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Former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), is expected to attend the ceremonial opening tomorrow of a unique onshore complex designed for handling spent nuclear fuel from submarines.
The complex in the Russian northern city of Severodvinsk was built with money appropriated by the U.S. through the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, also known as the Nunn-Lugar program.
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Prior to construction of the new onshore complex, the Severodvinsk enterprise Zvezdochka used a PM-124 conveyer ship, built for the Soviet navy in 1960, for removing spent nuclear fuel from submarines.
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In accordance with a program adopted by the Russian and American defense ministries as part of the START agreement in 1992, three special platforms for cutting hulls of nuclear submarines and an automated section for cable processing were opened at the Severodvinsk enterprise Zvezdochka.
In autumn of 2000, a division for utilization of solid and liquid low activity wastes was added at Zvezdochka. Specialists predict cooperation with the U.S. in the utilization of nuclear waste will continue.
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Last year, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)
visited Severodvinsk to inspect the CTR program and to assess the utilization of nuclear submarines. The senator also negotiated further CTR expansion with Zvezdochka Director General Nikolay Kalistratov.
Some new projects under the CTR program are to be discussed during this week's visit. These include the construction of an additional temporary depot for nuclear fuel storage at the Zvezdochka enterprise. This would lead to the creation of closed technology for utilization of spent nuclear fuel at the Severodvinsk enterprise.
Putting the onshore complex into operation will allow four submarines of a Delta-4 class or two strategic atomic-powered vessels of a Typhoon class to discharge reactors of spent fuel each year. According to specialists, the new complex will secure nuclear and radiation safety of the whole process of unshipping, transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel.
