19.06.2008 // Press Service of Rosenergoatom Concern

Rosenergoatom Concern and European Commision have accomplished one of the TACIS projects aimed at preparing nuclear reactors for decommissioning

The consortium of Electricite de France (EDF) and Energie Werke Nord Gmbh (EWN) has submitted to the Russian party its final report on the project containing detailed NPP decommissioning methodologies.

“Rosenergoatom Concern gives high priority to the experience of the leading European countries and we are interested in obtaining more detailed information for more effective decommissioning of our nuclear reactors,” the head of the Department for International Activities of Rosenergoatom Concern Anatoly Kirichenko said.

In 2006, in the framework of the TACIS program, the EuropeAid Office of the European Commission made a contract with the EDF-EWN Consortium to carry out a 1.4mln EUR two-year project to implement research, technical and economic measures for decommissioning Russian nuclear reactors.

The project is aimed at providing Rosenergoatom Concern, the operator of Russian nuclear power plants, with know-how in the field of NPP decommissioning. The 1st and 2nd units of Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant were selected as experimental reference units – both reactors have already been stopped.

The Consortium has made a sub-contract with VNIIAES (All-Russian Research Institute of Nuclear Power Plants, Russia’s head agency for decommissioning of nuclear reactors). The sub-contract has given VNIIAES experts full access to the resources of the EDF-EWN engineering centers and has enhanced their experience in the field.

Rosenergoatom Concern and European Commission have been cooperating since 1991. The TACIS program is aimed at enhancing the safety of Russian nuclear power plants and other Rosatom facilities. 50 TACIS projects worth a total of 2.8bln RUR are underway for the moment. In 2007 Russia and the European Commission started to cooperate under a new program Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation.