WRITTEN QUESTION E-1656/00

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) and Gianfranco Fini (UEN) to the Commission

(29 May 2000)

Subject: Nuclear contamination in Severodvinsk (Russia)

Approximately 1300 km north of Moscow and 100 km from the Arctic Circle lies a city which is closed to foreigners and almost inaccessible even for Russians, who until recently needed a special passport to enter the city, Severodvinsk. Built by order of Stalin by some 60 000 prisoners in 1936, 35 km west of Archangel and on the shores of the White Sea, Severodvinsk is buffeted by year-long polar winds, with winter temperatures

reaching minus 30-40°C. It was made into a labour camp, where victims of Stalin's reign of terror were deported, to be subsequently shot or simply left to die of hardship or cold. Between 1936 and 1953, 25 000 people died there. Today the city has a population of 210 000 and the labour camp has been replaced by two shipyards. In one of these, the Sevmash, nuclear submarines are built (though officially snow-ploughs are assembled). This is the shipyard which produced typhoon submarines (or sharks, as they are known in Russian) the largest and most devastating war machines created by man, 175 metres long and equipped with 20 intercontinental missiles with multiple nuclear warheads.

In this inaccessible city there is a special hospital to which hundreds of deformed children have been admitted, children affected by strange immune deficiency syndromes leading to deafness. In 1994 and 1995 a former captain of the Russian fleet helped to draft a report on the critical situation in the area, which is on the brink of becoming one of the most contaminated areas of Russia, a kind of slow-motion Chernobyl. The shipyards contain storage facilities each containing 12 530 cubic metres of solid radioactive material, reaching a total of 4 620 tonnes. Until 1991 most of the waste was dumped in the nearby Kara and Barents Seas, while some was dumped in the municipal landfill site. Nobody will ever know how much nuclear filth is buried around the city. During the repair of the ships and the refuelling of the reactors, the shipyards release 10 000 cubic metres of radioactive gas. The list goes on and on.

In view of this appalling tragedy for the inhabitants and the children of Severodvinsk, and in view of the risk of a new Chernobyl with incalculable consequences not only for the Russians, but for the entire world, and particularly Europe:

1. Does the Commission not consider it a matter of urgency to discuss the above with the Russian authorities, within the framework of bilateral relations and the PHARE and TACIS programmes?

2. Does it not consider that, for humanitarian and general safety reasons, EU aid should be made subject to Russia's firm commitment to resolve this dangerous situation in that tormented city?

3. Does it not believe that protecting the environment from radioactive pollution is a priority issue in the negotiations on enlargement?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(4 July 2000)

The Commission is very aware of the disastrous environmental situation, not only in the Severodvinsk area but also, throughout many regions of the Russian Federation (for example in the areas surrounding Oziorsk in the Southern Urals, Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk). The Commission is already sponsoring many projects in the North West region with a budget of about 20 million and is willing to provide assistance for the remediation of environmental problems resulting from radioactive waste and spent fuel, within a concerted international effort. Ongoing programmes wholly or partly funded by the Community in Northwest Russia include those supported by TACIS, including the International science and technology centre (ISTC), and International association for the promotion of the cooperation with scientists from the independent states of the former Soviet Union (INTAS) and other budgetary lines e.g. environment. A number of reports assessing the situation in this part of the world have already been published.

Specifically concerning Severodvinsk, a project is being supported to assess the environmental and radiological consequences from mismanagement of radioactive waste in the two shipyards and from the discharge of radioactive liquid waste in the municipal sewage system. Contractors for the project have already visited the city and report good co-operation with local institutes. The results of this project will be published towards the end of 2001.

It is the general understanding of the international community that, taking into account the immensity of the problem, joint efforts must play a very important role in addressing the situation. This is the objective of the discussions on the multilateral nuclear environmental programme in Russia (MNEPR) which have been under way for more than one year.

The Community, together with the United States and Norway, have made some progress on this agreement with the Russian Federation, but some important issues still have to be resolved (nuclear liability, exemption from taxes and duties, and access to the sites of implementation). The Commission wishes to see these issues resolved and the MNEPR signed by the Russian Federation before making further substantial grants on major investment projects. The Russians are well aware of this position. However, in view of the urgency of the situation, in parallel to negotiations within the MNEPR, the Commission is continuing to cooperate with some Member States and third countries including the United States and Norway, in joint actions in Northwest Russia.

With regard to the enlargement process, the Commission would point out that environment is one of the points under the accession negotiations. Since the Russian Federation is not one of the accession countries, the Severodvinsk situation has no direct implications for these negotiations.