Decommissioning of Building No.5 in Andreeva Bay

Building No.5 is a pool-type storage facility for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from submarine reactors at a former coastal base built in the 1960s to sevice nuclear submarines of the Russian Northern Fleet. It is located in the Kola Peninsula at Andreeva Bay, 80km west of Murmansk and 45km from the Norwegian border. The base was closed down in 1992 but the site is heavily contaminated and poses a serious risk to the environment. Following a leakage in the pools some 30 years ago, the SNF was transfered to three dry storage tanks at a new facility where it is still located.

Building No.5 is in a poor physical state and is heavily contaminated with radioactivity. The storage pool survey results showed that there are six spent fuel assemblies (SFAs) remaining in one of the small pools. These SFAs are responsible for the highest gamma-radiation levels at the top of the pool. The objective of the project is to remove the SFAs to a temporary storage area to ensure the nuclear safety of Building No.5. The work will also result in the decrease of the background radiation in the technological hall and provide improved radiological safety for the future decommissioning work.

Following decontamination the structure will eventually be dismantled, eliminating the risk for the spread of radioactive materials from the building into the bay.