TRANSPORT AND TECHNOLOGICAL FLOWSHEETS FOR MANAGEMENT OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL FROM NUCLEAR SUBMARINES UNDER UTILIZATION IN THE NORTHWEST REGION THE FAR EAST REGION OF RUSSIA: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

摘要

Unprepared both legally nor technically, the decommissioning of a large number of Nuclear Powered Vessels (NPVs) during a rather short period of time (peaked in 1993 - 1997) resulted in a sharp aggravation of the problem of nuclear & radiation safety for the Russian Navy NPVs and for their basing areas. The lack of a worked over concept regarding NPV utilization gave birth to many problems requiring urgent solutions. At that time the infrastructure of the existing shipbuilding and ship repair enterprises in the Northwest & the Far East regions of Russia was principally involved in Nuclear Submarine (NS) construction and repair operations and, thus, was unprepared to ensure their mass decommissioning. When solving multi-dimensional problems of NPV utilization and performing environmental rehabilitation of radiation-dangerous installations of the Navy, the issues of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) management are of prime importance. Once a decommissioned NS is defueled: 1. first, its status can be changed from the "nuclear-dangerous" to "radiation-2. dangerous" due to the removal from the NS of fissile materials capable of a self-sustaining chain reaction; in such a case the possibility of initiating radiation-dangerous incidents aboard the decommissioned NS is ruled out; 3. second, the radioecological hazard resulting from a defueled NS decreases by about an order of magnitude, because, in keeping with the results of both theoretical and experimental investigations, SNF concentrates about 90% of the activity in the Reactor Compartment (RC). Thus, ensuring a fast pace of SNF unloading from NS reactors is one of high-priority tasks when utilizing NSs.