L.G. LeSage – författare

The end of the Cold War has led to an acceleration in the decommissioning of the world's nuclear submarine fleet. Russian vessels, in particular, are being taken rapidly out of service and this surge of vessels has in many cases far exceeded the capacity of the available decommissioning facilities in Russia. Severe problems exist in areas such as the storage of submarines awaiting defuelling, storage and transport of spent nuclear fuel, the handling of radioactive wastes, and the dismantling and disposal of major submarine components. The magnitude and complexity of such problems, many of them revealed here to the public for the first time, are laid bare in some detail, with a discussion of the associated environmental impact, especially in the Arctic and the western Pacific. Solutions to these problems are proposed.

The Russian NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Scientific Problems and Unresolved Issues Remaining in the Decommissioning of Nuclear Powered Vessels and in the Environmental Remediation ofTheir Supporting Infrastructure," was held in Moscow, Russia at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences on April 22-24, 2002. This was the third in this series of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sponsored workshops in Moscow on nuclear vessel decommissioning. The first one was in June 1995 and served to focus international attention on the problems of nuclear vessel decommissioning in Russia and elsewhere. The second one was in November 1997 and it focused on the risks associated with nuclear vessel decommissioning. Attendance at the current workshop was approximately 100 with participants form Russia, United States, Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Korea, NATO, and the European Union. The Workshop was sponsored and funded by the Security-Related Civil Science and Technology Program of the Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division ofNATO. Within Russia, the Workshop was sponsored and supported by the Russian Academy of Sciences, Minatom of Russia, Rossudostroenie, Ministry of Industry and Science of Russia, and the Russian Navy. Within the U.S., the Workshop was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The sponsorship and support of all of the above organizations are gratefully acknowledged.

The Russian NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Scientific Problems and Unresolved Issues Remaining in the Decommissioning of Nuclear Powered Vessels and in the Environmental Remediation ofTheir Supporting Infrastructure," was held in Moscow, Russia at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences on April 22-24, 2002. This was the third in this series of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sponsored workshops in Moscow on nuclear vessel decommissioning. The first one was in June 1995 and served to focus international attention on the problems of nuclear vessel decommissioning in Russia and elsewhere. The second one was in November 1997 and it focused on the risks associated with nuclear vessel decommissioning. Attendance at the current workshop was approximately 100 with participants form Russia, United States, Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Korea, NATO, and the European Union. The Workshop was sponsored and funded by the Security-Related Civil Science and Technology Program of the Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division ofNATO. Within Russia, the Workshop was sponsored and supported by the Russian Academy of Sciences, Minatom of Russia, Rossudostroenie, Ministry of Industry and Science of Russia, and the Russian Navy. Within the U.S., the Workshop was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The sponsorship and support of all of the above organizations are gratefully acknowledged.

The Advanced Research Workshop on "Nuclear Submarine Decommissioning and Related Problems" was held at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia on June 19-22, 1995. On June 17 and 18, 1995 some of the workshop participants visited the Zwezdochka Shipyard at Severodvinsk which is a repair and dismantlement facility for Russian nuclear submarines. Attendance at the workshop was approximately 115 with participants from Russia, United States, France, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Germany. The workshop was sponsored by the Disarmament Panel of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Science Committee. The sponsorship and the financial support of NATO is gratefully acknowledged. The workshop was organized in Russia by the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBRAE). The efforts of many individuals from IBRAE in producing both a technically challenging workshop and an almost flawless one are also gratefully acknowledged. In addition, the support of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Committee of the Russian Federation on Defense Technologies, the Ministry of the Russian Federation on Atomic Energy, the Navy of the Russian Federation, and the United States Department of Energy is acknowledged. xi CURRENT STATUS OF NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DECOMMISSIONING PROBLEMS OF NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DECOMMISSIONING AND RECYCLING N. I. SHUMKOV State Committee for Defense Industry (Goseomoboronprom) Moscow, Russia 1. General Description of the Problem Undoubtedly, the problem of nuclear submarine decommissioning and recycling has been worrying Russian civil and military specialists involved in development, building and operation of submarines for many years.

The Russian NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Scientific Problems and Unresolved Issues Remaining in the Decommissioning of Nuclear Powered Vessels and in the Environmental Remediation ofTheir Supporting Infrastructure," was held in Moscow, Russia at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences on April 22-24, 2002. This was the third in this series of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sponsored workshops in Moscow on nuclear vessel decommissioning. The first one was in June 1995 and served to focus international attention on the problems of nuclear vessel decommissioning in Russia and elsewhere. The second one was in November 1997 and it focused on the risks associated with nuclear vessel decommissioning. Attendance at the current workshop was approximately 100 with participants form Russia, United States, Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Korea, NATO, and the European Union. The Workshop was sponsored and funded by the Security-Related Civil Science and Technology Program of the Scientific and Environmental Affairs Division ofNATO. Within Russia, the Workshop was sponsored and supported by the Russian Academy of Sciences, Minatom of Russia, Rossudostroenie, Ministry of Industry and Science of Russia, and the Russian Navy. Within the U.S., the Workshop was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The sponsorship and support of all of the above organizations are gratefully acknowledged.