-800 reactor. Earlier, it was planned to site production of MOX-fuel granules at the combine. What would such change in plans entail? P. Gavrilov: From the very beginning we have had an understanding that either pelletized or vibropacked fuel could be chosen. Therefore, the work we carried out accommodates a possibility of different options. So the change of the target will not affect the course of work in any way. Recently, within a Russian delegation I visited MELOX MOX-fuel facility in France. It was a very useful trip because a level of engineering solutions used in the process there is very high and, no doubt, most advanced; they have fully automated operations with plutonium. We studied in detail the technology, owing to the fact that the French gave us such an opportunity......

Nuclear elite

info@nuclear.ru — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 09:39:00 +0300

The NN AEP (Nizhniy Novgorod Atomenergoproekt) is one of three engineering companies which build new nuclear power units in Russia. It was NN AEP which built and put on line the second reactor of Rostov nuclear power plant (NPP) and, by this, has started the national nuclear development program which in terms of scale is comparable to the �Atomic Project� of the Soviet time. Today, NN AEP functions as the principal contractor for construction of three nuclear reactors in parallel, participates in design of facilities abroad and carries out studies and surveys at new sites. NN AEP Director Valery LIMARENKO told Nuclear.Ru about the company�s targets and achievements in his interview. Nuclear.Ru: This year, NN AEP has commissioned Rostov-2. All key commissioning stages were carried out in the year of the 65-th anniversary of the national nuclear industry. What is your assessment of this reactor commissioning in terms of history and future of the national nuclear power? V. Limarenko: Rostov-2 has not just been accepted for operation but also fulfilled the 2010 electricity generation plan. Moreover, this �one-thousander� (1,000 MW reactor) will be producing electricity throughout December. This reactor construction and commissioning is of special importance. First of all, this is huge labor of people who have not just built the power unit, but have restored the construction capabilities of the Soviet time. We even used some features of the past. For instance, we arranged for a competition but a capitalist one, not the socialist competition as in the past. As the project leader, I awarded the challenge banner for �making another milestone.� Special awards were given for performing operations ahead of schedule, commission of this or other system. For instance, TV sets were presented directly on the site to crane operators for their timely installation of a component, a large-size item. Over this reactor construction time we managed to gather and restore competences, which had accumulated during decades in the former USSR. It is from this country and the USA the nuclear construction technologies started spreading from to other countries. For example, Japanese who are building better than we are � with less people and faster � learned this from the Zaporozhe construction experience. Nuclear.Ru: Why so? V. Limarenko: Zaporozhe reactors were built by flow-line method, in series. After that, in other world countries, in particular, in Japan they started building in series. At Rostov-2, we, in essence, restored the Zaporozhe construction management system but at a new level, based on new technologies. We trained welders to weld main circulation circuit (MCC), but there had been just a few such specialists at the beginning of construction. We trained young, 20-25 years of age, guys to weld pipelines to have nuclear power plants built in series, in new conditions. Today, at Kalinin-4 all records in MCC welding set at the time of Zaporozhe construction have been cracked, because they use a modern management system. Perhaps, you have heard about the Rosatom Production System (RPS). It rests on the Japanese Kaizen production system. It seems that the Japanese learned the series nuclear reactor construction from us and we have learned the production system from them. It is a perfect example of cooperation. Using the RPS and modern 6D design technology, we welded MCC. Moreover, after the 20-year interval in such operations, we did it faster than in the fat days of the flow-line construction. Thus, at Rostov reactor we restored the construction capabilities; this is of principal importance. Now, we say we can build nuclear power plants by flow-line method. Rostov-2 first criticality program was in 2009, and Kalinin-4 will be commissioned in September 2011. No one has doubts about it, because the process is running strictly to the schedule. To provide higher certainty, we have decided to move some process operations from February to December. For example, the filling of the unsealed reactor. To do this, we need to weld main process systems two months earlier. Now, we will be two months ahead of schedule in installation operations. We have moved three months earlier the pressure test of the containment. To this end, we had to master a new containment safety ensuring technology within a tight schedule. We start not just perform these or other operations on time, but some things we manage to do faster, having a time margin......

