Regulatory supervision of the recovery, decommissioning and disposal of RTGS in Northwest Russia

Several hundred radioisotopic thermoelectric generators (RTGs) have been used along the Russian Federation's Arctic coast to power remote lighthouses. Similar RTGs were also used as power sources in other remote locations in the Russian Federation and elsewhere in the Former Soviet Union. The RTGs typically contain one or more strontium-90 radionuclide heat sources (RHSs) of the order of thousands of TBq, making them Category 1 sources within the IAEA scheme. The Norwegian Government has financed the removal of more than 60 RTGs from lighthouses on the Kola peninsula. In parallel with such industrial projects, NRPA has been providing support to regulators in the Russian Federation. The major goal of this Regulatory Support Project is to assist Russian regulatory bodies when developing guidelines and requirements for planning, licensing and implementation of the industry projects. The Russian Federation Nuclear Industrial and Environmental Regulatory Authority (NIERA) has recognised that there is a need for upgrading the regulatory framework for the safe decommissioning and disposal of RTGs in the Russian Federation. A regulatory project with this aim is therefore now being carried out in parallel with the ongoing industrial project. The primary foci of the project are to clarify roles and responsibilities, to establish requirements on source term information, and to develop regulatory requirements and regulations suitable to assure the safety and security of RTGs throughout their life-cycle, including use, recovery, transport, decommissioning, storage and disposal. The project will also provide regulatory support in relation to licensing and authorizations, supervision over radiological safety, and emergency preparedness. (author)