posted
0.015 4000 OTO 16:00:04 0.015 80000 OTO 16:00:01 0.015 500 OTO 15:59:45 0.015 500 OTO 15:59:20 0.015 293351 OTO 15:58:49 0.015 50000 OTO 15:58:17 0.015 17333 OTO 15:57:33 0.015 35000 OTO 15:57:28 0.015 20000 OTO 15:56:50 0.015 50000 OTO 15:56:50 0.015 50000 OTO 15:56:47 0.015 66000 OTO 15:52:31 0.015 38900 OTO 15:52:27 0.015 66666 OTO 15:43:48 0.015 60000 OTO 15:43:48 ------sale 0.018 28800 OTO 15:31:04 0.014 30000 OTO 15:28:39 0.013 5000 OTO 15:04:41 0.013 10000 OTO 15:03:36 0.013 12500 OTO 15:02:42 0.013 65000 OTO 15:01:54 -----sale 0.015 20000 OTO 14:58:39 0.013 6800 OTO 14:58:06 0.013 5000 OTO 14:56:54 0.013 37000 OTO 14:55:32
Other than those 2 sales all others were BUYS BUYS BUYS The MM's kept it down for loading up.... Look for this to BLAST on monday.. That was some good action at the end
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm not sure I understand the play here - they are going to do a 1:275 consolidation reverse split and then an issuance of 22,500,000 new shares?
Posts: 507 | From: Rochester, NY | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
market maker signal for shares. 100--I need shares 200-I need shares badly,but do not take it down 300-take the price down to get shares 400-trade it sideways based on supply and demand 500-gap one way or another,to the direction of the 500 trade.
Look at the last few trades by MM's
he he .....
500 500
GAPPPP
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
NUCON has entered into multiple alliances with Russian and European companies to market, distribute, and sell various products and services for the nuclear and waste water industries. Alliances have been formed with the following companies:
ROSATOM is the operating utility of all Russia’s nuclear power plants.
ROSATOM is responsible for insuring nuclear and radiation safety in all phases of nuclear power plant operations in compliance with Russian Federation legislation and to provide scientific and technical support. ROSATOM operates all 10 state-owned Russian nuclear power plants with 31 reactor units representing a total 23,242-MW installed electrical capacity. This is 18% of the Russian power grid.
Increasing demands on technical safety regulations and radiation protection standards at the facilities of Russia’s nuclear energy facilities cause increasing demands on equipment, plants and technologies for the construction, modernisation and operation of facilities of ROSATOM (http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/russia/govt/rosenerg.htm).
NUCON has entered into an agreement with ROSATOM to co-lead an international consortium of European and Russian companies to provide equipment, technologies and services to ROSATOM.
NUCON believes this Agreement enables NUCON to place a significant number of its owned and licensed technologies in ROSATOM facilities.
In addition to NUCON and GGS Consulting Vertriebs GmbH, the Consortium presently consists of the following companies:
Doka GmbH, Austria - formwork technology E+S Planbau GmbH, Germany - construction of multiple types of cooling towers Max Frank GmbH, Germany - special articles for reinforced concrete engineering (Max Frank currently has a joint office in Moscow with NUCON. NUCON supports the company in bringing their products into the Russian market. Max Frank products are used in one of the facilities of ROSATOM and also used by SPEZSTROI ROSSII, a specialized construction company.) Intracamion, Germany - transportation and logistics TPA, St. Petersburg (SEE: TPA) ZMID, St. Petersburg
"ATOMSTROYEXPORT" (“ASE”) was established in 1998, by the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Atomic Energy, in order to promote the export of Russian-made products for nuclear power projects abroad. ASE was created by a merger of AO "Atomenergoexport" and VPO "Zarubezhatomenergostroy". These Russian government agencies had accumulated more than 25-years of experience with foreign countries in the construction, operation and modernization of nuclear power plants – (http://www2.interfax.ru/eng/news/business/060221/148096/story.html).
ASE possesses both the experience and engineering capabilities to work in the global market. The nuclear power plants built for their customers in the Former Soviet Union, China, India and other countries constitute a future market for NUCON technologies and services. The latest projects of ASE include construction of two power units (2000 MW total) in China, two power units of similar capacity in India as well as activities in Eastern Europe.
A consortium led by Moscow based Atomstroyexsport has been awarded a contract, a portion of which is for the stabilization of the existing Chernobyl shelter environment that is contaminated with radioactive dust and debris. The contract was signed between SSE Chernobyl and Atomstroyexport on 15 July 2005 for USD 45 million. The Contract reference number is SIP-07-1-001-02. In order to expeditiously proceed with the works inside the Shelter that have been delayed due to health problems created by the radioactive dust, ASE has agreed with NUCON to become project partners at Chernobyl to provide material(s), technologies and services that can reliably suppress and encapsulate radioactive dust. The materials will address the immediate tasks of safety of the works as well as long term tasks of safe maintenance of the Shelter and future possibility of the removal of the debris and its safe transportation and disposal.
