Russia is privatising its State nuclear corporation Rosatom
Russia Prepares Privatization of State Nuclear Giant Rosatom, Publics BG 6 Feb 12, Russia has compiled a plan for the reorganisation of each state holding company and their subsequent entry into the market Having spent five years combining its nuclear power, engineering and research enterprises into the single entity of Rosatom, the Russian government now sees privatisation of the firm as part of a plan for industrial modernisation…
… its civil nuclear assets – for example nuclear fuel, reactor technology, supply chain, power plant operation, services and waste management – are to become a “public liability
company” with its shares “subsequently sold off….
….. Rosatom had a preliminary agreement with Siemens to partner in nuclear energy in
2009, but this faltered and in 2011 it signed with Rolls-Royce to consider possibilities “for mutually beneficial cooperation in a comprehensive series of activities in Russia, the UK and third countries.”, World Nuclear News reported. http://www.publics.bg/en/news/7037/Russia_Prepares_Privatization_of_State_Nuclear_Giant_Rosatom.html
Safety concerns about Russia’s nukes – highlighted by recent fire at nuclear institute
Fire at Moscow nuclear institute, Russia says no risk (Reuters) - Jan 29 2012 There was no risk of a radiation leak after a fire broke out at a Moscow nuclear research centre housing a non-operational 60-year-old atomic reactor on Sunday, said officials, but Greenpeace Russia expressed serious concern about the incident. Read more »
BRICs – Brazil, Russia, China, India, all nuclear prospects looking dodgy
China is looking much less committed to nuclear power than it was a year ago.
The reality is that China needs nuclear power much less than the nuclear industry needs China.
Prospects for Nuclear Power in 2012 Source: Platts - a leading global provider of energy, metals and petrochemicals information. London, 30 January 2012 “….BRICs [Brazil, Russia, India and China] + South Korea China has dominated new nuclear plant orders in the past few years, accounting for 25 out of the 38 reactors on which construction started worldwide between 2008-2010. Six of these units were for Gen III+ designs, four AP1000s and two EPRs. Almost all the others used a design imported from France in the 1980s, which in turn had been licensed from Westinghouse in the early 1970s. This design, the CPR1000, is showing its age and there was an expectation, even before Fukushima, that the AP1000 would replace it. This would have been a huge boost to the AP1000, giving it the volume of orders that might have allowed costs to come down and for teething problems to be solved. The EPR, by contrast, appears to have no prospect of further orders in China.
However, there were signs that the strain of the rapid pace of construction was beginning to show. In 2011, no new starts were made, compared with ten in 2010. Fukusima explains this to a degree, but some might have been expected in the first three months of 2011 before disaster struck. The reason behind the slowdown is the high cost of the AP1000. The large Chinese utilities appear to be looking at other options.
There is now talk of pursuing indigenous advanced designs developed from the CPR1000 as well as Small Modular Reactors. China has always been adept at convincing nuclear suppliers that there was a great future for their particular technology in China.
It is unclear whether talk of SMRs and new advanced designs will go any further. Read more »
Murmank, the world’s atomic dustbin, has fire on nuclear submarine
Bellona, a respected Norwegian NGO which monitors Russia‘s nuclear fleet, said the number of casualties may have been higher…..
The desolate region around Murmansk contains the biggest concentration of old nuclear reactors in the world and, since the cold war ended, has become the world’s atomic dustbin.

Russian nuclear submarine blaze injures nine after crew remain inside, Guardian UK, 31 Dec 11 President orders inquiry into fire on board vessel docked in Arctic but officials play down any fears of radiation leak
The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, has ordered an investigation after a nuclear submarine caught fire during repairs in the Arctic, injuring at least nine people. Read more »
Russia finally submerges burning nuclear submarine
Russia submerges nuclear submarine to douse blaze (Reuters), 31 Dec 11 – Russia said it had won the battle with a raging blaze aboard a nuclear submarine on Friday by submerging the stricken vessel at a navy shipyard after hours of dousing the flames with water from helicopters and tug boats. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/29/us-russia-submarine-fire-idUSTRE7BS0MJ20111229
Huge fire on Russian nuclear submarine
Massive fire enguls Russian nuclear sub, 9 News, 30 Dec 11 Fire engulfed one of Russia’s biggest nuclear submarines while it was being repaired Thursday, sending flames and smoke billowing into the sky, but officials said all weapons had been removed and no radiation leak
was reported.
