Col. Alexander Diashev, Russian Navy, Russian Ministry of Defence

The inventories of nuclear materials in northwest Russia represent a serious environmental risk. The national policies of the U.S., Norway, and Russia have converged to address this risk through the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) initiative. This paper discusses joint activities on solid radioactive waste (SRW) storage technologies in the Arctic for the Russian Navy. These are Western as well as Russian developments and will facilitate meeting Russia’s needs for storing solid radioactive waste from decommissioned nuclear submarines. All work is directed at applications at Andreeva Bay or other SRW management sites in northwest Russia. Andreeva Bay is the Navy site with the largest inventory of SRW, and the Russian Navy has recently completed construction of an SRW storage facility at this site. The technologies which have been selected so far are 1) a coating for concrete and metal, 2) containers for waste storage and transportation, and 3) various materials used in handling and storage. The demonstration phase is under way and will last one year. The coating has been applied and tests of its performance are in progress. In addition to field tests in the Russian Arctic, thermal cycling tests have been performed in a laboratory to determine the aging parameters of the coating. Radioactive waste containers have been delivered from the U.S., and a Russian container design is in progress. The ultimate goal of AMEC Project 1.4 is to develop Russian self-sustainable capabilities for application in the extreme climate of the Arctic. These technologies will help shift the Russian Navy practices of bulk, open-air storage to an approach that includes containerized waste placed in a modern storage facility. The ongoing trilateral cooperation of this project is critical to achieving the policy goal of safe, secure storage for radioactive waste in northwest Russia