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

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