Emergency workers launched a massive operation to douse the flames after the blaze broke out on the 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg while it was docked in the the northern Murmansk region near Russia’s border with Norway…… http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8396466/massive-fire-enguls-russian-nuclear-sub
Steps for USA and Russia towards nuclear disarmament
There is, however, some unfinished business concerning the 20 year-old Presidential Nuclear Initiatives (PNI’s) that both governments could take up now to help lay the foundation for future talks.
the United States and Russia have grown accustomed to sharing considerable information about their longer-range strategic nuclear forces. For years, they have routinely exchanged and updated information on the disposition of retiring nuclear-capable bombers and
missiles. Similar processes could be applied to the types and numbers of tactical nuclear systems affected by the P.N.I.’s.
The next logical step would be for both countries to disclose, on a reciprocal basis, the location, types and numbers of tactical nuclear weapons that remain.
Unfinished Business, NYT, FRANK KLOTZ, SUSAN KOCH and FRANKLIN MILLER December 13, 2011“……..the subject of reducing tactical nuclear weapons has again come to the fore. Signing the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in April 2010, President Obama announced that the United States intended to pursue further reductions in all categories of nuclear weapons — including, for the first time, tactical and nondeployed warheads. Voting to approve the treaty, the U.S. Senate called for negotiations with Russia to address the
disparity in U.S. and Russian tactical nuclear weapons and to secure and reduce those weapons in a verifiable manner.
The specific size of that disparity is a matter of debate. Neither the United States nor Russia has publicly disclosed the number and locations of the tactical nuclear weapons they possess.
Unofficial estimates vary widely. Read more »
Russia’s global nuclear ambitions
A new ARMZ race, Asia Times, 14 Dec 11 By Peter Lee The people who brought about Chernobyl are pressing to become the world’s leading source for nuclear power equipment, materials, and services.
Russia’s quasi-state nuclear power authority, Rosatom, has ambitions of becoming the world’s one-stop shop for nuclear plants, uranium fuel and spent fuel services. Currently accounting for 20% of the world’s nuclear power stations and 17% of global nuclear fuel fabrication, Rosatom wants to double in size and become the dominant player in uranium ore and spent fuel in the process.
In places like Kazakhstan, Canada, Niger, Australia, the United States and Mongolia, Rosatom’s (AtomRedMetZoloto) Uranium Holding Co, or ARMZ, is seeking to dominate worldwide uranium production. Over the past two decades, Russia has aggressively leveraged the nuclear legacy of the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the nuclear arms race with the United States, the USSR always opted for quantity and size rather than quality….
Russia unhappy with being encircled by USA missile shield in Europe
Russia says missiles to target US nuclear shield in Europe, Dmitry Medvedev accuses Washington and Nato of ignoring Moscow’s concern at defences they say are aimed at Iran Associated Press in Moscow guardian.co.uk, 24 November 2011 Russia has threatened to deploy missiles to target the US missile shield in Europe if Washington fails to assuage Moscow’s concerns about its plans.
The harsh warning reflects deep cracks in US-Russian ties despite Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” relations with the Kremlin. President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday that he still hopes for a deal with the US on missile defence, but he accused Washington and itsNato allies of ignoring Russia’s worries. He said Russia will have to take military countermeasures if the US continues to build the shield without legal guarantees that it will not be aimed against Russia.
The US has repeatedly assured Russia its proposed missile defence system would not be directed against Russia’s nuclear forces, and it did that again on Wednesday…..http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/24/russia-targets-us-missile-shield
Rising risk of nuclear conflicts, says Russian military chief
Nikolai Makarov, Russia Military Chief, Sees Rising Risk Of Nuclear Conflicts Huffington Post, 17 Nov 11 MOSCOW — Russia is facing a heightened risk of being drawn into conflicts at its borders that have the potential of turning nuclear, the nation’s top military officer said Thursday.
Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, cautioned over NATO’s expansion eastward and warned that the risks of Russia being pulled into local conflicts have “risen sharply.” Makarov added, according to Russian news agencies, that “under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons.”
A steady decline in Russia’s conventional forces has prompted the Kremlin to rely increasingly on its nuclear deterrent. The nation’s military doctrine says it may use nuclear weapons to counter a nuclear attack on Russia or an ally, or a large-scale conventional attack that threatens Russia’s existence.
