Energy News  
Estonia completes secure storage facility for Soviet-era reactors

by Staff Writers
Tallinn (AFP) Oct 11, 2007
Estonian authorities said Thursday they had finished rebuilding a secure facility meant to prevent potential leaks from two mothballed nuclear reactors and radioactive waste left by the Soviet navy.

The upgraded facility at a former Soviet military base in the Estonian coastal town of Paldiski is meant to provide safe storage for the next 50 years, after which the reactors are to be dismantled.

Paldiski is one of the most polluted towns in Estonia, which was ruled by Moscow from the end of World War II until it regained its independence amid the collapse of the communist bloc in 1991.

Access to the town, which was once home to a major training base for Red Navy submarine crews, was strictly limited during the Soviet period.

In 1995 the Russian military, which had inherited the base following the collapse of the Soviet Union, handed over formal control of Paldiski to Estonian authorities, a year after Moscow had withdrawn its troops from the rest of the country.

The reactors, which dated back to 1968 and 1983, were part of facilities used to train crews of nuclear-powered submarines.

They were temporarily closed by the Soviet military in 1989 to enable building work.

They were never brought back into service, largely because of ongoing moves towards Estonian independence and pressure from other Baltic Sea countries worried about risks to the environment.

To upgrade the storage facility, Estonia received financial assistance from the European Union, which it joined in 2004, and from the United States.

Besides Paldiski, Estonia has also had to deal with radioactive waste at the site of a former uranium enrichment plant in the coastal town of Sillamae, which was also closed to outsiders during the Soviet era.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Civil Nuclear Energy Science, Technology and News
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Nuclear power share-out not delaying grid deal: Lithuania, Poland
Vilnius (AFP) Oct 10, 2007
The leaders of Poland and Lithuania Wednesday dismissed suggestions that a dispute over sharing output from a new nuclear power plant was hampering a related accord on linking their power grids.







  • China, Japan meet on long-running East China Sea dispute
  • New Membrane Strips Carbon Dioxide From Natural Gas Faster And Better
  • Chlamy Genome Holds Clues For Renewable Energy, The Environment And Human Health
  • Analysis: Nigeria looks for outside help?

  • Estonia completes secure storage facility for Soviet-era reactors
  • Nuclear power share-out not delaying grid deal: Lithuania, Poland
  • India's troubled coalition meets over nuclear tensions
  • India, Brazil, South Africa to hold summit this month

  • Global warming driving up humidity levels, says study
  • Ocean Oxidation Preceded First Great Rise In Atmospheric Oxygen
  • Argon Provides Atmospheric Clues
  • Volcanoes Key To Earth's Oxygen Atmosphere

  • Greenpeace aims to expose Indonesian forest destruction
  • France to help rehabilitate burnt Greek farms, forests
  • Australia approves major pulp mill despite environment fears
  • Indonesia to hold mass tree planting day

  • Salmonid Hatcheries Cause Stunning Loss Of Reproduction
  • Signature campaign in Italy against genetic engineering
  • High cereal prices may fuel problems in poor areas: FAO chief
  • Feeding The World Without Genetic Engineering

  • For Japanese automakers, the future's green and groovy
  • General Motors To Make 250,000 Chevrolets Per Year In Uzbekistan
  • CU Researchers Shed Light On Light-Emitting Nanodevice
  • Volkswagen Dieselution Tour Debuts At AltWheels Festival

  • MEPs seek limits on aircraft emissions by 2010
  • Aircraft And Automobiles Thrive In Hurricane-Force Winds At Lockheed Martin
  • New Delft Material Concept For Aircraft Wings Could Save Billions
  • Cathay Pacific chief hits out at anti-aviation critics

  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space
  • Nuclear Power In Space
  • Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement