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The future of the Paldiski nuclear facility under discussion

Tomorrow, 28 March, at 10 o’clock, a meeting will be held in the Ministry of Environment to discuss the future scenarios of the Paldiski nuclear facility.

By now the site has been practically cleared of radioactive waste: solid waste generated by reactors has been packaged and the project of dismantling the former treatment facility of liquid waste has reached its final phase. Yet the problem of what to do with the reactors still remains to be solved.

The participants in the tomorrow's meeting will discuss the question of which strategic approach to choose: whether it is more expedient to dismantle the reactors in the near future or to wait another 40 years. 

According to Henno Putnik, Director of AS Alara, which deals with the sanitation of the Paldiski nuclear facility, the Russians enclosed the reactors in sarcophagi that should last for 50 years.

"If we commence dismantling works 50 years after the enclosure of the reactors, the radioactive elements with shorter half-life will have decomposed and the danger of exposure of dismantlers to radiation decreased. However, fifty years is a rather long time and the building that accommodates the sarcophagi must be properly maintained throughout the whole period,” Putnik said.

According to Henno Putnik, it would be possible to apply to the European Commission for support to a project of dismantling the sarcophagi already in the near future.

"We have carried out a project in co-operation with the European Commission to find out the possible alternatives for dismantling the reactors. Thus it should be decided which of the identified alternatives should be chosen as a basis for further management of the reactors,” Putnik said.

The meeting will be attended by representatives of the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Estonian Radiation Protection Centre and AS Alara.

Additional Information: Henno Putnik, Director of AS Alara, tel.: 620 1904, 050-45126