The condition of the Gulf of Finland in the water area of Leningrad NPP has been checked

The programmed expedition was attended by the researchers of Federal State Unitary Enterprise, Research and Production Association G. Khlopin Radium Institute of Rosatom State Corporation together with the Emergency Technical Center of Rosatom State Corporation, as well as by LNPP laboratory workers of external dosimetry and personnel of Leningrad branch of Federal State Unitary Enterprise RosRAO (Radon).
The purpose of the regular sampling is a long term monitoring of strontium, tritium, plutonium and other radionuclide’s ratio in water and bottom sediments throughout the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. The expedition was headed by Director of Department of Radioecology, Radiogeochemistry and Radioactive Waste Management of Research and Production Association of G. Khlopin Radium Institute Viktor Tishkov.
According to him, for the whole period of investigations which were started during the design of Leningrad NPP the composition and level of radionuclides in the adjoining water area of the Gulf of Finland has slightly changed. "The observed indicators are at a level ten times lower than the maximum allowable values which require immediate intervention of nuclear scientists or regulatory authorities. Due to the security problem resolution the discharges of Leningrad plant are hundred thousand times lower than those ones of many companies of Helsinki Convention participating countries. For example, recycled water supply does not involve discharge of water into the bay, but water treatment and feeding it back into the production cycle, "- said Viktor Tishkov.
The samples were taken at five points of the Gulf of Finland water territory adjacent to Leningrad NPP. All data will be analyzed and within a month it will be transmitted to Helsinki Commission which was established in order to monitor the implementation of the principles of the Helsinki Convention by nine participating countries. The results will go to the laboratory workers of external dosimetry of LNPP which also are constantly monitoring the environment in the 30-kilometer controlled area of LNPP.
“Such joint expeditions are regarded not as a quality control of plant investigations carried by the State Corporation, but as a way to objectively correct the independently data collected by both sides", - said the Head of External Dosimetry Laboratory of Leningrad NPP Sergey Stepanov.
In addition, the delegation of Federal State Unitary Enterprise, Research and Production Association G. Khlopin Radium Institute organizes a gamma-spectrometric study of environment on LNPP-2 construction side in order to record the so-called "zero background" - the source data to which the values of the subsequent years of construction and operation of replacement capacities of the new nuclear plant will be compared.