Russia is taking over Chernobyl. For ROSATOM, Russia’s national atomic energy company, this is a way of preventing the European Union and the United States from taking control of the nuclear industry in Ukraine (see box below). The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has spent over 700 million euros to build a protective sarcophagus over the Chernobyl No. 4 reactor, which caused the devastating events of 26 April 1986. According to an EBRD press release, this project is meant to act as a “giant cage to contain the monster”, and also as a long-term infrastructure investment to improve nuclear waste management. The sarcophagus was completed in October 2019.

Cancellation of the Franco-Russian contract for the conversion and enrichment of reprocessed uranium (TRU)
Each year, the reprocessing plant of spent fuel at La Hague peninsula in Normandy near Cherbourg produces about 1,000 metric tons of RU (reprocessed uranium) from spent fuel coming from French nuclear power plants. The RU stock is currently about 27,000 tons. The reprocessing of RU to make “new” fuel cannot be done in France. The only plant for converting RU into Enriched Reprocessed Uranium (ERU) is located in Russia. The circular economy of French nuclear power goes through Tomsk in Siberia.

Bulletin of information and analysis on ship demolition
October-November-December 2021
76 pages, 106 sources, 223 photos (+ 8 maps), 13 Mo
https://robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/shipbreaking65.pdf

Spotlight on shipbreaking and on the maritime economy in post Covid-crisis

Only in French.

Only in French.