The Advanced Research Workshop on "Nuclear Submarine Decommissioning and Related Problems" was held at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia on June 19-22, 1995. On June 17 and 18, 1995 some of the workshop participants visited the Zwezdochka Shipyard at Severodvinsk which is a repair and dismantlement facility for Russian nuclear submarines. Attendance at the workshop was approximately 115 with participants from Russia, United States, France, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Germany. The workshop was sponsored by the Disarmament Panel of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Science Committee. The sponsorship and the financial support of NATO is gratefully acknowledged. The workshop was organized in Russia by the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBRAE). The efforts of many individuals from IBRAE in producing both a technically challenging workshop and an almost flawless one are also gratefully acknowledged. In addition, the support of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Committee of the Russian Federation on Defense Technologies, the Ministry of the Russian Federation on Atomic Energy, the Navy of the Russian Federation, and the United States Department of Energy is acknowledged. xi CURRENT STATUS OF NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DECOMMISSIONING PROBLEMS OF NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DECOMMISSIONING AND RECYCLING N. I. SHUMKOV State Committee for Defense Industry (Goseomoboronprom) Moscow, Russia 1. General Description of the Problem Undoubtedly, the problem of nuclear submarine decommissioning and recycling has been worrying Russian civil and military specialists involved in development, building and operation of submarines for many years.

A great number of nuclear submarines are due to be decommissioned before 2000. The political decisions surrounding the disposal of nuclear compartments, radioactive wastes and spent fuel differ appreciably between the countries that own the boats. The decision makers involved thus need help in comparing and assessing alternative options for the decommissioning of their nuclear submarine fleets. The present volume offers such assistance, with its discussions of the risks associated with long-term water storage of the boats, radioactive and chemical contamination, spent fuel and waste management, and handling and recycling reactor compartments.

With the end of the Cold War, Russia's submarines were no longer needed to deter or fight Western navies and were very expensive to operate and maintain. Older submarines were taken out of service in large numbers, but without firm plans and infrastructure in place to remove and adequately care for their nuclear components, problems soon developed over the disposition of spent fuel assemblies. Problems arose also of course between Russia and the international community as to the best way to respond to the challenge. This book looks at those problems, first discussing Russia's economy, its environment, and the Russian Navy, and then covering in detail the spent fuel of Russian submarines and related nuclear problems. The engagement of the international community on the issue is then addressed. A theoretical analysis is offered on how Russia's fellow nations can help remedy a troubling environmental problem in a difficult country.

The question of what to do with radioactive waste has dogged political administrations of nuclear-powered electricity-producing nations since the inception of the technology in the 1950s. As the issue rises to the forefront of current energy and environmental policy debates, a critical policy analysis of radioactive waste management in the UK provides important insights for the future. Nuclear Waste Politics sets out a detailed historical and social scientific analysis of radioactive waste management and disposal in the UK from the 1950s up to the present day; drawing international comparisons with Sweden, Finland, Canada and the US. A theoretical framework is presented for analysing nuclear politics: blending literatures on technology policy, environmental ethics and the geography and politics of scale. The book proffers a new theory of "ethical incrementalism" and practical policy suggestions to facilitate a fair and efficient siting process for radioactive waste management facilities. The book argues that a move away from centralised, high capital investment national siting towards a regional approach using deep borehole disposal, could resolve many of the problems that the high stakes, inflexible "megaproject" approach has caused across the world. This book is an important resource for academics and researchers in the areas of environmental management, energy policy, and science and technology studies.

Until the late 1970s, most commercial power plant operators outside the United States adopted a spent fuel management policy of immediate reprocessing and recycling of recovered products. In response to rising reprocessing prices, decreasing values of re covered products, concerns over proliferation risks, and a belief in the favorable eco nomics of direct disposal, many utilities have since opted to store spent fuel on an in terim basis pending the availability of direct disposal facilities or a change in the eco nomic and/or political climate for reprocessing and recycling uranium and plutonium. Spent fuel has traditionally been stored in water-filled pools located in the reactor building or fuel handling buildings, on reactor sites, or as part of large centralized fa cilities (e.g. Sellafield, La Hague, CLAB). Because the economics of pool storage are dependent on the size of the facility, the construction of additional separate pools on reactor sites has only been pursued in a few countries, such as Finland and Bulgaria.