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Decommissioning aging nuclear reactors

nixing nukes 
The Wire by Matt Kanner Friday, 28 August 2009
Russian activists discuss nuclear plant decommissioning in Portsmouth
Few people are as familiar with the inherent complications of shutting down nuclear power plants as Oleg Bodrov. In 2002, the Russian nuclear engineer-physicist was attacked while walking home from his office. He suffered a serious head injury and spent weeks in the hospital.Bodrov believes the attack was motivated by his activism against a Russian plant that was re-smelting radioactive metal.

Bodrov is co-founder and chairman of the environmental organization Green World, which is currently focused on determining best practices for decommissioning Russia’s aging nuclear reactors. Among the obstacles to shutting down nuclear plants is that they employ thousands of people who are not keen on losing their jobs. The attacker who assaulted Bodrov was trying to send a message, he believes.But the incident didn’t stop Bodrov from pursuing his work. He has led study trips to overlook the decommissioning of nuke plants in Lithuania and Germany, and his work recently brought him to New England.

…………………..Bodrov’s talk made clear his general distaste for the nuclear industry and its political underpinnings. His concerns about nuclear power are understandable. Bodrov worked in the Soviet nuclear industry for many years, initially testing reactor units for submarines. When the Chernobyl disaster occurred in 1986, the building where Bodrov worked was destroyed, and some of his colleagues lost their lives.

“It was like a signal for me that I need to change my activities,” he said.
About 25 to 30 percent of the 400 nuclear reactors in the world have exceeded their design limits, Bodrov said. That’s also true of Russia’s fleet of 31 reactors, many of which are Chernobyl-style facilities operating past their intended lifespan.

“It’s like driving a 25-year-old car—it can break anytime,” he said.

Concern over these facilities led Bodrov to begin observing decommissioning strategies in other Balkan countries. Nuclear plants have caused thermo-pollution in the Baltic Sea and killed millions of fish, he said, and the amount of waste they produce could cause a catastrophe that dwarfs the Chernobyl disaster in magnitude.

“We decided to investigate the best strategies in different countries,” Bodrov said. “Chernobyl shows that it’s not possible to separate each country from the accidents.”

The Wire – nixing nukes

August 29, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, Russia, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, wastes