Our Products Keep The Parity And The Peace

info@nuclear.ru — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:41:00 +0300

The FSUE Instrumentation Factory (Trekhgorny, Chelyabinsk Region) is one of the leading enterprises of the national nuclear weapons complex. It was the facility that 55 years ago fulfilled the first governmental program for fabrication of special products, RDS-4. Those who are in the secret know them as Tatiana aerial bombs. Later, in addition to the governmental defense order, the factory started manufacturing engineering products, instruments and systems for nuclear power plants. During the perestroika, the production drop was hard on the factory, as on all enterprises in the country. However, even in conditions of the downsized defense order it managed to retain its facilities and staff. Today, as in the past, the factory is the flagship of the national nuclear weapons complex (NWC). Its Director General Mikhail POKHLEBAEV told Nuclear.Ru about one of the highest security facility of NWC and its prospects in an interview. Nuclear.Ru: The factory was set up as a strategic facility for making nuclear ammunition. Given a certain degree of security, what, in your view, are the factory�s key achievements and events? M. Pokhlebaev: I think the greatest and major event is that the nuclear parity has been achieved and the peace is kept on Earth owing to our products. Though, it is clear today that the arms race was not justified. It pumped out resources from both the U.S. and ours. Thereat, if the U.S. used resources from over the world utilizing the system it had introduced, the USSR utilized its own internal resources. We were selling oil and natural gas but at a certain point of time those revenues became insufficient too. Moreover, all those things were on the background of a shortage of consumer goods, i.e. clothes, foodstuffs, cars. As a result, huge cash was accumulated, without any product supply, to become one of outcomes of that arms race. Nuclear powers produced so many weapons that could destroy every living being on the planet several times. On the other hand, incredible as it may seem, those were the products which helped to keep the parity and peace. Nuclear.Ru: In other words, the fulfillment of the governmental defense order in required scopes may be termed as the major achievement of the factory? M. Pokhlebaev: Likely, yes. Certainly, this was a rather tense process. First, individual items were produced. Then, production developed in terms of both work scope and quality; automated systems were introduced. The 1980�s were the peaking period. Later, in the 1990�s, regretfully, there was a drop, when our production became unnecessary to the state at all and we lived on our fat. Today, it�s pleasant to know that the country�s leaders consider the nuclear weapons complex an important and necessary constituent, support and develop the strategic nuclear forces, and, consequently, we are also have our place in this chain. Our factory development is planned for. Not just existence but development......

An Adequate Response Series

info@nuclear.ru — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:30:00 +0300

The SVBR reactor development project is one of three areas defined in the Federal Target Program (FTP) �Nuclear Power Technologies of the New Generation for 2010 - 2015 and until 2020.� Last December SC Rosatom and En+ Group registered the joint venture AKME-Engineering, which will design and construct a pilot commercial 100-megawatt facility and further commercialize this technology. At the recent AtomEco-2010 forum held on October 28-29 in Moscow Nuclear.Ru interviewed AKME-Engineering�s Director General Anna KUDRYAVTSEVA on SVBR-100 prospects in the international market. Nuclear.Ru: What potential markets for SVBR exports does the company study today? A. Kudryavtseva: Provisionally, we get an idea of these markets. Another issue is that there should be an adequate response to particular markets. It is important to clarify parameters, and this is not just, for example, South East Asia, but a particular country. Besides, we need to know to what extent our technology would be interesting to this country? If it is Africa, we may speak about 100-200 MW; in other countries it may be 200-300 MW. In other words, we are proceeding to a more detailed marketing study. Nuclear.Ru: Have any countries expressed their interest in using SVBR technology? A. Kudryavtseva: Many are interested in this technology. Asian, African countries have shown interest. Naturally, we are keeping them at a certain distance. We have preliminary information, but until the detail design is in place we cannot actively promote its sales......

First Violin Of The Atomic Orchestra

info@nuclear.ru — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:49:00 +0300

In the history of the national nuclear industry the development and deployment of two uranium isotope separation technologies � gaseous diffusion and gaseous centrifuge � is by right considered one of the most substantial achievements. Today, Russia has 40% of the world�s total enrichment capacities, nearly a half of which is consolidated at the Urals Electrochemical Combine (UECC) in Novouralsk, Sverdlovsk Region. The facility was commissioned in 1949, and historically its site hosted pilot commercial trials of gaseous diffusion machines and all generations of gaseous centrifuge machines. Today, UECC is the world�s largest uranium enrichment facility. Alexander KURKIN, the combine�s Director General, told about the combine�s history, its present day and future operations in his interview with Nuclear.Ru. Nuclear.Ru: UECC is one of the firstborns of the national nuclear industry, which managed to become the first in a number of areas over more than 60 years of its history. What is the combine�s key role, what is its scale, what did help it to establish itself, and what are the major achievements? A. Kurkin: Historically, the combine has been the flagship in the enrichment sector. Each step in our history was the first step and was of relevant significance for all enterprises within the conversion and enrichment complex, since it was preparing grounds for subsequent steps. In fact, we have always been most powerful and largest and the first to implement all technical achievements which were later deployed at sister facilities. Speaking about history, UECC became the country�s first enterprise involved in gaseous diffusion-based separation of uranium isotopes and production of highly enriched uranium for nuclear charges. Initially, it was Plant 813, later � Middle Urals Machine Engineering Plant and, lastly, UECC. The enterprise was established in hard, post-war years, and was an architect of the nuclear shield of the state. The resolution to build it was adopted by the Council of People�s Commissars on December 1, 1945, i.e. in essence, the 65-th anniversary of the nuclear industry is our jubilee as well. In 1949 we produced the first highly enriched uranium and over nearly 65 years we have remained one of the leading nuclear power enterprises and the country�s industry, as a whole. Moreover, we have steadily achieved the status of the world�s largest uranium enrichment facility with the most efficient centrifuge technology of today. I think the mere fact of producing first quantities of salable product enriched up to weapons uranium concentrations can be named the most significant event in our history; the fact that confirmed the rightness of the science and technology approach. It should be noted that all these achievements became possible owing to the fact that a sizable part of the country�s economy was working to support our enterprise. I�ll give you one striking example, in my view. The Verkhnetagilskaya state regional power plant was built especially to cater our plant. That power plant generated 3% of the electricity consumed by the whole industry of the Soviet Union; that was our production power consumption in the late 1950�s � early 1960�s, before we switched to gaseous centrifuge technology. Expressing this in contemporary language, the combine enjoyed especially created comfortable conditions aimed at having it to solve its major task of production of nuclear material for military purposes first and then for civil nuclear power. We have always walked in parallel: military products, or warheads, and civil low enriched uranium product, which is further used to fabricate fuel for nuclear power plants (NPPs). The combine�s entering the global market and seizing strong positions there is of a special significance for the combine. And lastly, our participation in implementation of the USA-Russia HEU Agreement is undoubtedly important......

High Day For Masses

info@nuclear.ru — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:25:00 +0300

Some good round figures, in spite of certain apparent roundness, look important only for those who directly relate. But it so happened that in the 65th year of the Russian nuclear industry � the key �atomic� event of the year � we also have a date to celebrate, i.e. ten years since...

There Is Always A Room For Perfection

info@nuclear.ru — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 08:58:00 +0400

Kursk nuclear power plant with its four RBMK-1000 reactors is among the three first nuclear power plants (NPPs) of similar capacity in Russia and, in terms of generated electricity, it is among the four first plants of all types in the country. The current Kursk Plant Manager, Nikolay Sorokin, perhaps, has the most extensive experience in working at RBMK-plants and in managing such facilities. He worked at Leningrad NPP and Ignalina NPP and Chernobyl NPP. He held managerial positions in Rosenergoatom since 1995 and has headed Kursk NPP since September 2008. In his interview with Nuclear.Ru Nikolay SOROKIN told about his vision of further nuclear power development paths, current operations and prospects of Kursk NPP. Nuclear.Ru: You have worked in nuclear industry since 1968 and your entire professional career is linked to nuclear power plants. What milestones and achievements of the national nuclear power do you consider key ones? N. Sorokin: In technical terms, the first milestone of the national nuclear power development, in my view, was the event occurred on December 25, 1946. Laboratory No 2 started up F-1 uranium-graphite research reactor, the first one in Europe and Asia, and achieved the self-sustained chain reaction. The F-1 startup allowed measuring main nuclear constants, defining the optimum design of the first production reactor, clarifying its design parameters, studying into control and monitoring, safety and protection issues. Since then, the process of perfecting nuclear technology started to lead to development of a production and power reactors. In 1948, the first channel-type reactor came into view to become a prototype of the RBMK. Undoubtedly, the next milestone was June 27, 1954 when the nuclear power plant in Obninsk produced its first electricity. It was a water-graphite channel-type thermal neutron reactor. Certainly, a power capacity of 5 MW the plant had looks rather modest today. But it set the vector to the civil uses of atomic energy. Another milestone is 1964. That year, the foundation of the country�s nuclear power was laid. Late April, the first reactor of Beloyarsk NPP produced its first electricity; this was the first commercial-scale power reactor. Late September 1964, the first reactor of Novovoronezh NPP was commissioned. Though its power was not great, by today�s scales, but at its time it was the most powerful nuclear reactor in the world. Novovoronezh-1 with VVER-1 reactor, which had been designed as a pilot commercial facility, clearly demonstrated advantages of the use of atomic energy, reliability and safety of NPP operation. This was the start of building the technological platform that gave rise to 16 currently operated VVER reactors (if to add Rostov-2). It is known that VVER is the baseline reactor of the AES-2006 project, which is being implemented at four reactor sites of Leningrad II and Novovoronezh II......

Russian Uranium Geology Celebrates 65

info@nuclear.ru — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 10:59:00 +0400

October 13 marks the 65-th anniversary of the national geological service. In the USSR uranium exploration was started by the State Defense Committee�s resolution of April 8, 1944 which obliged all geological organizations to start searching for radioactive ores. In May that year, special groups, teams and expeditions were set up in geology departments of various ministries and agencies. In 1945, atomic energy-related activities were running on a large scale, but natural uranium supplies were still an outstanding issue. By that time, there were several deposits of radioactive ores known in the USSR (Tyuya-Muyun, Taboshar, Mailisuu and other) but they hosted small resources of uranium and could not make up an adequate feedstock for the nuclear industry. In those conditions the Council of people�s Commissars October 13, 1945, adopted the resolution �Regarding Consolidation and Specialization of Explorations and Surveys with the Focus on Radioactive Feedstock�. That resolution also established the First Exploration Department (First Department) within the State Committee for Geology called for to solve the problem of uranium feed supplies to the nuclear industry. The resolution set unprecedentedly high pace of uranium exploration activities. It was planned by April 1946 to set up 270 specialist geological field teams which inspection and survey efforts would expand to the entire territory of the country. In 1947 several field teams were made reportable to the First Department, within which specialist regional expeditions were set up: Koltsovskaya (Yesentuki), Oktyabrskaya (Leningrad), Volkovskaya (Alma-Ata), Bereozovskaya (Novosibirsk), Sosnovskaya (Irkutsk), and Shabrovskaya (Sverdlovsk)......

The Urals Nuclear Center

info@nuclear.ru — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:51:00 +0400

The history of national nuclear industry, which celebrates its 65-th anniversary this year, started from nuclear weapons. The first atomic bomb was managed to develop and test within a record, fantastically tough schedule. During many years, and today as well, the nuclear weapons complex has been a guarantee of the country�s security and independence. In 1955, the country�s second nuclear research center NII-1011 (now, the Russian Federal Nuclear Center - Ye.I. Zababakhin All-Russian Research Institute of Industrial Physics - RFNC VNIITF) was established in Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk Region, to design new types of nuclear and thermonuclear armaments. Georgy RYKOVANOV, the Director and Scientific Supervisor of VNIITF, told about the history and current activities of the center in his interview with Nuclear.Ru. Nuclear.Ru: This year VNIITF celebrates the 55-th anniversary. What events and achievements in the center�s history would you highlight? G. Rykovanov: The major event is the mere establishing of our institute. This was the beginning. Among the originators were Dmitry Vasiliev, the institute�s first director, and Kirill Shchelkin, the first scientific supervisor and chief designer who was awarded the Hero of Socialist Labor order for three times. They were who started it here: the equipment, the science. They are legends. Kirill Ivanovich [Shchelkin] was the one who put in primers in our first tested atomic bomb. The institute was growing fast. It was established in 1955 and already in 1956-1957 the customer got two aerial bombs for strategic aircraft, one weapon for a ballistic missile of the Navy missile complex and a thermonuclear charge for the aircraft-based cruise missile. In 1958, the team who designed those items was given the Lenin�s Award that was the first in the institute. They were Kirill Shchelkin and Yevgeny Zababakhin, the institute is named after, and Lev Feoktistov who greatly contributed to advancement of thermonuclear weapons. Other people on the team were Yuri Romanov who now works for VNIIEF, Mikhail Shumaev and Vladimir Grechishnikov. By the way, 52 employees of our institute have been given this prestigious award that used to be given in the USSR. We are proud of our history. Over the half a century that has passed many charges have been developed, many weapons, and many tests have been run. We are proud of what we are entrusted with, since our institute is responsible for nearly a half of nuclear charges in the country�s combat inventory. We have many of prominent developments. Just some examples. Firstly, a team led by Boris Litvinov designed a nuclear charge for a 152-millimeter artillery shell. This is a world record (the US has 155-millimeter shells). To make such a small caliber, many difficulties had to be overcome when designing the charge. Secondly, Yevgeny Avrorin led the team that made so-called �clean� thermonuclear charge which 99.9% of energy came from synthesis reaction of hydrogen isotopes that doesn�t cause radioactive contamination of the environment. This is also a world record. No one has ever made these. A special pride of the institute is nuclear weapons which are carried by all missiles of the Navy�s strategic complexes. I wish this tradition continues in future. Describing the current activities under the GDO (governmental defense order), I would point out only that a half of nuclear weapons developed by classified institutions over the recent 10 years have been designed by VNIITF......

