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Sound the alarm on deadly US-Russia nuclear threat

Sound the alarm on deadly US-Russia nuclear threat, by Jill Dougherty December 12, 2019 CNN, As I looked around the large square conference table, I watched the faces settle into worried frowns. Russians and Americans, several of whom once had responsibility for their nations’ nuclear weapons, all members of the Dartmouth Conference, the oldest continual bi-lateral dialogue between Americans and Russians, founded almost 60 years ago during one of the darkest periods of the Cold War.

For a long minute, no one spoke. Then, one of them broke the silence: “Someone needs to sound the alarm.”

Now, profoundly concerned that the United States and Russia are on the verge of a new arms race, they are speaking out, issuing an urgent appeal to keep arms control alive:

“… for the first time in our history we are compelled by the urgency of the situation to issue this public appeal to our governments, founded on our view that the clear threat of an uncontrolled nuclear arms race has re-emerged with the collapse in recent years of key elements of the post-Cold War arms control architecture.”

Members of the Dartmouth Conference meet twice a year to discuss ways of improving — and, at this point, salvaging — the US/Russia relationship. Several are former top-level military and diplomatic officials. Some are religious leaders or physicians. All are concerned citizens.

They’ve watched as the arms control agreements, which helped prevent nuclear war between our countries, were dismantled — the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed by former President Richard Nixon and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, and the Intermediate Nuclear Forces agreement signed by former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

Now, the New START agreement — the last remaining arms control agreement between the US and Russia — hangs in the balance. …….

It could get worse, both I and other Dartmouth Conference members believe. Neither country wants to start a nuclear war, which would imperil the entire planet, but it could start by mistake, by misunderstanding, by escalation of tensions, as it almost did during the Cold War……..

In their appeal, Dartmouth members say the dialogue on strategic stability should be broadened to include other nuclear powers. But that doesn’t mean that, in the interim, New START can’t be extended for another five years, as the treaty provides. Extending it beyond 2021 would provide some breathing space to work on future global security agreements. We can do both.

New START not only led to steep reductions of nuclear arsenals on both sides but it strengthened confidence and trust between our countries and our militaries by providing for inspections and data exchanges that verify compliance. Transparency is key; Not knowing what weapons the other side might have can ignite suspicion.

At this very moment both countries are developing new, highly advanced conventional arms and delivery systems.

A cyberattack could knock out early warning systems. Both countries keep most of their nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert, ready to be fired within minutes. Our presidents have only a few minutes to decide whether to respond. A missile launched in Russia can hit an American city in less than 30 minutes — and vice versa. A single warhead can kill millions of people.

……… together, we had just written: “The immediate imperative is extension of the New START Treaty … We see this as a paramount moral obligation of both our governments before our own peoples, and the world at large. We respectfully urge our governments to begin discussions immediately to this end.” https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/12/opinions/new-start-treaty-dougherty/index.html

December 14, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Russia, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Floating small nuclear reactors bring serious risks

nuclear experts have highlighted crucial negatives that cast doubt on the floating nuclear utopia.Jan Haverkamp, Greenpeace Netherlands senior expert nuclear energy and energy policy, sees the three main disadvantages of Akademin Lomonosov to be the big human factors risk, its problematic construction, and the pollution of the Arctic region with nuclear waste.

this project is reintroducing a major pollution risk in an area which functions as a climate regulator for the globe – “the Arctic pristine area, which is a very important natural area for the entire balance on the planet,”

Is floating nuclear power a good idea? Power Technology By Yoana Cholteeva, 9 Dec 19, Floating nuclear power promises to provide a steady source of energy at hard-to-reach locations, but at the same time the dangers inherent in nuclear power make some question whether it’s safe enough for areas where help is hard to find. Is floating nuclear power really a good idea? Yoana Cholteeva investigates.

Russian nuclear company Rosatom announced the arrival of the world’s first floating nuclear power plant, Akademik Lomonosov, in September 2019 when the technology was transported to the port of its permanent location in Russia’s Far East. The 144m-long and 30m-wide vessel has now docked at the port in Pevek, off the coast of Chukotka, where it will stay before its commissioning next year.

