Interactive map of South Coast of the Gulf of Finland

Nuclear submarine reactors of different types developed at the Alexandrov Research Institute of Nuclear Technology (NITI) are experimentally tested in the institute. Main environmental impact during the operation without accidents: cooling water from the reactors, which is discharged into the Baltic Sea, is the main regional supplier of radionuclides Co60, Mn54, Cs137.

NITI most serious accidents: The core was molten and a reactor top lost its integrity (1972); Thermal explosion (1979) of a component in the reactor emergency cooling system (water tank) resulted in the building demolition. Two persons were killed.

Unsolved problems:
unavailability of public information about the normal-operation and accidental impact from nuclear facilities (operating and developed) on the health of nature and people and absence of open discussions of programs for safe decommissioning of old reactors and solution of spent nuclear fuel problems.

The area of Leningrad NPP -2 construction (2 units with VVER-1200 reactors and 4 cooling towers). Leningrad NPP-2 (LNPP-2) with first two reactors VVER-1200 (1200 MWe), which cost $ 6 billion, is under construction next to the old LNPP. It is planned to build 6 power units.

Main impact on the environment: daily release of seawater after 150m-high 4 cooling towers (for two power units) is up to 100.000 t. This will lead to the soil salinization in the area. Acidic fallouts are possible due to the reaction between emissions from LNPP-2 cooling towers and oxides of nitrogen, phosphorus, fluorine, etc., which get into the atmosphere from Estonian power plants using oil-shale as fuel; combined with emissions from aluminium, silicon and other plants planned in the neighborhood. It is also possible that cooling towers will disperse hazardous sea pollutants and stimulate radioactive fallout having the source at LNPP-1. This can cause the damage to pine forests, residents of Sosnovy Bor and thousands gardening communities. LNPP-2 is a much more expensive source of power than refurbished and reoriented to the steam-gas cycle heat and power stations of the region, which operate on gas. Their modernization could bring the energy output in the region to a higher level (without increased gas consumption) than a possible LNPP-2 production.

Unsolved problems: Absence of technological solutions for the long-term immobilization (reprocessing) of spent nuclear fuel. No systematic analysis of safety provisions for the new and old NPPs taking into account their simultaneous operation. No market for economic competition between different power sources and no ways of public influence on the decisions about the power sources.

The unit for the reprocessing Leningrad NPP solid radioactive waste (RW) was brought to the stage of construction on the LNPP territory without the mandatory environmental examination. It is planned to reprocess many hundreds tones of RW per year.

Specialized plant RADON – regional facility for North-West Russia, which stores solid (more than 60.000 m3) and liquid (1.200 m3) medium- and low-level radioactive waste. The RW is kept for temporary storage in surface concrete buildings-boxes. The facility is in operation since 1962. The exposure dose rate near walls of some storage facilities is 200 times higher than the background level. After water extinguishing of fires (1976, 1979), which spontaneously started in the storage facilities, the groundwater near them got contaminated with biological contaminants H3, Cs137, Sr⁹⁰ and supertoxic Pu²³⁹.

Unsolved problems:
Unavailability of storage space for the disposal of new RW, also in case of an emergency situation or decommission process at LNPP.

Baltic Silicon Valley – It is planned to develop a project for the world-largest chemical plant for the production of polycrystalline silicon (5000 t/year with a perspective for 20.000 t/year) in the town of Sosnovy Bor. Cost of the project is $370 mln. It has been approved by the regional and federal authorities and planned for implementation in the period of 2008 - 2012 on a 40 ha site. The power-intensive technology requiring 500 MW (half of the RBMK-1000 reactor capacity) was sited by project developers close to Leningrad NPP. Its raw material is metallurgical silicon, which will be shipped from the Ural region of Russia, also imported from Norway and Brazil. The products will be used by electronic industry and solar engineering. The project is implemented by a group of companies including OAO ‘Baltic Silicon Valley – International project PoliSiL’ and JSC ‘Project Engineering Company’. Today strategic partners in the project are FGUP ‘Krasmash’, RF Sberbank, Concern ‘Titan-2’, FGUP “Efremov NIIFA”, JSC ‘Kriogenmash’, and others.

Hazards of the project:
atmospheric emissions of hydrogen chloride will result in acid rains and growth of cancerous diseases.

Port in Batareynaya Bay for the export of 15 mln. oil products ($ 600 mln.) was formally founded on 19 July 1997 on the territory of wetland reserve “Lebiazhie” having the international status. The project of “Surgutneftegaz” Company was supported by the Governor of Leningrad Oblast and Government of Russia as a political alternative to the ports built by the USSR, which after its collapse have become a component of Lithuania and Estonia transport system. The territory of Lebiazhie reserve was cut in order to provide for the oil port construction outside the boundaries of the nature-protected territory. In spite of the governmental pressure “Surgutneftegaz” never started the port development, but there has been no formal cancellation of the project. If the project is resurrected, the port operation will destruct the resting places of swans and other migrating water birds.The first stone – the symbol of the beginning of the harbour construction