RISK AND SAFETY INDUSTRIAL NORTH NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES AND ENVIRONMENT Risk and Safety Industrial North Nuclear Technologies and Environment Moscow 2004 The Industrial North. Nuclear Technologies and Environment. — Moscow, «Komtechprint» Publishing House, 2004, 40 p. ISBN 5-89107-053-7 The edition addresses specialists of the legislative /executive authorities and those of local government of the north-west region; activists of public environmental movements; and teachers and students of higher educa- tion institutes as well as all those who are interested in the problems of stable development of the Russian North. This document is prepared by the Nuclear Safety Institute (IBRAE RAS) under work sponsored by the United States Department of Energy. Neither the United States Government, nor any agency thereof including the U.S. Department of Energy and any and all employees of the U.S. Government, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or use- fulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe upon privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific entity, product, process, or service by name, trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not neces- sarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. ISBN 5-89107-053-7 Ó IBRAE RAS, 2004 Ó«Komtechprint», 2004 (Design) INTRODUCTION Industrialization of the majority of Russian regions took part of the brochure is dedicated to the forecast, preven- place during an era when environmental safety was not tion and mitigation of nuclear/radiological emergencies. given proper attention. The country’s defense issues and It is of importance that the population is aware of whom purely economic objectives were prioritized. is responsible for public protection; what public informa- Forced development of the Kola Peninsula’s natural re- tion channels and types of emergency protective actions sources began in the 1930s, and the Soviet nuclear sub- can be; as well as to what extent these or those exposure 3 marine group, the biggest in the world, was created at doses are dangerous. the beginning of the 1960s. The developments defined The brochure from the Risk and Safety Library is com- ecological problems for the Murmansk/Arkhangelsk re- piled on the initiative of the US Department of Energy gions. Today, the public is deeply concerned about safety (DOE) and EMERCOM of Russia within the scope of ac- of base sites and service points for nuclear submarines tivity of the Arctic Council Emergency Prevention, Pre- (NS) and vessels of the North fleet; effects of nuclear paredness and Response (EPPR) working group. The weapons tests on the Novaya Zemlya; including peaceful editorial board of the Risk and Safety Library: academi- nuclear explosions; and safety of the Kola Nuclear cian A. Sarkisov, RAS corresponding member L. Bol- Power Plant (NPP). shov, professor R. Arutyunyan, and Dr. I. Linge. The To what extent are these fears justified from the scien- brochure is prepared in the Nuclear Safety Institute tific point of view? It is possible to get an answer to the (IBRAE) of Russian Academy of Sciences by the team of question, when analysing objectively the three following authors: Dr. E. Melikhova (leader), Dr. I. Abalkina, interrelated issues: L. Vorobyeva, Dr. I. Zaitsev, Dr. S. Kazakov, M. Iva- 1. Where among technogenic risks do radiation risks rank? nov, N. Ugarova, professor V. Logachev (the State Insti- 2.Are severe radiation accidents possible in the region? tute of Biophysics) and G. Dernovoy (the Institute of 3.Are the respective organizations and local authorities High Energy Physics). I. Veselov and T. Marchenko, ready for effective actions to protect the population in representatives of EMERCOM of Russia’s top manage- case of radiation accidents? ment, were actively involved in the discussion of the bro- chure’s concept and content. In the «post Chernobyl» community, potential health risks began to be associated mainly with radiation. Apart from English translation of the brochure is made by A. Troits- that, many other risk factors were considered as minor kaya (IBRAE), edited by Regina Galer from US DOE or were not taken into account. Thus, the first question side and E. Melikova from IBRAE side. Design by M. Iva- is a key to comprehension of an actual environmental sit- nov and A. Pavlov (IBRAE). uation in the region. The authors of this brochure an- The brochure addresses specialists of the legislative/exec- swer the question, having studied plenty of the material, utive authorities and those of Murmansk/Arkhangelsk re- including the data of the state surveillance and environ- gional government; activists of public environmental mental services of the Murmansk/Arkhangelsk regions. movements; and teachers and students of higher educa- Theoretically, the probability of sizable radiation acci- tion institutes, as well as the general public interested in dents may not be excluded. Therefore, a considerable the issues of stable development of the Russian North. TECHNOGENIC RISK FACTORS Ecological Portrait of the Region The neighboring Murmansk and Arkhangelsk re- tory is fully affected by anthropogenic impacts and gions have many features in common: big seaports up to 3–8% of the land is in the areas of gas/oil and Navy bases; the shipbuilding industry and and other resource extraction. scale extraction/processing of natural resources. The history of industrial development of the However, compared with the Arkhangelsk region, 4 Arkhangelsk region includes centuries. For centu- the industrial history of the Murmansk region is ries, Arkhangelsk was a vitally important seaport, much shorter. the centre of shipbuilding and trade in Russia. Industrial development of the Kola Peninsula Lacking sizable deposits of minerals, the region’s started in the first decades of the 20th century. basic industries are timber and pulp and paper First, a railroad and a seaport were built, fol- (45%). The region provides more than 10% of lowed by intensive extraction of natural re- Russian production of merchantable wood/lum- sources. More than 60 sizable deposits of various ber, and about one third of market pulp, paper minerals were found in the peninsula’s interior, and paperboard. The Arkhangelsk region’s share including the unique deposit of apatite ore contain- of the Russian export lumber makes up 20%; and ing phosphorus, titanium, iron and aluminium. that of pulp and paper production — 30%. Engi- Ores of copper, nickel, zirconium and other rare neering and metalworking is another important in- materials are being extracted. There are great re- dustrial activity in the region. Industrial oil/gas serves of mica, clays and stuff for building materi- production in the Nenetsky autonomous region, als, and semiprecious and ornamental stones. As and bauxite extraction in the Plesetsky district, is of today, the Murmansk region provides for 100% under way. of Russian production of apatite and 12% of iron ore concentrates, 14% of refined copper and 43% The period of 1970–1980 was characterized by of nickel. The share of metal mining industry and the most intensive environmental impacts both in non-ferrous metallurgy makes up 40%. the Murmansk and in the Arkhangelsk regions. In extreme polar climate, the Murmansk re- Abrupt reduction in production volumes occurred gion’s industry developed through creating the in the 1990s, as all over Russia. For the past 5 city-forming industries. More than 90% of the years, active growth in natural resources extrac- inhabitants live in cities, and more than a half tion has replaced the economic recession. It is of the industrial production is concentrated in only natural that the industrial development of Murmansk, Monchegorsk, Kirovsk, Apatity and both regions, considering their varied histories, Kovdor. In a number of cases, due to the «centers» has involved serious ecological problems associ- of high production, the vulnerability of the north- ated with air and surface water contamination. ern landscape and its weak selfcleaning ability, For instance, the average annual concentration of the local ecosystems’ irreversible degradation benzapilene, a dangerous carcinogenic, reached took place. Approximately 1% of the regional terri- nearly three times the federally established max- imum permissible concentration (MPC)inAr- condensate deposit in the Barents Sea; and khangelsk in 2002. nuclear power development, including the con- The strategic location of the Murmansk/Arkhan- struction of a new line of the Kola NPP, are gelsk regions due to their outlet to the north seas among the key objectives. Reconstruction of the predetermined the deployment on their coast of Joint Stock Company «Pechenganickel» metallurgi- 5 base sites for NS of the North fleet and special- cal production to reduce sulphur dioxide releases ized shipbuilding plants and dockyards. Starting and to recycle industrial waste is planned to im- from 1955, nearly 250 NS and 5 surface ships, prove environmental health. A considerable vol- two-thirds of which are assigned to the North ume of activities has to be performed with respect fleet, were built in the former USSR. The ships of to nuclear submarine recycling and remediation of the nuclear icebreaking