A radwaste processing centre has started operations at the site of Russia's Balakovo nuclear power plant. Russian nuclear utility Rosenergoatom said that the centre had been built under contract with Germany's RWE Nukem.
Rosenergoatom said: "The centre has been licensed for operation and is intended for the processing of solid radioactive waste accumulated before, and produced as a result of operation of four VVER-1000 units of the Balakovo plant." The waste management process will include collecting and sorting the waste by category, as well as transporting waste to facilities for processes such as incineration and compacting.
Rosenergoatom said that by 2006, there would be similar radwaste processing centres at the Kursk, Kola, Kalinin and Smolensk plants, as well as a centre for liquid waste processing at the Leningrad plant, which is scheduled to enter operation by 2005.
