These units can operate for long periods of time with little supervision and maintenance. In the former Soviet Union, these power sources were developed in particular for the operation of lighthouses in Arctic waters. One producer of RTGs is the National Institute for Research on Technical Physics and Automatisation . This source develops a thermal power of 300 W to 1700 W in the initial period of operation. The life span for the 90Sr-source is between 10 and 20 years.
Used sources are to be sent to Moscow.
Little information is available concerning the storage of used RTG-sources. Reports have been made concerning two used sources discovered on the docks of Linahamari, close to the Norwegian border. According to plans, these were to be sent to Moscow. One source was abandoned by the army on the wharf of Mishukovo as the train that was to transport it, did not arrive on time. According to the Econord Center in Apatity, radioactive sources are in use at 58 companies and institutions on the Kola Peninsula.