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Rosatom fears for its nuclear cities amid coronavirus pandemic, The head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation has expressed concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus to three of its so-called “nuclear cities,” including one that houses a top-secret research institute that helped develop the Soviet nuclear bomb.  May 5, 2020 by Charles Digges  charles@bellona.noThe head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation has expressed concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus to three of its so-called “nuclear cities,” including one that houses a top-secret research institute that helped develop the Soviet nuclear bomb.

The cities hold a fabled place in Russia’s nuclear industry, which is managed by the state-controled Rosatom corporation. Most of them are closed to foreigners and even most Russians require special permission to enter them because of the top-secret facilities that many of them house.

In his most recent video appearance, Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said a special delivery of ventilators and personal protective equipment for medical workers has been sent to the city of Sarov and other closed towns where dozens of cases have been reported.

“This (pandemic) creates a direct threat to our nuclear towns,” Likhachev said in the video address on the Rosatom website ­­­– a communication method he has embraced since the beginning of the pandemic. “The situation in Sarov, Elektrostal, Desnogorsk is today particularly alarming.”

His remarks come as Russia reports a total of 155,370 cases of coronavirus infection and 1,451 deaths, making Russian the seventh most infected country, having surpassed China, Turkey and Iran last week.

The spread of the coronavirus has posed special challenges to the worldwide nuclear industry, where small groups of highly trained specialists are required to safely run reactors and manage nuclear fuel and radioactive waste services in close quarters.

In Russia, Rosatom has moved to sequester its nuclear technicians onsite at the plants and facilities where they work to minimize their exposure to carriers of the coronavirus.

Rosenergoatom, which is the utility subsidiary of Rosatom, hasn’t made clear precisely how many Russian nuclear workers have been put in isolation or ordered to shelter at their plants. But Rosatom controls a sprawling network of reactors, laboratories, commercial structures and fuel fabrication facilities that employ some 250,000 people.

Russia’s 11 commercial nuclear power plants operate a total of 38 nuclear reactors. Rosatom also has 36 power units at different stages of implementation in 12 countries around the world. It is currently constructing seven reactors overseas: two each in Bangladesh, Belarus and India, plus one unit in Turkey.

In a sense, Russian nuclear power and scientific facilities are uniquely designed to handle outbreaks of the virus. The 10 so-called “closed administrative territorial formations,” which were formed as part of the Soviet nuclear weapons program, are nearly entirely off limits for foreigners as well as most Russians.

The cities hosting Russia’s commercial nuclear plants, while less strictly separated from the rest of the country, are nonetheless surrounded by checkpoints and often require foreign visitors to get special permission to enter them.

As of last week, said Likhachev in his address, there were 47 infected personnel among the corporation’s ranks.

In the city of Sarov alone, there have been 23 cases of Covid-19, Likhachev said – 7 of them Rosatom employees.

Known formerly as Arzamas-16, Sarov didn’t even appear on maps until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. It remains home to the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics, which made headlines last year when five of its scientists died in a mysterious radiological explosion at a weapons testing site in the Russian Arctic.

The institute, which is now run by Rosatom, is an important part of Russia’s nuclear military complex. Likhachev indicated in his address that the workers who tested positive are affiliated with the institute.

In the city of Sarov alone, there have been 23 cases of Covid-19, Likhachev said – 7 of them Rosatom employees.

Known formerly as Arzamas-16, Sarov didn’t even appear on maps until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. It remains home to the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics, which made headlines last year when five of its scientists died in a mysterious radiological explosion at a weapons testing site in the Russian Arctic.

The institute, which is now run by Rosatom, is an important part of Russia’s nuclear military complex. Likhachev indicated in his address that the workers who tested positive are affiliated with the institute.