Akademik Lomonosov will use small modular reactor technology and is equipped with two KLT-40C reactor systems with 35MW capacity each. It has been designed to access hard-to-reach areas where it can operate for three to five years without the need for refuelling. It also has an overall life cycle of 40 years, which may be extended to 50 years Continue reading →

December 10, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ARCTIC, Russia, safety, technology | Leave a comment

Putin offers US to extend key nuclear pact

Putin offers US to extend key nuclear pact https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/putin-offers-us-to-extend-key-nuclear-pact/news-story/e88b576c31aaa9f2e81843b5f306dfc7. Associated Press, December 6, 2019 Russian President Vladimir Putin claims Moscow is prepared to immediately extend a pivotal nuclear arms reduction pact with the United States.

Speaking at Thursday’s meeting with military officials, Putin said that Russia has repeatedly offered the US to extend the New START treaty that expires in 2021 but as yet he hasn’t heard back.

“Russia is ready to extend the New START treaty immediately, before the year’s end and without any preconditions,” Putin said.

The pact, which was signed in 2010 by former President Barack Obama and then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers.

Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly voiced concern about Washington’s reluctance to discuss the treaty’s extension.

December 7, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

New ship to handle all nuclear waste from Rosatom’s Arctic operations.

Barents Observer 5th Dec 2019, New ship to handle all nuclear waste from Rosatom’s Arctic operations.
The new special purpose vessel will serve the new icebreakers and the
floating nuclear power plants and possible other reactor installations.

https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/industry-and-energy/2019/12/new-ship-will-take-care-all-nuclear-waste-rosatoms-arctic-operation

December 7, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ARCTIC, Russia, wastes | Leave a comment

Russia’s nuclear company Rosatom in financial trouble trying to fund nuclear project in Turkey

Turkey’s first nuclear plant delayed by funding problems – energy expert https://ahvalnews.com/turkey-energy/turkeys-first-nuclear-plant-delayed-funding-problems-energy-expert, Nov 30 2019

Completion of Turkey’s first nuclear power station is likely to be delayed as the Russian company building it is struggling to secure funding, former diplomat and Bosphorus Energy Club head Mehmet Öğütçü told Turkish daily Sözcü.

A small part of the plant in Akkuyu, southern Turkey, may be opened for political reasons in 2023, the centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic, Öğütçü said.

But Russian state-owned Rosatom is having difficulties financing the project, which is expected to cost between $20 billion and $25 billion, he said, adding that Western companies were avoiding Akkuyu over concerns about nuclear armament.

A Turkish consortium pulled out of the project last year, citing a failure to reach commercial terms with Rosatom, which owns a 51 percent stake in the project.

A report by the main opposition Republican People’s Party this month criticised the terms of the government’s deal with Rosatom, which has been guaranteed a price of 12.35 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour in a 15-year power purchase agreement.

December 2, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics international, Russia, Turkey | Leave a comment

Russia’s Rosatom planning to market Small Modular Nuclear Reactors to Europe

Russian company’s plan for nuclear power expansion revealedVLADIMIR PUTIN has made nuclear energy one of Russia’s key priorities, and now the Russian nuclear power company Rosatom has revealed to Express.co.uk their plans to ramp up expansion into Europe with small modular reactors. Express UK By CHARLIE BRADLEY, Fri, Nov 29, 2019

Rosatom is completely under state control, and while its emphasis with some projects has been geared towards powering hard to reach Russian territories, it has also undertaken numerous international projects. This includes the development of nuclear power plants in China, Turkey and Iran, highlighting the growing presence of Russian energy throughout the world. And now, with some projects already under way in countries like Hungary and Finland, its Vice President of Marketing and Business Development Overseas, Anton Moskvin, has told Express.co.uk that Europe is a future target for the company.He said: “I must say Europe is very interesting for us with prospective small modular reactors market development, we know that several countries are interested. The UK has great interest in the small modular reactors.” ……

However, some in the EU have expressed concern over any plans for the Russian nuclear giant, fearing that the country could use its business to wield political influence.

