At 4am on April 15th, Russia closed down its last plutonium plant in Zheleznogorsk. Although this came at the end of a very successful nonproliferation meeting in Washington, DC this closure has been in the works for at least a decade.
I know Zheleznogorsk well. FRAEC worked with the Department of Energy for seven years through its Nuclear Cities Initiative to help find civilian jobs for the citizens of Zheleznogorsk who worked with the plutonium reactor. We helped create the International Development Center, a Russian nonprofit organization, to be the vehicle for this goal. The IDC still operates today in Zheleznogorsk providing real assistance to the many businesses and individuals who work there.
The issue of closing the reactor has been a very sensitive one for the people of Zheleznogorsk. The reactor provided heat and electricity to the city and the winters there get very cold – -40 degrees C. I know. I was there on many cold winter days. During one trip, I felt the frustration and anger of some of its leaders when asked if we could guarantee that they would have a new fossil fuel plant replacement, built with U.S. funds and contractors, in time. Those of us who were there did not have anything to do with this project, but they vented anyway.
The closure is good for Russia, the U.S. and the world. Hopefully the new plant will be open and heating the city soon.
