Answer on written question no. 1137 (2006-2007) from Member of the Storting Jan Sahl (Christian Democratic Party) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(The reply is the same as the one given in a letter to Members of the Storting Ågot Valle and Heidi Sørensen.)

Translated from the Norwegian

Question:

According to a report by Rosatom, the Russian Government’s highest authority on nuclear matters, there is a great danger that a nuclear storage facility at Andreyev Bay could explode and result in radioactive fallout over Northern Europe. In his contact with Russia and other countries, what is the Minister of Foreign Affairs doing to prevent such an accident?

Reply by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (11 June 2007):

Last Friday, Aftenposten featured an interview with Bellona drawing attention to the situation at Andreyev Bay, on the Kola Peninsula. With good cause. The facility constitutes a considerable danger to the marine ecosystem, and it is probably the greatest nuclear safety threat in our neighbouring areas.

For this reason, Andreyev Bay is one of our highest priorities in our nuclear safety cooperation with Russia. Norway was the first country to focus on the need to clean up the facility. The planning of the first concrete measures started in 1997. The first step was to drain the area round the storage tanks to prevent water from seeping in. 

Our involvement helped to put the problem on the international agenda. During the past three to four years, broad international cooperation has been established with a view to improving the situation and removing the spent nuclear fuel. The UK, Sweden, Italy and the environmental fund under the Northern Dimension are all participating in this cooperation. The work is being coordinated by an international working group chaired by Russia. 

Our involvement at Andreyev Bay includes close cooperation with Russian supervisory authorities on radiation protection, development of criteria for the clean-up and emergency preparedness. Spent nuclear fuel will not be removed until a comprehensive impact assessment has been carried out and has been approved by the supervisory authorities.

According to current plans, the spent fuel can be transported from the site in 2013-2014. This work will be led by the UK. Before this can take place, the infrastructure at and round the facility needs to be improved. Norway has allocated about NOK 120 million for this work over the past ten years. We have also physically secured the area by providing fencing, camera surveillance and a guard booth, and have provided assistance for comprehensive investigation of ground conditions in the area. We are currently investigating and repairing the quay facilities in order to allow the spent fuel to be transported out by sea.

In an article published in the Russian specialist journal Atomnaya energiya in July 2006, Russian scientists discuss the pollution situation at Andreyev Bay based on material obtained during investigations Norway helped to finance in the period 2002-2004.

The information published by Aftenposten was based on the article in Atomnaya energiya. The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority became aware of this article and brought it to Bellona’s knowledge in the middle of May. The claim that the Radiation Protection Authority was unaware of this information before it was published in Aftenposten is therefore unfounded.

The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority has since 2004 been aware of the fact that salt water has been detected in the tanks where the spent nuclear fuel is stored, and that in theory it cannot be ruled out that a criticality, with a subsequent emission of radioactive substances into the air, could arise. What is new in the article is the information on the threshold values for when such a criticality could arise. The greatest risk of a criticality arising is during removal of the fuel. This phenomenon is not unique to Andreyev Bay. The information published in the media regarding an explosion and its consequences for Northern Europe was not taken directly from the report mentioned in the article.

Norway will continue to promote nuclear safety cooperation in Russia, and the matter will be discussed on a number of occasions in the time ahead. The Prime Minister will raise the issue during his visit to Russia this week. Russian openness as regards nuclear facilities will be an important theme. I myself will soon be meeting my Russian counterpart. The further efforts at Andreyev Bay will be an important theme at next week’s meeting of the Joint Norwegian-Russian Nuclear Safety Commission, which will take place on 1 August. 

At present, good progress is being made in the nuclear safety cooperation with Russia. This is due both to the fact that the G8 countries have become heavily involved and to the fact that Russia is dedicating considerable resources to these efforts. Several important problems will be resolved within the next two to four years. This applies, for example, to the dismantling of decommissioned submarines and the elimination of radioactive energy sources in the 180 lighthouses along the northwestern coast of Russia.