Last updated 26 November  2001 Last updated 26 November  2001

Russia:  Mayak Radioactive Waste Facilities


This section of the database provides information on waste facilities at Mayak Chemical Combine and lists radioactive waste developments. For more information on Mayak, radioactive waste, and environmental issues in Ozersk, see Bellona Working Paper No. 4:1995 by Nils Boehmer and Thomas Nilsen and the July 1998 Status Report by Igor Kudrik. 
 
RADIOACTIVE WASTE AT MAYAK CHEMICAL COMBINE
Radioactive waste is managed at Mayak in various ways, using reservoirs, storage tanks, waste burial sites, and a vitrification plant.  By early 1996, the Mayak complex had accumulated 500,000 cubic meters of solid radioactive waste and 400,000 cubic meters of liquid radioactive waste.[1] The plant continues to discharge 25 Bq of liquid waste a year.[2]  According to a study conducted by the Russian and Norwegian governments, since 1948 the Mayak nuclear complex has leaked 8,900 petabecquerels (PBq) of the radioactive isotopes strontium-90 and cesium-137 into the environment as a result of accidents and the deliberate discharge of liquid waste.[3]
[1] Interfax, 12 May 1996.
[2] Vladislav Larin, "Three Radiation Disasters At Mayak Integrated Plant," Energiya: Ekonomika, Tekhnika, Ekologiya, 1 March 1996, pp. 46-53; in "Documents Reveal Details Of Urans Nuclear Disaster," FBIS-UST-97-002, 14 January 1997.
[3] Rob Edwards, "Russia's Toxic Shocker," New Scientist, 6 December 1997, p. 15. (updated 4/22/98 om)
 
RESERVOIR SYSTEM
During its first eight years of operation (1948-1956), Mayak dumped radioactive waste into the Techa River.  From 1951 to 1964, a series of reservoirs were developed along the Techa in order to attempt to contain the radioactive contamination discharged into it.[1]  In 1951, Mayak started diverting high-level liquid waste (diluted to produce intermediate-level waste) into Lake Karachay.[1,2]  In April 1967, a drought caused the water level of Lake Karachay to drop and the wind spread more than 30,000 square meters of radioactive sediments as far as 70km away.[2]
Sources:
[1] Thomas B. Cochran, Robert S. Norris, and Oleg A. Bukhkarin, Making the Russian Bomb: From Stalin to Yeltsin (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995),  p. 100.
[2] Vladislav Larin, "Three Radiation Disasters At Mayak Integrated Plant," Energiya: Ekonomika, Tekhnika, Ekologiya, 1 March 1996, pp. 46-53; in "Documents Reveal Details Of Urans Nuclear Disaster," FBIS-UST-97-002, 14 January 1997. (updated 4/22/98 om, 4/23/99 LBN, 4/29/99 TR)
  
WASTE STORAGE TANKS
Mayak began to store spent fuel and radioactive waste in temporary storage tanks in 1953, allowing the fuel to cool down and the radioactivity to lessen between reprocessing loops. After the spent fuel was reprocessed, the resulting high-level radioactive waste (HLW) was returned to the tanks, while the remaining, less-active waste was pumped into a storage reservoir. The original practice of reprocessing spent fuel rods resulted in nitrate acetate HLW solutions, which, if allowed to dry, become explosive.  This reaction was the cause of the 29 September 1957 explosion of a waste storage tank, known as the "Kyshtym Disaster," which spread 70-80MT of waste over a region between 15,000 and 23,000 square kilometers in area.  After the accident, this practice of merely returning the waste to the storage tanks was discontinued and replaced with a process of evaporation and fixation in compounds such as hydroxides and ferrocyanides.  HLW is classified using five categories and is stored in stainless steel tanks located in metal-lined reinforced concrete "canyons."  Reports on the number of tanks are inconsistent, with the number of tanks ranging from 48 to 99.  Some tanks do not have cooling systems, but all tanks are equipped with instruments and are monitored for leaks and temperature levels.
[Thomas B. Cochran, Robert S. Norris, and Oleg A. Bukhkarin, Making the Russian Bomb: From Stalin to Yeltsin (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995),  pp. 99-114.] {Entered 4/23/99 LBN}
 
WASTE BURIAL SITES
There are 231 solid radioactive waste sites at Mayak, including 206 underground and 25 above-ground with a total of approximately 223.9 million Ci of radioactive waste. Thirteen above-ground sites and 155 under ground sites are closed.[1] Solid low- and intermediate-level waste is buried in trenches lined and covered with clay to prevent water from seeping into the trenches.  Generally, the water table is at least four meters below the bottom of the trench.  Solid high-level waste is stored in "trench-like" structures made of reinforced concrete and waterproofed with bitumen, stainless steel, and concrete.[2]
[1] "Gosatomnadzor On The State Of Nuclear Safety In The Russian Federation In The First Half Of The 1995," Yadernyy Kontrol, November 1995, p. 11.
[2] Thomas B. Cochran, Robert S. Norris, and Oleg A. Bukhkarin, Making the Russian Bomb: From Stalin to Yeltsin (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995),  p.116. {Entered 4/23/99 LBN}
 
