28 Jul 2009

SERBIA / NUCLEAR WASTE

The UN Nuclear Watchdog Agency is working with the Serbian government to clean up nuclear fuel which is contained in deteriorating barrels in the village of Vinca. The fuel was used for experiments in the 1950′s and shut down in 1984, but still poses a danger to the community. IAEA

Posted at: July 28, 2009 2:31 pm

Duration: 02:37

Available in: SD

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STORY: SERBIA / NUCLEAR WASTE
SOURCE: IAEA 
TRT: 2.37
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 28 JULY 2009, VINČA , SERBIA

SHOTLIST:

JULY 2009, INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR SCIENCES, VINČA , SERBIA

1. Med shot, technician holding spent nuclear fuel element, Geiger counter
2. Close Up, spent nuclear fuel element
3. Wide shot, Vinča  Institute of Nuclear Sciences
4. Med shot, entranceway to Vinča  Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Reactor Building
5. Pan right, Vinča  'RA' research reactor
6. Med shot, perimeter of reactor
7. Med shot, red barrel
8. Med shot, debris from reactor clean-up, yellow 'caution' tape
9. Close Up, radioactivity trefoil (in Serbian language)
10. Med shot, red barrels in deposit
11. Med shot, IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei and Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic approaching Vinča
12. Med shot, Minister Djelic and Dr. El Baradei look into radioactive warehouse
13. Med shot, Dr. El Baradei and Minister Djelic walk through reactor hall with delegation
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, IAEA: "What we have seen of course is that a lot of work needs to be done here, and we will continue to work with Serbia to make sure it's done as soon as possible." 
15. Zoom out, spent fuel pool, rippling water in spent fuel room
16. Med shot, spent fuel pool room 
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, IAEA:  "The more we continue to keep the spent fuel in Vinča , which is corroding, which is degrading, the more the risk increases."
18. Pan left, rusting warehouse to other warehouse, both contain radioactive waste
19. Close up, barrels containing radioactive waste
20. Close up, rusted lock on warehouse door
21. Med shot, barrels containing radioactive waste
22. Med shot, Vinča  technician opening door to second radioactive waste hangar
23. Med shot, red barrels inside warehouse containing radioactive waste
24. Close up, Geiger counter measuring radiation on radioactive sources inside hangar
25. Med shot, technician holding Geiger counter measuring radiation on radioactive sources inside hangar
26. Pan left, newly built storage hangar for radioactive waste
27. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Restaurant owner: 
"I've lived here my whole life, and I know that in recent years there has been a lot of work done at Vinča .  I don't think there's anything to be worried about regarding my health and the life of people living around Vinča ."
28. Tilt up, IAEA Director General El Baradei wearing radiation protection clothing
29. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed El Baradei, Director General, IAEA:
"We have been working hard to make sure that we move all of the spent fuel from Vinča  and continue to work on the radiation problems that exist at Vinča , including the decommissioning of the reactor."
30. Med shot, El Baradei uses machine that checks for radioactive contamination
31. Wide shot, newly built storage hangar for radioactive waste

STORYLINE

For decades, about two and a half tons of spent nuclear fuel has sat here in Serbia, at the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences.

The fuel was used for experiments beginning in the 1950s in a Soviet designed research reactor, before it shut down in 1984.  Since then, the fuel has been stored in poor condition at the site, and it's a danger to the people who live and work around Vinča .

The United Nation's nuclear agency is now partnering with Serbia on a project to take care of the problem.  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is working to secure and clean up Vinča.

But the task is arduous, the costs considerable, and there is pressure to finish the job soon.

In July, IAEA Director General Mohamed El Baradei visited Vinča.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, IAEA:
"What we have seen of course is that a lot of work needs to be done here, and we will continue to work with Serbia to make sure it's done as soon as possible."

For decades, thousands of the fuel elements have sat cooling in a pool of water.  But now the barrels that contain the fuel are beginning to deteriorate, and could cause contamination.

To decrease the risk, the safest option is to remove the fuel.  So the IAEA is working together with Serbia, the EU, the Czech Republic, and other countries to ship the spent fuel back to Russia, where it initially came from.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, IAEA:
"The more we continue to keep the spent fuel in Vinča , which is corroding, which is degrading, the more the risk increases."

Located on the outskirts of Belgrade, Vinča  also has two rusting warehouses filled with radioactive waste, from all over the former Yugoslavia.

The condition of the buildings poses a serious security risk, and threatens to contaminate local people and the environment.  But a solution is in sight.
The IAEA helped to construct a new long-term storage facility, which was just completed with donations from the US, the EU and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

The modern building will safely store the waste from the two older warehouses.

Area residents who live and work around Vinča are aware of the c lean-up efforts at the site.

One man runs a restaurant on the Danube, just minutes from Vinča.

SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Restaurant owner: 
"I've lived here my whole life, and I know that in recent years there has been a lot of work done at Vinča .  I don't think there's anything to be worried about regarding my health and the life of people living around Vinča."

It will take a few more years to repackage and return the spent nuclear fuel to Russia, and to remove the waste from the aging warehouses.  Serbia also wants to eventually dismantle the reactor, but more funding is needed before that work can begin.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, IAEA:
"We have been working hard to make sure that we move all of the spent fuel from Vinča  and continue to work on the radiation problems that exist at Vinča , including the decommissioning of the reactor."

The project, which is the largest in the IAEA's history, is helping to move the world closer to realizing a vision where nuclear material is safe, secure, and accounted for.

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