TITAN-2: Building Complex Solutions Easily

info@nuclear.ru — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 13:05:00 +0400

The TITAN-2 building holding�s work principle is clearly reflected in the company�s slogan �Building complex solutions easily�. In fact, in different time, the companies that now form the TITAN-2 holding worked at most complex nuclear power and industry facilities, with Leningrad nuclear power plant been the largest of which. The holding�s plans are still linked to the nuclear industry. Moreover, its strategic objective is to become the leading engineering company in managing and implementing installation and commissioning works at nuclear reactors being constructed and planned in Russia. In an interview with Nuclear.Ru, President of TITAN-2 and CONCERN TITAN-2 Director General Vadim RYABOV told about currently implemented projects and future plans. Nuclear.Ru: Over the time of work in the construction industry the company has covered the way from separate works to principal contracts, i.e. turn-key approach. What about this way? V. Ryabov: The holding history started in the 1960�s when a group of installation, design and support organizations was set up to build Leningrad nuclear power plant (NPP). The group also included Installation and Construction Directorate No 90 (MSU-90) and Installation and Construction Directorate No 32 (Sosnovoborelektromontazh). Then, as the national economy was restructuring, these firms became joint stock companies. In the mid 1990�s, two companies started converging because they made up their minds that it would be possible to live through the difficult economic situation only by merging efforts and creating a holding structure, which would feature vertical management, common resources and tasks. That was the beginning of TITAN-2 Holding in 1995 when MSU-90 and Sosnovoborelektromontazh founded CONCERN TITAN-2. Being the management structure of the holding, this company started establishing construction divisions. It also became clear that the installation sector would not survive on its own, and the construction industry had deteriorated everywhere by that time. Therefore, own construction and installation capabilities were started to build up. That process gave rise to TITANSTROY, TITANSTROYMONTAZH, TITANSANTEKHMONTAZH, i.e. the companies who were engaged in both construction and special installation in various areas, however, construction had a priority. At that time, the holding acquired the Road Transport Directorate which, in the past, had been a structure of the Northern Construction Directorate and then spun off as an independent company......

Leaving The Center For The Top

info@nuclear.ru — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:59:00 +0400

The global �nuclear renaissance� today is being spoken about as a reality. Even the economic crisis failed to stop its emergence. In spite of some adjustments of timeframes, neither of the countries elected to nuclear has refused earlier decisions. Moreover, leaders of the world nuclear power market are setting ever more ambitious targets for themselves. NAC Kazatomprom is one of the most successful companies in terms of meeting such targets. The company is straightforwardly moving to the set target, i.e. to become a vertically integrated transnational company offering a full range of services from uranium mining through fabrication of nuclear fuel and construction of power generators. Vladimir SHKOLNIK, the president of NAC Kazatomprom, told about the current state and development prospects of the company, as well as its role in sustainable supplies to the world uranium market in the conditions of �nuclear renaissance�, in his interview with Nuclear.Ru. Nuclear.Ru: What is your vision of NAC Kazatomprom�s place in the world �nuclear renaissance�? V. Shkolnik: The approach of the �nuclear renaissance� was inevitable. It is apparent that hydrocarbons are exhausting, while their prices are irrepressibly growing. Energy supply issue has become especially acute in the developing countries, such as India and China where more than 2.5 billion of people live and 600-700 kWh of electricity per capita per year is produced. As compared to the USA, this value is about 20,000 kWh, in Europe 12,000 kWh, in Russia � 7,500 kWh and in Kazakhstan � 5,000 kWh. But in China, India, Malaysia people also want to live in comfort, to have, say, air conditioners and other home appliances. Just imagine what would happen if each resident of the Earth would consume 12,000 kWh of electricity as in Europe. How much generation would you need using fossil fuels � natural gas and coal? What would be with emissions and where to get so much feed? Thus, it comes out that there is nothing except for nuclear generation experience. Certainly, there are other alternative energy sources, but they are just at the becoming stage. By the way, Kazatomprom now also designs and produces alternative energy sources. These circumstances have led to rethinking of plans in favor of nuclear power development. The Chernobyl syndrome is vanishing; the Three Mile Island accident is going into oblivion as well. New approaches, new safety standards have appeared; new designs of nuclear power plants (NPPs) with so-called �inherent safety features� have been developed, where by the physical nature of the process it is not ramping up as in Chernobyl, but is extinguishes. To trigger passive safety systems one does not need to spent energy. All these have led to new awareness and understanding of the necessity to develop nuclear power. Now, about the Kazatomprom�s role. We are the second in the uranium resources in the world and, perhaps, the world�s first in their mining at minimal cost. Last year, we produced 14,000 tons of uranium, as a nation. This is the first place in the world......

Centrifuge Machine Has No Rivals

info@nuclear.ru — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:03:00 +0400

The projected growth of nuclear fleet worldwide up to 630 GW by 2030 will require expansion of uranium enrichment services up to 100 mln separative work units (SWU) per year. This can be achieved only using centrifuge isotope separation technologies, since gaseous diffusion plants will cease operation already the next decade, while the laser enrichment technology has not been brought to commercial scale so far. This opinion was expressed by experts at the international workshop �Separation Phenomena in Liquids and Gases� held in St. Petersburg on June 14-18. A workshop participant, Gennadi SOLOVIEV, the Deputy Director for Science and Nuclear Safety at the Urals Electrochemical Combine (UECC), shared with Nuclear.Ru his vision of prospects of enrichment technologies. He used to lead the research aimed at improving efficiency of enrichment equipment and ensuring its high life-cycle reliability. Since the late 1990�s he has headed development of advanced modernization and repair plans for major process equipment at UECC. Nuclear.Ru: What, in you view, are prospects of the centrifuge technology development? G. Soloviev: I think our gaseous centrifuge machine developers have not said their final word yet. I hope two more generations of the machines will be designed and put in operation. Because in terms of performance the centrifuges now have no rivals. Certainly, there are some hopes related to the laser technology and its varieties. In the late 1980�s � early 1990�s, nearly all research laboratories in the world were in the laser enrichment in atomic vapors and molecular separation techniques. I recollect that in 1991 at a conference in Washington, after all papers made by research laboratories a layman could have an opinion that commercial laser-based separation facilities for uranium enrichment were just in few years on. But when it came to the practical, commercial use, it turned out that economics was very expensive and costly as compared to centrifuge technologies......

Shaping The Reactor Of The Future

info@nuclear.ru — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:56:00 +0400

The lead-bismuth-cooled fast neutron reactor is one of three promising fast reactor technologies listed in the federal target program �Nuclear Power Technologies of the New Generation�. The SVBR-100 design is innovative not only for the national civil nuclear power but also for the global one, since it will become the first reactor with a heavy metal as the coolant. Besides, the project is a pilot in terms of its way of implementation, i.e. through the public-private partnership. To design and build a pilot 100-megawatt reactor, SC Rosatom and En+ Group have set up a joint venture. A total amount of investments in the project is estimated at RUB16bn (US$580m). Sergey RYZHOV, the director and architect general at OKB Gidropress, told about the SVBR-100 project progress in his interview with Nuclear.Ru at the Forum ATOMEXPO 2010. Nuclear.Ru: In 2010 the federal budget allocates RUB178m for the project implementation. What works are planned for this year? S. Ryzhov: For this year, important work stages are planned to draft a terms of reference for the SVBR reactor and a terms of reference for the power unit. The due date for the first revision of the reactor terms of reference is September. The power unit terms of reference, which takes account of requirements to be set by the reactor, will be available by this yearend. The next large stages are 2012 when the reactor package design should be ready and 2014-2015 when the power unit package engineering design should be finalized, and then the transition to the detail design development. In parallel, a decision to start construction should be made. Naturally, during the period from 2012 till 2013-2014 the licensing is anticipated. This is to take exactly from a year a half up to two years. The fact that we are at the terms of reference stage does not mean that the mere design process has not started yet......

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