VITRIFICATION PLANT
Research into incorporating radionuclides into phosphate glass as a way to safely store high-level liquid radioactive waste began at Mayak in 1967.[1] Mayak's first vitrification facility, built in 1987, was shut down following an accident 13 months after it began operating.[2] A second kiln operated from 25 June 1991 until 14 January 1997, and it exceeded its planned service life by 2.5 years. This plant was the only operational vitrification plant in the NIS until it was shut down, and during its operation, the facility vitrified the equivalent of 285 million Ci of radioactive waste, resulting in a 35 percent reduction in the amount of liquid radioactive waste stored at Mayak.[3,4,5] The radioactive waste vitrification plant converted liquid radioactive waste into a glass-like material and then stored it in a special facility. The highly radioactive sodium-aluminum-phosphate glass was poured into cans and stored in highly durable steel containers.[6] A special monitoring system continues to provide for observation of the containers, as well as detection and localization of leaks.[7] The shut down of the plant raised some concern because the plant would revert to storing additional radioactive waste in tanks, and similar practices had contributed to the explosion of radio active waste in 1957, after a failure in the cooling systems in the storage tanks.[4]  An estimated 7,000 cubic meters of high-level liquid radioactive waste produced during nuclear fuel reprocessing is stored in approximately 100 tanks at Mayak.[1]  Construction of replacement facilities began several years before the shut-down of the second kiln, but due to a lack of funding, no facility had been completed by the initial commissioning dates (end of 1997-mid 1998).[4,8] In 1999, the construction of the third kiln resumed. The new kiln, designed to process 500 liters of radioactive waste per hour, has a service life of six years and was expected to become operational in late 2000.[2] However, the start of operation of the new kiln was re-scheduled to October 2001, after a defective part was discovered during an adjustment and trial phase for the new kiln.[9] Another postponement, until December 2001, was announced in September 2001. The Mayak administration claimed that a thorough trial of the kiln with simulation solutions was necessary before it became fully operational.[10] However, the new kiln, called EP-500P-3, was actually put into operation in late October 2001 despite the previously announced postponement. According to the Mayak Director Vitaliy Sadovnikov, Mayak was able to complete the trial of the kiln more quickly than anticipated.[11] 
Sources:
[1] Igor Kudrik, "Mayak still without vitrification," Bellona Foundation Web Site, http://www.bellona.no, 29 February 2000. {Updated 7/5/00 SS}
[2] "'Mayak' pristupil k pusko-naladochnym rabotam na novykh pechakh osteklovyvaniya," Ural-Inform online edition, http://www.chelpress.ru,
17 June 1999. {Updated 7/5/00 SS}
[3] Mark Odell, "Vitrification - World Review," Nuclear Engineering International, June 1992, p. 52.
[4] Lyudmila Shesterkina, Radio Rossii, 5 February 1997; in "'New Threat' at Mayak Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant," FBIS-TEN-97-002.{Updated 8/1/97 LK}
[5] Aleksandr Skripov, "Kombinat Mayak stanovitsya boleye opasnym-nechem osteklovyvat radioaktivnyye otkhody," Vecherniy Chelyabinsk, 2 April 1997, p. 1.
[6] Sergey Sergeyev, Novosti newscast,9 July 1997; in "Report on Storage of Radioactive Waste in Chelyabinsk," FBIS-SOV-97-190. {Entered 11/13/97 EV}
[7] Ye. Kozina, Vesti newscast,  Russian Television Network, 21 April 1996; "New Technology for Nuclear Waste Vitrification," FBIS-TEN-96-006, 21 April 1996.
[8] "Zhdyem oproverzheniy," Ogonek, No. 11, March 1997, p. 15.
[9] "Tretya avtomaticheskaya pech osteklovyvaniya zhidkikh vysokoradioaktivnykh otkhodov dolzhna byt pushchena na proizvodstvennom obyedinenii 'Mayak' uzhe v oktyabre," Ural-Press-Inform, 25 July 2001; in Minatom Press Digest, http://www.minatom.ru, 25 June 2001. {Updated 7/25/2001 ES}
[10] "Chelyabinskaya oblast. Srok puska tretey avtomaticheskoy pechi osteklovyvaniya zhidkikh vysokoradioaktivnykh otkhodov na PO 'Mayak' perenositsya s oktyabrya na dekabr," Regions.Ru, 4 October 2001; in Minatom Press Digest, http://www.minatom.ru, 5 October 2001.
[11] "Generalnyy direktor PO 'Mayak' Vitaliy Sadovnikov zayavil, chto vvod v stroy tretey pechi po osteklovyvaniyu ZhRO pozvolit prodolzhit vypolneniye programmy utilizatsii otkhodov, nakoplennykh v rezultate sozdaniya yadernogo oruzhiya," Nuclear.ru, http://www.nuclear.ru, 31 October 2001.
{Updated 11/26/2001 ES}
 
