Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom has reaffirmed its commitments to care for the common home for all- the planet- as the World Environment Day is being celebrated across the globe this year.
Nuclear energy is a reliable source of low-carbon electricity, which makes a huge contribution to protecting the planet from the climate change, and is one of the global partnership tools to preserve, protect and restore the Earth’s ecosystem. Rosatom is the largest producer of low-carbon electricity in Russia, Rosatom official said.
According to experts, the operation of all nuclear power units of Russian design in the world prevents the emission of about 210 million tonnes of CO2 per year, including 107 million tonnes of CO2 in Russia (the assessment was made using the 2018 world power generation statistics by source type). In nuclear energy there are no direct emissions of chemically hazardous substances that destroy the ozone layer and contribute to the greenhouse effect. In 2019 the share of Rosatom pollutant emissions in Russia was only 0.1%.
45 organisations and enterprises within the Russian nuclear industry have environment management systems, according to the international standard ISO 14001. There are control laboratories, which conduct regular measurements and sampling, at all Russian nuclear power plants. Nuclear industry organizations constantly monitor the level of radionuclides in locally produced agricultural food products, in wild food (berries, mushrooms, etc.) and in the feed growing in the observation zone, as well as in fish, water and NPPs` cooling ponds silt.
Minimizing negative environmental impact is an important priority for Rosatom. To achieve this goal the enterprises of Rosatom works on multiple fronts, including conducting industrial environmental control, monitoring the level of pollutant emissions in the atmosphere and compliance with environmental regulations; improving the state of the sanitary protection zone; maintaining and cleaning dust and gas treatment facilities, filters and drains. The total environmental costs of Rosatom enterprises in 2019 was 363.7 million USD. There was a 9.7% decrease in the cost of energy consumption relative to the base year of 2015. Gross greenhouse gas emissions by the organizations of Rosatom in 2019 decreased by 6.4%. Compared to 2018 wastewater discharge decreased by 762.1 million cubic meters.
In 2019 the Regulation of the system to account for greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the activities of organizations of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom was approved.
Rosatom thinks that it is impossible to solve the main challenge of humanity of our time – global warming – without nuclear energy, which is a source of clean energy. Therefore, it may replace fossil fuels and work effectively in tandem with renewable sources.
In addition, the country’s first nuclear power plant is being implemented in Rooppur of Pabna district by Rosatom. The government believes at least 1200MW unit of electricity from the first nuclear plant will be added to the national grid by 2023. The second with the same amount of power will be launched by 2024.
Rooppur NPP is designed and being constructed according to Russian design. The plant will have two power units with latest generation 3+ VVER 1200 reactor, which will fully meet all international safety requirements.
