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Publicatie Laka-bibliotheek:
Russian Import of Spent Nuclear Fuel in 2001-2003 (2004)

Auteur	Ecodefense, Vladimir Slivyak, Nikoulina
Datum	juni 2004
Classificatie	2.34.4.11/01 (RUSLAND - AFVAL/OPWERKING - IMPORT SPENT FUEL)
Voorkant

1. Introduction

In 2001, Russian government adopted laws that permitted import of foreign spent 
nuclear fuel (or high-level radioactive waste). Adoption of the laws on importing 
spent nuclear fuel was taking place in the background of mass opposition from the 
side of the public and many politicians. Thus, governor of Kemerovo called adoption 
of the laws "national disgrace"; his colleague from Nizhny Novgorod considered it 
"an immoral action". Some mass media reported that "Minatom paid to 
parliamentarians who voted in favour of the laws allowing the import of nuclear 
waste". (1) According to public opinion polls of2001, 93% of Russian citizens 
opposed to import of spent nuclear fuel to Russia. (2) The next year, on 16th 
Chernobyl anniversary, protest actions against importing foreign spent nuclear fuel 
were held in 82 cities (53 regions). (3) One of public opinion pools in 2002 indicated 
that about 90% of Russians fears nuclear energy. (4)

At the time of passing the laws on importing spent nuclear fuel in Spring 2001, 
Minister for atomic power Evgeny Adamov had to leave his post under the public 
pressure. New minister- Alexander Rumyantsev - was appointed at the time when 
legislation was under review by parliament. When the laws were adopted, those 
officials of Minatom who participated in working out the laws also had to leave their 
posts. What many of officials fired in 2001-2002 had in common, besides their close 
relationship with ex-minister Adamov, is connection to the import of spent nuclear 
fuel. Among those are, first of all, "ideologists" of import of waste, ex-deputy-
ministers Bulat Nigmatullin and Valentin Ivanov. (5)

However, policy of importing spent nuclear fuel for the purpose of reprocessing and 
storage declared in 2001 has not leaded to any remarkable financial improvements 
in nuclear industry. Since the laws permitting the import of foreign nuclear waste to 
Russia were approved by the president in summer 2001, Minatom hasn't managed to 
sign any new contract. Minister's statements about new contracts on importing spent 
nuclear fuel from several countries (in particular, Great Britain, Japan and other Asian 
countries) to be signed soon, appeared to be not representing the facts (are disproved 
by competent representatives of those countries). Later statements of Minatom's head 
about accepting foreign spent nuclear fuel Russia was to start in November 2002 also 
happened to be far from reality. At the moment, there still is a possibility of 
continuing import of spent nuclear fuel from Bulgaria and Hungary, and 
negotiations with Japan and Slovenia are being carried on in 2003.

In the end of 2002, the minister stated that the sum Minatom hoped to make on import 
of nuclear waste planned will hardly come to $20 billion as it was previously 
estimated. One of Rumyantsev's deputies told to the mass media that it's unlikely that 
spent nuclear fuel from abroad will be imported to Russia "for the next several years".

Meanwhile, spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and storage capacities are worn-out. 
Construction of a new nuclear waste reprocessing plant at Krasnoyarsk-26 is frozen 
for uncertain term. Spent nuclear fuel storage there has less than 45% of space left. 
There are no new storage or dump sites under construction.

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