In 2014, President Putin agreed a deal worth £8.5billion with Hungary President Viktor Orban, a deal which has seen the two leaders meet regularly since.

Hungary is both a NATO and EU member, and the latter has sought legislation to ensure countries embarking on nuclear deals with Moscow do not become dependent on the Kremlin.

RFI (Radio France International) reported last month that Jan Haverkamp, vice-chairman of Nuclear Transparency Watch, has serious reservations about the projects.

He said: “Our assessment is that the Kremlin tries to use nuclear power now to regain some of that lost influence.

“We see Rosatom being very eager to buy up nuclear companies in Europe, where they try to get a participation in order to get a solid nuclear foothold inside the EU.”

Mr Moskvin said he could not comment on political issues……… https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1211103/putin-news-russia-europe-nuclear-power-eu-rosatom-spt

December 2, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | marketing, Russia, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors | Leave a comment

Nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile tested over the Barents Sea

The Kinzhal missile was launched from a MiG-31K taking off from Olenegorsk airbase on the Kola Peninsula. Barents Observer By Thomas Nilsen, December 01, 2019

The missile changes the military power-balance in the north due to its range, speed and ability to overcome any known missile defence systems.

Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (NATO name SA-N-9 Gauntlet) is one of the six new strategic nuclear weapons presented by Vladimir Putin in his presidential address to the Federal Assembly on March 1, 2018.

Now, the missile is tested and like several of the other new strategic weapons under development by Russia, the test took place in the northwestern part of the country……. https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2019/12/nuclear-capable-air-launched-ballistic-missile-tested-over-barents-sea

December 2, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Putin told bereaved families that nuclear accident scientists were working on an “unparalled”weapon

PUTIN SAYS SCIENTISTS KILLED IN MYSTERY NUCLEAR BLAST WERE TESTING ‘THE MOST ADVANCED AND UNPARALLELED’ WEAPON, Newsweek, BRENDAN COLE ON 11/22/19 RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN HAS TOLD THE FAMILIES OF THE SCIENTISTS WHO WERE KILLED IN A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION IN THE COUNTRY’S ARCTIC NORTH THEY WERE TESTING AN “UNPARALLELED” WEAPON.There was much speculation about what caused the blast at a test facility in Nyonoksa in the Arkhangelsk region on August 8, which killed at least five people and sparked local fears about increased radiation levels and the secrecy surrounding the incident.

International experts believed the explosion involved the Burevestnik nuclear-powered intercontinental cruise missile, which NATO calls the SSC-X-9 Skyfall.

In a ceremony at the Kremlin on Thursday for the families of the dead, Putin paid tribute to the efforts of the dead scientists by awarding them the Order of Courage.

He said that the scientists were working on “the most advanced and unparalleled technical ideas and solutions, about weapons designed to ensure Russia’s sovereignty and security for decades to come,” in the speech which was broadcast on news channel Russia 24 and picked up by The Moscow Times.

“The very fact of possessing these unique technologies is the most important reliable guarantee of peace on the planet today,” he said.

Without specifying what kind it was, Putin added, “we will certainly be perfecting this weapon regardless of anything,” he said……….

Russia’s nuclear agency Rosatom said the scientists had been testing on an offshore platform at the Nyonoksa naval test range in August when a fire broke out and an engine exploded.

Radiation levels hit up to 16 times more than normal in the nearest big city, Severodvinsk, around 30 miles away. Many locals were concerned about the lack of transparency about the explosion.

Monitoring stations nearby stopped transmitting data and medical staff in Archangelsk complained they were not warned about the radiation contamination risk when they treated workers who were injured in the blast.

U.S. intelligence sources told CNBC that the blast happened during an attempt to salvage a lost missile from a previous test.

