– What are the main areas of RosRao activities today?
– We are RW handling center of federal importance. Our geography is quite wide: we have 21 production sites in regions. We solve the state problems of nuclear legacy liquidation, for instance, within the subprogram “Industrial utilization of NPS, NC with NPP and MPF ships and coastal technical facilities rehabilitation”. Besides that we handle RW.
– How economically viable is the business? Is it profitable for Rosatom to have RosRao as its part?
– That’s not a business, rather a liability, a matter of state-wide importance. Any nuclear station or object has its waste that needs transportation, storage, conditioning and final disposal. Our task is to raise efficiency reducing costs.
– What are the ways to handle RW?
– RW handling is instructed by existing legislation with all technological chains given in detail. However, not regarding the RW type, our task is to minimize its volume. Thus, in case of liquid waste we do vitrification, cementation. The more compact is the storage, the cheaper it is.
– RW handling is a very specific profile. Where do you get you specialists?
– Personnel management is conducted with the State Corporation participation. Innovations offered by the Corporation – training, corporate schools – allow us to develop our human resource base. We cooperate with various universities, such as MEPHi, Institute of Technology in Saint-Petersburg, several colleges in Siberia, Far Eastern National University – mainly department of chemistry. We regularly have open house, showing students – our potential employees – what we do. We are very interested in the younger generation.
While we have some experienced people, it is important to offer good supervision and guidance, so that older colleagues can pass their knowledge to younger ones. Youth is interested in career progress – we can offer it. There are many examples of young masters of sciences who became project head managers only within a year.
– How important is scientific field?
– Today in RosRao there are 17 PhD’s and 2 D.Sc. in engineering. Not a long time ago there appeared a new research manager, D.Sc. in engineering, Andrey Sobolev; we also have an academic secretary. The interest in science is not fundamental but application-oriented, that is, collecting the most efficient, successfully tested technologies for effective realization. Another direction is the development of “know how”. Task 1 is creating material for new RW containers. The cost of containers that are used now is quite high, however the container itself hasn’t changed since 1970-1980-ies. I hope we’ll have a new technical solution as early as this year. Today we are testing a new container material.
– How is your international partnership? 10 years ago, when the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction appeared, Russia needed the help of other countries. Has this changed now?
– It has. Within the frames of the Global Partnership the program of Russia’s help to other countries in the sphere of NF management was approved, including financial support. Thus, having all necessary technologies we are ready to take part in the recovery of Fukushima. We have extensive experience in LRW processing which Japan may use. We already announced our readiness to the Japanese side.
