Successful completion of the nuclear and radiation safety program is one of the main results of the Russian nuclear industry’s work

Leonid Bolshov, Director of the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences:

The successful completion of the federal program on nuclear and radiation safety can be called one of the main results in the work of the Russian nuclear industry in 2015. A very substantial and real step was made in 2008-2015 to resolve problems concerning the legacy and the creation of the infrastructure for final stages of the nuclear power plant lifecycle, which includes problems relating to the construction of new centralized storage facilities at the mining and chemical factory GKhK, the decommissioning of the industrial reactor EI-2 at the Siberian Chemical Factory, and the considerable improvement of the ecological situation in the industrial group Mayak. The results also include the closure of Lake Karachai, which has accumulated a lot of radioactive waste, cleanup operations in the area of the Techa River, and the fact that a very solid foundation has been laid down for finally resolving the legacy problems as part of the next federal program on radiation and nuclear safety in the future. The government has already approved the program.

Another essential accomplishment is efforts to overcome difficulties with commissioning a fast reactor BN-800 at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant. I would also like to mention the Breakthrough project, which is a federal program for a new technological platform of the nuclear industry. Creating a truly new nuclear energy industry reliant on fast reactors and a closed fuel cycle is the idea. It is understandable that a lot has yet to be done to build and commission the relevant installations but the R&D potential that has been created very fast in the last five years since 2010 represents a very serious foundation for further advancement. Very good work has been done with regard to superconductors for the international thermonuclear reactor project ITER. The entire industry has taken up the call. The high potential in the area of superconductivity that we had in the past has been restored.

The list can go on and on. I would also like to mention the nuclear-powered vessel construction company Atomflot. The nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput has been restored. The construction of new icebreakers has begun. All in all, we are advancing rather fast. The construction of nuclear power plants in the country and abroad confirms the irrefutable fact that among various branches of the production sectors — those we have lost and those that still exist — the nuclear industry is in the most prosperous state that promises further prospects for improving the state of affairs.

Judging by the actual state of affairs, the number of orders, the number of binding agreements we may be the world’s top contractor by the number of power-generating units that we are building abroad. And prospects are very good in a number of countries in Asia, Europe, and South America.

Accomplishments of the nuclear industry have always been propelled by very serious science that developed inside the nuclear industry. This science was supported to avoid losing foreign nuclear power plant construction contracts. It was supported to advance the state of affairs against very tough competition. Apart from our old competitors — American, French, and Japanese ones — contractors from China and South Korea have entered the market and are pushing very aggressively. In order to stay ahead of the crowd — and it is difficult to do so since it is much easier to secure leadership for a time thanks to massive efforts — it is necessary to pay close attention to the nuclear industry science. It is necessary to advance matters concerning safety, optimization, and the cost effectiveness of the suggested safe solutions.

I believe that next year a large number of tasks involving peaceful uses of nuclear energy will have to be implemented. It will be necessary to improve the administration structure with regard to the designing and construction of new units inside the country and abroad. It will be necessary to provide scientific support to safety efforts, the development of new technologies, and the advancement of the Breakthrough project. Next year will be the year when the BN-1200 reactor technical design will have to be done and a considerable part of the project involving lead will have to be secured. In 2016 we are going to launch a new federal program on nuclear and radiation safety. It will involve a large number of projects and measures. The advancement of the program will help open up new markets for Russia, will allow us to start providing services concerning the final stage of the lifecycle. Instead of selling nuclear power plant construction services we will sell services of the entire lifecycle, including abroad. I believe that the nuclear-powered vessel construction company Atomflot will have to tackle very serious tasks concerning the construction of new icebreakers and the utilization of the container ship Sevmorput in addition to a number of other tasks.