“There was an explosion on one of the vessels involved in the recovery and that caused a reaction in the missile’s nuclear core which lead to the radiation leak,” a source told the news network in August. https://www.newsweek.com/russia-burevestnik-nyonoksa-nuclear-blast-1473481?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter&fbclid=IwAR2NyVzT3bpGhPJIyStIjRc_Ymhkf8FkhnzaYhPfWunFX2h3w-HQb6Un03E

November 25, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia | Leave a comment

Russian Watchdog Detects ‘Radiation Incident’ in South China Sea

Russian Watchdog Detects ‘Radiation Incident’ in South China Sea https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/11/22/russian-watchdog-detects-radiation-incident-in-south-china-sea-a68287

A Rospotrebnadzor statement said radiation levels are not high enough to threaten the Russian population. The Russian government’s consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said Friday it has detected a “radiation incident” in the South China Sea.“Based on data received from the Global Environmental Monitoring System, there’s an increase in background radiation in the South China Sea in connection with a radiation incident,” Rospotrebnadzor said in an online statement.

It added that the radiation levels did not “currently threaten the Russian population” and that it “has increased its radiation monitoring in the adjacent border areas.”

A website run by far-right U.S. talk show radio host Hal Turner claimed Wednesday that unidentified military sources had allegedly detected an underwater nuclear explosion in the area that caused powerful shockwaves. The U.S. tech news website Gizmodo cited two scientists who dismissed the report as fake.

Gizmodo reported that uRADMonitor Global Environmental Monitoring Network data used in the initial report registered “negligible” radiation and noted that two other agencies in the region showed normal radiation readings.

Military analysts reported Saturday that an 11,000-ton Chinese nuclear missile submarine had surfaced among Vietnamese fishing boats in the South China Sea in September.

November 23, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, Russia | Leave a comment

African countries being conned into nuclear debt, by Russia

African countries rush to sign nuclear deals with Russia, Daily Maverick By Peter Fabricius• 29 October 2019

But concerns are being raised about whether they can all afford nuclear energy.

The Russian nuclear power corporation Rosatom has already signed nuclear cooperation agreements with about 18 African counties, as Russia accelerates its drive for nuclear business on the continent.

The growing commitment of African countries to high capital cost nuclear energy has raised some concern about whether they are committing themselves to unaffordable debt.

Rosatom director-general Alexey Likhachev revealed a large number of nuclear agreements with African countries after signing an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy with the Ethiopian Minister of Innovation and Technology, Getahun Mekuria Kuma, during the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi on the Black Sea last week.

Mekuria later told the Russian official news agency Tass that Ethiopia had plants to build a nuclear power plant.

Rosatom later also signed an agreement with Rwanda at the summit on cooperation for the construction of a centre of nuclear science and technology in Rwanda. Rosatom had a strong presence at the economic forum which paralleled the political summit. The Rosatom stand attracted scores of interested African government officials on the sidelines of the forum. …..

Likhachev told journalists after the discussion that Rosatom had now signed memoranda of understanding or intergovernmental agreements with about one-third of countries on the continent – about 18. He could not say how many of these were about scientific cooperation and how many were about producing nuclear energy “because very often those two tracks go hand in hand”.

But he did say in the discussion that about half of the African countries with which Rosatom had signed nuclear agreements were actively discussing joint projects with the corporation, which had been stipulated in contracts. The most advanced joint project is with Egypt, which has contracted Rosatom to build a 4,800MW nuclear power plant……

“We are ready to propose to Ethiopia cutting-edge solutions of nuclear technology. And our Ethiopian partners are invited to visit nuclear facilities in our country.

“Apart from larger capacity nuclear power plants, we also stand ready to offer smaller capacity, modular reactors.”

……..However, the apparent rush to nuclear energy by African countries has raised some concerns that they may be committing themselves to high capital costs of nuclear power production which they will be unable to afford.

Analysts have noted that even South Africa, one of the top two economies on the continent, backed away from an apparent commitment by former president Jacob Zuma to order 9,600MW of nuclear power plant production from Rosatom – at an estimated cost of about R1-trillion.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said after meeting Putin on the sidelines of the summit that the Russian president had once again asked him if South Africa was still interested in building a nuclear power plant and he had told him once again that it still could not afford to.

