ARKHANGELSK. Nov 22 (Interfax-Northwest) - Russia's state- owned enterprise Zvyozdochka has started unloading spent nuclear fuel from nuclear submarines in Severodvinsk in the Arkhangelsk region.
"This is the first time that civilian specialists are unloading nuclear fuel from warships. This used to be the prerogative of the military," deputy chief of Zvyozdochka's workshop 34 Ivan Olefirenko told Interfax on Friday.
The world's largest nuclear submarine built under the Akula (Shark) project, also known as the Typhoon under NATO classification, was the first to dock near a new coastal complex designed for unloading spent nuclear fuel. The complex was built under a U.S.-Russian intergovernmental program.
The unloading of spent nuclear fuel from the submarine began on November 2. At present, one reactor has been cleared, and fuel is being removed from the second reactor now, Olefirenko said.
A special environment-friendly container commonly known as "bottle" is used to remove fuel from the reactor. It stores fuel on the way from the reactor to TK-18 transport containers, and then is sent to the temporary storage pad where a train for the fuel's transportation to the Mayak processing facility in the Chelyabinsk region is being formed.
The complex is intended for unloading fuel from two Typhoon submarines or four Delta submarines a year in case one shift of workers is used.
The absolute security of the personnel and the environment has been ensured during these operations, Oliferenko said.
The commissioning of the complex will speed up the process of disposing of nuclear submarines written off from the Northern Fleet and will contribute to the reduction of nuclear danger in Northern Russia.
The construction of the coastal complex at Zvyozdochka cost about USD15m and was fully financed by the U.S. under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. The entire complex is very secure.