Russia helps Sweden dismantle nuclear reactor vessels
Germany’s engineering company NUKEM Technologies (part of Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation), in collaboration with Uniper Anlagenservice, has successfully completed the dismantling of the nuclear reactor vessel for the first power unit in the Barseback nuclear power plant in Sweden.
“The weight of the dismantled equipment was 430 tons. Initially, the reactor vessel was divided into rings with a height of 0.9 to 1.8 meters by thermal cutting. The weight of each section of the vessel varied from 12 to 24 tons. The disassembly process divided the reactor vessel from top to bottom in 13 rings, as well as the lower part of the reactor, says Rosatom’s fuel company TVEL.
In 2019, the UNNU consortium created by NUKEM Technologies and Uniper Anlagenservice won a tender for the work of dismantling two reactor vessels of Barsebek-1.2 NPP and two reactor vessels of Oskarshamn-1.2 NPP in Sweden. The dismantling process was carried out sequentially – first at Barseback’s nuclear power plant and then at Oskarshamn’s nuclear power plant, which made it possible to reduce the total cost of decommissioning by optimizing technical processes and forming the uniform material and technical basis for carrying out the work.
All four units of the nuclear power plant in Sweden will be completely dismantled by 2024.
TVEL is responsible for the development of Rosatom’s operations for decommissioning of nuclear power plants and facilities for hazardous radiation.
Barseback is a disused boiling power plant located in Barseback, Sweden.
The nuclear power plant is located 20 kilometers from the Danish capital Copenhagen, which eventually led the Danish government to strive to close it throughout its operation. As a result of a now former Swedish nuclear power plant, its two reactors have been closed. The first reactor, Barseback 1, was shut down on 30 November 1999 and the second, Barseback 2, ceased to operate on 31 May 2005. At the time of closure, each reactor had a net capacity of 600 megawatts.