An African minister at the summit told Daily Maverick that although power plants could be an important source of economic growth, African countries were sinking further into debt and had to be careful to ensure they could afford the infrastructure they built.

Likhachev defended nuclear energy as an economical source of electricity over the long term. ……….

Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwandan minister in charge of the East African community would not be drawn on the cost and affordability implications, saying the details of the agreement would be announced in due course. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-10-29-african-countries-rush-to-sign-nuclear-deals-with-russia/

October 31, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AFRICA, marketing, politics international, Russia | Leave a comment

Worrying legacy of radioactive trash under planned Moscow roadway

Locals fear radiation spikes as Moscow plans road across nuclear waste dump: ‘Everything is very bad’ Greenpeace claims radiation levels at the site are already many times above natural levels – and higher than the levels now seen in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, Independent Oliver Carroll, Moscow @olliecarroll 27 Oct 19,

Up a small hill from the Moskvorechye commuter station in southeastern Moscow, there is a hole in a green corrugated fence. Radioactive warning signs, fly-posted by a group of local activists, are a clue to the mystery on the other side.

Equipped with rubber boots, air masks and radiation counters, a motley crew is carrying out an inspection of the radioactive waste dumps behind the fence, on the perimeter of Moscow’s decommissioned Polymetal factory.

It’s part of a last-gasp attempt to stop local authorities from building a bridge and eight-lane motorway across part of the site – controversial plans, the activists say, that run the risk of releasing buried radioactive material into the air and adjacent Moskva river.

Campaigning group Greenpeace has recently published results from new tests of topsoil from the area immediately affected by the highway construction. Those tests showed radiation levels dozens of times above permissible levels, and pose a cancer risk to local residents, the group claimed. Samples at 0.5 metres below the surface showed significantly higher levels of radiation.

The new evidence appears to directly contradict the official position that construction of bridge and highway would avoid any contaminated areas.
In among the human-made forest of bare trees, decommissioned factory bricks and reinforced concrete, at five spots in the area covered by projected road plans, radiation peaked at between five and 15 times above natural background radiation. In one area about 150 yards away from the proposed construction work, counters registered 9.2 µSv/h (microSieverts per hour), or 45 times above normal levels. This is higher than most spots in the Chernobyl exclusion zone (generally 1-7 µSv/h).

“The builders say there is nothing here, but we see with our own eyes everything is very bad,” says Ivan Kondratiev, a local organiser whose father lives close to the proposed highway.
“These levels of radiation on their own aren’t going to kill you. But they tell you what lies underneath, and what will happen when building work unsettles it.”
Anton Kulbachevsky, head of the Moscow department for the environment, says he does not believe the Greenpeace claims.

“No matter how much I’ve come across Greenpeace, its very rare that what they are saying is backed up by real evidence.”
The secret garden near Moskvorechye station is the legacy of 1950s and 1960s, the earliest years of the nuclear arms race. That was a time when Russia looked to reverse, in Joseph Stalin’s words, “fifty or a hundred years” of backwardness in ten years. Achieving that giant leap meant cutting corners on nuclear safety, the dangers of which were not completely understood at the time…….
For many decades, the activity of the Polymetals factory remained a state secret. The full extent of what it produced will likely never be revealed. But we do know it was primarily concerned with extracting uranium and thorium from ores. It disposed of thousands of tonnes of waste products from these processes in areas adjacent to the factory.
The Polymetals factory was not the only plant in Russia – or the world – to disperse of radioactive waste so incautiously. The Soviet network of institutes and factories left hundreds of such dumps across the country. But the volume of byproducts, and the tens of thousands now living nearby, make the plant’s legacy particularly troublesome.

In 1999, Radon, the agency of the Russian government responsible for securing radiological waste, made a major survey of the site. That inspection revealed 40 separate zones of contamination, and authorities immediately embarked on an operation to make the area safe. But they stopped short of a full decontamination operation. In a 2006 interview, Alexander Barinov, Radon’s chief engineer for Moscow, explained that removing all the contaminated soil was “impossible”. Instead, engineers chose to lay new soil every year to keep the waste buried. …….
Pavel Tarasov, a municipal deputy for the Communist Party backing local protests against the highway, says authorities had presided over a “cover-up”.
“They know about the radiation danger, but the only thing that matters is their multibillion-dollar project,” he says. “They can’t get the thing through legally, so they are lying.”

