April - June 2002 Contents Highlight

Armenia Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary

Kazakhstan Lithuania Russia Slovakia

Ukraine United States Cross-Cutting Activities Planned Activities

Highlight

Senior PNNL Delegation Travels to Russia for 10-Year Program Review

Trip Preparation

A project manager from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia to visit Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and plan for the upcoming visit by PNNL Director Dr. Lura Powell and other senior laboratory officials. The project manager also met with a representative of Leningrad NPP’s International Business Department to outline plans for the PNNL delegation’s visit to Leningrad NPP. The June 2002 site visit will include a plant tour and simulator demonstrations.

The PNNL project manager met with representatives of the Western Services Corporation in Moscow, Russia to discuss in-country logistic support and to outline specific needs for the delegation’s future trip to Russia.

Delegation Trip

In June 2002 the PNNL delegation, which included Director Dr. Lura Powell, traveled to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia to participate in meetings with Russian government and nuclear industry officials involved in safety improvement work at Russia’s NPPs.

Specific meetings included a visit with First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (Minatom) and the head of Minatom’s International Department for North America. Discussions focused on 10 years of cooperation between the United States and Russia on programs to increase safety at Russia’s NPPs under the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) International Nuclear Safety Program (INSP). Outstanding issues discussed were associated with the impending closure of Russia’s production reactors, Russian submarine nuclear waste challenges, and the international war on terrorism.

The delegation then visited Minatom’s Situational Crisis Center (SCC) and received a briefing on Center operations and a facility tour from the Deputy Director. The INSP helped Minatom establish the SCC in 1999.

A meeting was held with Rosenergoatom officials and members of the Russian Coordinating Committee who acknowledged work with INSP of the past 10 years as “the most fruitful among all international cooperation.” Potential ideas for future cooperation, including fuels analysis, reactor decommissioning, and physical protection of Russian NPPs were discussed. Also discussed were Russia’s plans for extending the lifetime of first-generation power plants and Rosenergoatom’s efforts to establish a central body for nuclear industry funding.

The PNNL group visited the U.S. Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, followed by a meeting with the Director of the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nuclear Safety Institute (IBREA) to discuss the possibilities of future collaboration in radiation dispersal device activities and expansion of the emergency planning activities at Russian NPPs.

The trip ended with a visit to St. Petersburg for a tour of Leningrad NPP to review INSP project work in progress and completed work, which was evaluated as highly successful. The final meeting was at the Khlopin Radium Institute for an information exchange and discussions about new projects of mutual interest and involvement. (Susan Senner, PNNL, 509-372-6015; Mike Kluse, NSD, 509-372-6199)