MAYAK RADIOACTIVE WASTE DEVELOPMENTS:
 
7/16/98: MAYAK'S RADIOACTIVE WASTE DUMP POSES A SERIOUS ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT
The highly contaminated Lake Karachay, Mayak's radioactive waste dump during the 1950s, poses a serious threat to the region's groundwater. The chairman of Gosatomnadzor, Yuriy Vishnevskiy, has warned that a "lens" of liquid radioactive waste that has collected in the ground under the lake is shifting toward the Techa River and might contaminate West Siberia and the Arctic Ocean.[1] Mayak experts are monitoring the movement of the lens, since it is impossible to remove it from under the lake. The waste products in the lens include strontium-90 and cesium-137.[2] The lake itself also poses a contamination risk, which will remain until the lake is fully buried with special rock and concrete slabs.[1]
Sources:
[1] Novosti Newscast, 16 July 1998; in "Nuclear Waste Dump in Urals Threatens Water Supply," FBIS-TEN-98-197.
[2] Vesti Newscast, 15 July 1998; in "Russian Experts: Radioactive Waste Dump in Chelyabinsk Safe," FBIS-SOV-98-196. {Entered 12/16/99 SK}
7/2/97: NEW RADIATION SECURITY COMMITTEE ESTABLISHED IN CHELYABINSK
Representatives of the local Chelyabinsk administration announced the formation of a new committee for radiation and environmental safety and rehabilitation of contaminated areas. The new committee is the successor to the committee for emergency situations and civil defense. The chairman of the new committee, Viktor Kozlov, stated that Chelyabinsk Oblast has more nuclear facilities than any other region in the world, and has suffered because them. The state has yet to satisfactorily compensate residents for radioactive contamination from the 1957 nuclear accident at Mayak. The two rehabilitation programs sponsored by the state have been inadequately funded, and this year there were no funds for their implementation. In addition, Chelyabinsk Oblast does not have the funds to organize summer programs for children from contaminated areas.[1]  The main functions of the committee include providing for the realization of the state policy on the use of nuclear energy; providing for the implementation of a federal program for social rehabilitation of the population and cleanup of contaminated territories in South Urals; and organizing and coordinating programs to evaluate and predict the environmental situation; ensuring environmental security; organizing the social, economical, medical, psychological, and environmental rehabilitation of affected territories.[2] Sources:
[1] Yevgeniy Tkachenko, ITAR-TASS, 2 July 1997; in "Radiation Security Committee Created in Chelyabinsk," FBIS-TAC-97-183 {Entered 8/1/97 LK}
[2] Mikhail Nikolayev, "Novyy komitet bezopasnosti. Ekologicheskoy i radiatsionnoy," Yuzhnouralskaya panorama, 16 July 1997. p.5. {Entered 11/7/97 EV}
 
6/3/97: RESEARCHERS MEET IN NORWAY TO DISCUSS MAYAK POLLUTION
Russian and Norwegian researchers met in Tromso, Norway today to reveal the findings of their joint studies on Mayak pollution from 1948 to the present. As a result of the activities of the facility, the Asanov marshes and man-made lakes surrounding Mayak are highly contaminated with radioactive waste. In addition, the 1957 explosion of a radioactive waste tank at Mayak has rendered some areas uninhabitable. While the facility's pollution emissions have declined, old pollution and radioactive materials continue to pose a threat to the area and its residents. Waste dumps at Mayak have accumulated 2,000 metric tons of nuclear materials. In conducting the study, Russian and Norwegian researchers cooperated with the Environmental Protection Ministry and the State Radiation Agency to examine specific and urgent environmental problems. The researchers determined that contaminated groundwater and the polluted ponds and marshlands pose the gravest immediate danger.
[Peter Beck, "Russia's Polluting Nuclear Facility: Threat in the North," Aftenposten, 4 June 1997, p. 12; in "White Paper Assesses Majak Plant Pollution," FBIS-WEU-97-182.]{Entered 8/1/97 LK}
 
11/95: INADEQUATE RADIOACTIVE WASTE HANDLING AT MAYAK REPORTED
The results of Gosatomnadzor's series of inspections revealed the inadequacy of radioactive waste handling at the Mayak facility. Methods for handling liquid and solid radioactive (low and medium level of radioactivity) waste do not meet current safety standards. The sanitary state of many storage facilities and burials has not been officially approved. None of the storage pools underwent a sanitary examination.
["Gosatomnadzor On The State Of Nuclear Safety In The Russian Federation In The First Half Of The 1995," Yadernyy Kontrol, November 1995, p. 11.]

 

Mayak Production Association (PO Mayak) Summary
PO Mayak Developments
Mayak Chemical Combine
Reactors
Reprocessing Facilities
 Spent Fuel Developments
MOX Fuel Production Facilities
Fissile Material Facilities
Radioactive Waste
 Chelyabinsk-60 Research Facility