Russia sees NATO’s expansion to include former Soviet republics and ex-members of the Soviet bloc in eastern and central Europe as a key threat to Russia’s security…. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/17/nikolai-makarov-russia-nuclear-conflict_n_1100100.html
Russia’s huge and pointless expenditure on nuclear submarines
former Finance MinisterAlexei Kudrinhas repeatedly warned that the huge increase in military spending planned for the next decade is fiscally untenable and must be reconsidered.
This means that Putin must choose between pursuing prudent and efficient military programs or indulge in huge wasteful and useless Cold War-era military buildup programs
Putin’s Nuclear Submarine Boondoggle, Moscow Times, 15 November 2011, ByAlexander Golts There is one contradiction that is a standard component of the Russian military: Although the military funds some programs that meet the country’s security needs, many others have little value at all….
Prime MinisterVladimir Putinlast week pressured leaders from the Defense Ministry and the United Shipbuilding Corporation to sign several major contracts worth 280 billion rubles ($9.2 billion) that will primarily be used to fund the development and construction of a new generation of nuclear submarines.
That total is expected to rise even further next year when the final cost is set in the main contract to build a series of Borei-type nuclear submarines. Read more »
Russian nuclear submarine collides with fishing boat
Nuclear submarine collides with fishing boat ABC News, 23 Sept 11, A Russian nuclear submarine collided with a fishing boat off the country’s Pacific coast, damaging the outer shell of the naval vessel but causing no radiation leak, Russian news agencies reported overnight. Read more »
Flaws, construction errors in Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant
Insider cites sloppy work at Iranian nuclear plant, SMH, DOUGLAS BIRCH and GARY PEACH, September 23, 2011 A Russian engineer who worked on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant during the final stages of construction says inexperienced workers, poor oversight and layers of bureaucracy contributed to a rash of equipment failures that delayed the reactor’s startup for almost a year. Read more »
Russian atomic company loses in Siemens exit from nuclear industry
Siemens partner biggest loser in nuclear exit, By Marilyn Gerlach, FRANKFURT, Sept 19 | 2011 (Reuters) - Siemens’ exit from its nuclear partnership with Rosatom robs the Russian player of a famous brand name it badly needs to compete with the likes of Areva NP , General Electric and Toshiba …. Read more »
UK Prime Minister told by Russia to shut up about Litvinenko radiation murder
Kremlin tells Cameron to forget radiation killing of dissident ahead of Moscow state visit, Daily Mail, By JAMES CHAPMAN, 12th September 2011 David Cameron was told to forget Britain’s ‘obsession’ with the radiation killing of a dissident Russian in London last night as he arrived for the first visit by a British prime minister to Moscow in six years.
Mr Cameron wants to focus on Anglo-Russian trade ties, but is under pressure to use the trip to press the Kremlin over the killing of Alexander Litvinenko and broader abuses human rights and state-sponsored corruption.
Four former British foreign secretaries — David Miliband, Jack Straw, Margaret Beckett and Sir Malcolm Rifkind — took the unusual step yesterday of issuing a joint statement urging Mr Cameron to stand up to the Russian regime.
Mr Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 in London five years ago in what is alleged to have been a state-sponsored assassination. He died a lingering death. Ever since, Russia has spurned Britain’s demands to extradite Andrei Lugovoy, the former KGB officer who is the chief suspect in the murder.
Mr Lugovoy, now a member of Russia’s parliament, has claimed he was not involved. Mr Cameron will raise the case during extensive talks in Moscow but officials are making clear that the aim is to try to ‘reset’ relations.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking yesterday ahead of Mr Cameron’s arrival, signalled that Russia expects the Prime Minister to abandon the demands for Lugovoy’s extradition. ‘We cannot afford to be guided by politicised and stereotyped approaches inherited from a different era,’ he said. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2036288/Kremlin-tells-Cameron-forget-radiation-killing-Alexander-Litvinenko-ahead-Moscow-state-visit.html
-
Archives
- February 2012 (126)
- January 2012 (259)
- December 2011 (274)
- November 2011 (331)
- October 2011 (249)
- September 2011 (272)
- August 2011 (249)
- July 2011 (227)
- June 2011 (195)
- May 2011 (286)
- April 2011 (336)
- March 2011 (295)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- people
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety and incidents
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina background info
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- general
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS





