The radiation level is higher than normal over the storage compartments onboard the old nuclear waste ship “Lepse” in Murmansk. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
“Lepse” was serving the Soviet Union’s first nuclear powered icebreakers, storing spent nuclear fuel from the 60ties. Since 1988, the nuclear waste hulk has been laid up at Atomflot in the outskirts of Murmansk on Russia’s Arctic coast. The bad state of the vessel has caused concerns among citizens in Murmansk fearing “Lepse” could overthrow and release radioactivity to the environment.
The inventory includes 260 kilograms of uranium-235 and eight kilograms of plutonium-239 and other fissile materials. What to do with “Lepse” has been a burning issue for the last 20 years.
The uranium fuel rods onboard date from the Lenin icebreaker that had an lack-of-coolant accident in the late 60ties. Many of the fuel rods are partly destroyed. The gamma radiation within the storage compartment and adjacent compartments is several thousand times higher than natural occurring levels
-“Lepse” will be towed to the ship repair yard Nerpa in the autumn 2012 for decommissioning, says Mustafa Kashka, deputy director of Rosatomflot to RIA Novosti.
Environmentalists applaud the move. The Bellona Foundation is the group that has worked closely both with Rosatomflot and international donors to find a final solution to the problem.
- Murmansk will surely gain in safety terms if Lepse is removed. “Lepse” was the most potentially radiation dangerous object in Murmansk area, says Igor Koudrik at Bellona’s Oslo-office to BarentsObserver.
- By removing the “Lepse” from Murmansk habour, the risks of marine traffic accident will be greatly reduced. This is something that should have been done long time ago. We still do not know when the operation to defuel the ship starts, thus it will be safer to store the ship on shore to prevent further aging of the hull in the sea water, Igor Koudrik says.
The rusty hulk “Lepse” is today laid up at Atomflot in the Kola bay, north of Murmansk. The laidup nuclear powered icebreaker “Sibir” in the background. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
The ship repair yard Nerpa is located northwest of Murmansk on the coast of the Kola Peninsula. The ship yard has long-time experience in decommissioning retired nuclear powered submarines.
After the spent nuclear fuel is removed and the vessel is cut up, the plan is to store the still-radioactive storage compartments and contaminated metal from “Lepse” at the newly established storage site in the Saida bay, just west of the Nerpa yard.