Moscow officials have denied any illegal activity and have promised to continue monitoring the site…….. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-moscow-nuclear-radiation-chernobyl-highway-moscow-a9171991.html

October 28, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Russia | 1 Comment

Highly toxic nuclear waste being imported into Russia, from Germany

Russia Is Importing Toxic Nuclear Waste From Germany, Greenpeace Warns, https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/10/23/russia-is-importing-toxic-nuclear-waste-from-germany-greenpeace-warns-a67873 A European uranium enrichment firm has resumed shipments of a highly toxic and radioactive waste product from Germany to Russia, Greenpeace Russia warned Wednesday.

The enrichment firm Urenco and Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom halted the radioactive waste imports from Germany in 2009 over revelations that the waste was stored in the open. German media reported Tuesday that Urenco had resumed exports of the toxic compound used to enrich uranium, sending up to 3,600 metric tons to central Russia in May-October 2019.

“Russia should not become a radioactive burial ground for the rest of the world,” Greenpeace’s energy campaigner Rashid Alimov said, demanding the release of government documents and punishment of officials responsible for resumed shipments.

Urenco plans to send 12,000 metric tons of uranium hexafluoride to Russia in 2019-2022, the Die Tageszeitung newspaper reported, citing officials’ communications.

Greenpeace estimates that Russia has stored 1 million metric tons of the uranium hexafluoride, a waste product known as “tails.” Vyacheslav Alexandrov, the head of the state-run radioactive waste management operator’s Novouralsk branch where Urelco had reportedly sent the “tails,” said Russia prohibits nuclear-waste imports and expressed surprise over Greenpeace’s warning.

In comments to the Znak.com news website, Alimov agreed with Alexandrov that “Russia formally observes the law” but contended that about 90% of the imported toxic “tails” remain in Russia after enrichment.

October 24, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, Russia, wastes | Leave a comment

High Radiation Along Planned Moscow Highway Route

Greenpeace Finds High Radiation Along Planned Moscow Highway Route, Moscow Times, Oct. 21, 2019, Soil samples taken along the route of a planned highway in Moscow are emitting radiation levels that pose cancer risks to residents, Greenpeace Russia said Monday.

Activists have warned that the eight-lane highway, which authorities hope to start building next year and finish by 2024, will release buried radioactive dust into the air and the Moscow River.

“We now have official proof that radioactive waste lies on the route and not somewhere nearby,” Greenpeace Russia said Monday.

Greenpeace demanded in July that construction be halted, months after state-run safety tests revealed radiation levels near the planned highway 200 times higher than the norm.

The NGO and hired experts found five locations on the highway route between the Moscow Polymetals Plant and the Moskvorechye commuter rail station where topsoil emitted up to eight times the normal level of radiation.

“Borehole measurements half a meter deep showed greater [radiation] values than on the surface,” Greenpeace said…….https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/10/21/greenpeace-finds-high-radiation-along-planned-moscow-highway-route-a67834

October 24, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Russia | Leave a comment

Russian obfuscation over nuclear accident is a dangerous precedent

With nuclear stakes, the world cannot afford Russian obfuscation

Atlantic Council (blog) 22 Oct 19 On August 8 there was a massive explosion at a Russian nuclear testing site near the village of Nyonoksa on the coast of the North sea—less than three hundred miles from the Finnish border. The blast killed at least seven people and injured at least fifteen more. Months later, the international community is still looking for answers on what exactly happened and how it put residents of other nations at risk. Rather than helping, however, Moscow may be actively withholding information from nuclear watchdogs.

In the absence of information from the Russian government, the international community spent months in confusion over what caused the explosion and the accompanying radiation spike. The US State Department finally concluded on October 12 that the radiation explosion came from a Russian effort to recover the in-development nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile—designated by NATO as “Skyfall”—after a failed test left the missile sitting on the floor of the White Sea for over a year. Three US State Department officials were removed from a train and detained by Russian authorities en route to Nyonoksa on October 14.

More troubling still, on August 10, two Russian government-operated radiation monitoring stations, Dubna and Kriov, stopped transmitting their readings to the international Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO).

More of these monitoring stations in Russia shut down in the subsequent days, but have since come back online, with the exception of Dubna and Kirov. As an Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research Lab investigation found, the Russian government issued numerous false, misleading, conflicting, and incomplete statements regarding the explosion.

Disinformation aside, the potential deactivation of nuclear monitoring stations to stem the flow of data is particularly disconcerting. These types of stations are operated by host countries but form a global network used by the CTBTO to ensure that nations are in compliance with the ban on nuclear weapons testing. Perhaps there were indeed some kind of communications or network issues, but Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association, described the deactivation as “a curious coincidence.”

In the absence of information from the Russian government, the CTBTO published a dispersion model based on the hypothetical spread of radioactive particles, with the model showing the potential spread reaching as far as China and Turkey.

Kimball and others have said that Russian tampering with these monitoring sites would be a serious violation, but a futile one: “There is no point in what Russia seems to have tried to do,” said Jeffrey Lewis, the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute in California. “The network of international sensors is too dense for one country withholding data to hide an event.”

It is entirely possible that this accident poses no substantial radioactive risk to the global community. But if Russia doesn’t release adequate technical details and explain what kind of accident happened, experts can’t adequately assess the threat to public safety or the nature of the fallout.

And with little information, many locals panicked and drained the supply of iodine. By obscuring events and disabling monitoring stations, the Russian government has further undermined the trust of the global community. These actions are worrisome and must be addressed in future negotiations and treaties…….

To ensure safety for both local and international populations facing incidents like Russia’s Nyonoksa nuclear missile accident, international monitors from non-government organizations such as the CTBTO should be stationed in these nuclear-test monitoring facilities to ensure that they can’t be disabled or tampered with—regardless of which country these facilities are in. Self-policing is an inherent conflict-of-interest, and transparency across the board can help reassure the global community regulations are being followed and that nuclear accidents are being reported. Local populations in particular are the most vulnerable to radiation accidents, and the kind of panic that led residents near Nyonoksa to drain a city’s iodine supply is unnecessary.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, which was allowed to lapse this year, presents another potential opportunity to rectify these worries. Arms control experts have called for this treaty to be renewed, and provisions for independent monitors should be included to ensure compliance and transparency.

Trust in the sometimes-anarchic international system can be difficult to come by and takes decades to build. Particularly at a moment when the risk of nuclear war is higher than it has ever been, purposeful misinformation and obfuscation of the truth puts the world at risk of dangerous miscalculation from policy makers, and the Russian government’s response to its most recent nuclear accident does not inspire confidence.

Doug Klain is an intern in the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/with-nuclear-stakes-the-world-cannot-afford-russian-obfuscation/

October 24, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Russia | Leave a comment

Russian nuclear submarine aborts ballistic missile test

Russian nuclear submarine aborts ballistic missile test, MOSCOW (Reuters) 21 Oct 19, – A Russian nuclear submarine aborted the test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile during a military exercise overseen by President Vladimir Putin last week, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday.The nuclear submarine, K-44 Ryazan, part of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, was meant to launch two R-29R ballistic missiles from the Sea of Okhotsk on Oct. 17, but fired only one successfully with the other remaining in its tube onboard the submarine, the Vedomosti daily reported earlier on Monday.

The incident occurred on the same day as Putin oversaw the drills from a command center at the Defence Ministry in Moscow.

The aborted drill was part of wider war games for Russia’s armed forces, known as ‘Thunder 2019,’ which were designed to test the readiness of the country’s strategic forces for a nuclear conflict. ….Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Osborn https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-missiles-drills/russian-nuclear-submarine-fails-to-test-fire-ballistic-missile-vedomosti-idUSKBN1X010P