| BNIF takes a trade mission to Russia to meet with key stakeholders | | Print | |
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In October BNIF took a trade mission to Moscow with representatives from Atkins Nuclear, BENIC, BNFL, Mitsui Babcock, Monaghans, RWE NUKEM, and Serco Assurance. The purpose was to meet with the key stakeholders in Russia and to encourage long-term relationships. The mission was also intended to understand the Russian requirements for power station upgrades, decommissioning and waste management programmes, and NW Russia Clean-up Programmes. The UK nuclear power station operators have been active in the Russian Federation since the early 1990's. British Energy and BNFL Magnox provide continuing onsite assistance under the TACIS nuclear safety programme. In 1995 BNIF took a group to Russia to foster good relations with the Russian industry. Since then there have been significant changes on both sides. The Russian industry now has a clearly defined utility organisation, RosenergoAtom, to which all the nuclear power stations belong. The regulator has been given a clear identity and remit, the condition of plant at the power stations has improved as have operating standards, and load factors are up. The Government of the Russian Federation has turned its attention to the proper decommissioning of the old nuclear submarines and to the cleanup of the supporting facilities in NW and NE Russia. In 2002 responsibility for these activities has passed to SevRAO, an organisation under Minatom control. One focus of the recent BNIF trip was nuclear safety funding from the British Government. This is now in the hands of the DTI who are aiming to sign a Supplementary Agreement that is a pre-condition to the flow of grant aid to Russian organisations. DTI placed contracts in Summer 2002 with 3 companies to provide programme management. BNFL for the Annual Nuclear Safety Programme, RWE NUKEM for the NW Russia Legacy Programme and PE International for the UK Closed Cities Initiative. This visit was an opportunity to cover a wide agenda with key organisations and secure an overview of the Russian industry which feels more secure than it has in the past decade, and looks forward to organised nuclear submarine clean up and power reactor decommissioning. |
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