Liquid radioactive waste recycling complex launched at Kolsk NPP

28.12.2006 // KNPP Information Department/ Press Service of Rosenergoatom

On Dec 26–27 State Acceptance Commission visited Kolsk NPP and approved the launch of a liquid radioactive waste recycling complex

After half a year of experimental exploitation the State Acceptance Commission, led by the head of the Department for the Construction of Nuclear and Industrial Facilities of the Federal Agency of Nuclear Energy A. Tutiayev, inspected a liquid radioactive waste recycling complex and approved its launch for industrial exploitation.

The construction of the complex was started in 1997. The complex is designed for removing liquid radioactive waste from storage containers, cleaning them from radio-nuclides, concentrating radio-nuclides for transiting them into solid phase for safe storage for 300–500 years.

«The complex is a unique facility based on unique Russian technology — ionic selective treatment based on non-organic sorbents,» says Director General of Rosenergoatom S. Obozov. «Liquid radioactive waste goes through special filters, is cleaned from cesium and cobalt and transformed into absolutely non-radioactive salts. This process almost halves the amount of radioactive waste: we get just 4 barrels from 1 cistern.»

Obozov says that the productivity of the complex is 560 c m a year. This will allow the plant to fully resolve the problem of liquid radioactive waste for 12 years. Similar complexes will be built Kalinin, Kursk, Smolensk and Leningrad NPPs.

The will-be NPPs will certainly have such complexes from the very beginning, while the existing ones — especially old ones — have needed them for a long time already. Particularly, Kolsk NPP has been operated for 33 years and the problem of LRW accumulation is quite topical for the plant. Tutiayev says that this complex is simply indispensable for the plant. «This is the first civilized way of radioactive waste disposal. The most important point is that already today we can speak about reducing the amount of LRW at the plant,» says Tutiayev.

While addressing the commissioners Deputy Director General for Development-Director for Development of Rosenergoatom A. Polushkin said: «The facility we have approved is ready for industrial exploitation. It is good that we have found time and money for solving this problem. This facility will allow us to shortly solve the problem that we would otherwise have to hand down to our grandchildren. This is a start-up project but considering the large-scale plans in the nuclear power sector, we must replicate such projects, i.e. we must share the experience of Kolsk NPP with other nuclear facilities.»

The complex was built by Rosenergoatom for 12 years. The commissioners have said that this system is optimal for liquid radioactive waste recycling and the experimental phase has shown that it is fully prepared for effective operation.