Russia decommissions first uranium-graphite reactor

A commercial uranium-graphite reactor has been decommissioned for the first time in global history by a Russian fuel company.

The Siberian Chemical Plant (SCP), a subsidiary of Rosatom's TVEL Fuel Company, has yet again proved that nuclear facilities can be operated and decommissioned safely, according to a press release.

It is EI-2, the first ever nuclear reactor that was used, apart from weapons-grade plutonium production, to generate electric power with the help of steam turbines.

The reactor was started in 1958 and shut down in December 1990. To guarantee safe storage of the reactor for tens of thousands of years, SCP established a Pilot Decommissioning Center for uranium-graphite reactors, the release issued by Rosatom added.

In association with the Russian Academy of Sciences, the centre has developed a dedicated decommissioning technology.

Also the IAEA and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD NEA) consider an opportunity to create an international pilot site at the Siberian Chemical Plant to develop irradiated graphite management technologies, according to Andrei Izmestiev, General Director of the SCP Pilot Decommissioning Center.

"In October, there will be a meeting in Seversk to decide on the pilot site at SCP," he said.

Natural materials are at the core of the new technology as all reactor cavities are filled with a mix of natural clays.

"The reactor is filled with clay under pressure to eliminate all empty spaces inside. We also pile clay on top of EI-2 to form a hill, which is then covered with inert materials – sand and crushed stone, There is no concrete,” said Andrei Izmestiev.

According to Andrei Izmestiev, all the major decommissioning operations have been completed. "We will finish the project two months ahead of the schedule. We are now working on a protective shield against weather impact. Acceptance by the government commission is scheduled for 25 September 2015," said Izmestiev.

Completion of the project will improve public confidence in the nuclear industry, believes SCP CEO Sergei Tochilin. "Along with building reliable nuclear reactors, we can decommission them and create safe conditions for living," Tochilin stressed at a press meeting in Seversk.