NUCON will provide, on an exclusive basis, a patented technology, NuCaP, a highly radiation resistant silicon-geopolymer already applied under field conditions in the Shelter to cover the highly radioactive pile of the fuel containing masses. There is an estimated 45 tons of radioactive dust at Chernobyl #4. NuCaP has been tested at Chernobyl Reactor #4 since 2000 and these tests have conclusively proven that NuCaP is durable under the most extreme environmental conditions and is proven to be resistant to both radioactive environmental and corrosion conditions. It also has been proven to provide excellent encapsulation qualities; these will be necessary for final disposal in addition to the present task of radioactive dust suppression. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TPA Ltd. – PTPA, IKAR & SATURN
TPA Ltd is located in St. Petersburg and is the official marketing agent of three manufacturing facilities which produce products for the nuclear industry. These companies are:
"Muromsky zavod truboprovodnoi armatury", Murom, Russia "Kurgansky zavod truboprovodnoi armatury” (IKAR), Kurgan,Russia "NPO” (SATURN), Yaroslavl, Russia
These three factories produce primary products for the nuclear, oil, gas and water industries in the Russian Federation, including valves, tubes and pumps.
One of the substantial purchasers of the output of these three factories is ROSATOM. The outputs of these companies are sold exclusively through their marketing company – TPA, Ltd.
TPA, Ltd. is also the exclusive dealer of UKRROSMETALL, located in Sumy, Ukraine. The firm consists of 10 manufacturing facilities, including Poltava Turbine Works. Together they produce turbines, both for steam and gas, and ball valves.
NUCON and TPA, ltd. entered into a representation agreement on December 12, 2005. NUCON supports marketing activities for all of these manufacturing facilities in the framework of the consortium with ROSATOM. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRI-ION – WasserTechnik
NUCON has entered into an agreement with a German company, TRI-ION -Wasser Technik to represent it in the Russian Federation.
NUCON will organize the placement of the company’s technologies and engineering services within the Russian and Ukrainian Vodokanals, including the Eurasian Water Partnership. NUCON entered into this agreement with TRI-ION on December 12, 2005.
TRI-ION is currently working in Europe and South America providing water cleaning services. TRI-ION specializes in cleaning water with heavy metal and other isotopes and is licensed and permitted to work in the food industry. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eurasian Water Partnership
The Eurasian Water Partnership ("EWP”) is a limited liability company registered under the laws of the Russian Federation in the city of Moscow. The company acts as a developer, investor and operator for Vodokanals – water and wastewater utilities. Their market includes medium-sized and large cities in the Russian Federation and Ukraine and they currently operate in the cities of Omsk and Rostov-on-Don.
EWP is aggressively expanding their market and has initiated discussions with NUCON to act as its agent in securing water and wastewater technologies and management companies to assist in their effort. NUCON has identified a portfolio of suitable technologies from both Germany and Israel that it believes will be acceptable to EWP.
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
This is how its going down He was also kind of surprised...with this whole thing...
He says that this Nucon company is so big...that it should be trading in $20-35 range in few quarters....after its revenues and stats come out....... He says it should have started off with at least $1.5-2.5 as a starer
Hence THEOROTICALLY SDFE should rise 275 times the initial price prior to the merger.....which was 0.003.....which would be somewhere around 0.82....
Also NUcon is a giant company......in process of itself aquiring several companies in Russia....
I have no idea how the CEO of this company SDFE ...planned this reverse merger...but its value has to be increased by consolidation first to make it worth...
Also for people like me who like long plays as well......this is a gr8 play
Hope that explains few questions....
Let it ride now...
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
So If I'm understanding that right, its going to have to go to .82 cents minimum before the merger will go through?
Posts: 854 | From: Alpharetta, GA | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by rob_seller: Hence THEOROTICALLY SDFE should rise 275 times the initial price prior to the merger.....which was 0.003.....which would be somewhere around 0.82....
From that, but I'm most likely misunderstanding it, im confused lol.
Posts: 854 | From: Alpharetta, GA | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I like playing and learning new stock deals so I will be playing this one just to see how it goes. I like playing different types of divys to learn exactly how they work. This one is new for me.
For example on this one if the share price, currently at .015, goes to say .03 and then it gets the reverse split of 1:275 the shares will be at $8.25/share but they should be worth $20-$35 range.
Posts: 507 | From: Rochester, NY | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well thats why the theorotically comes in..... Well if the company says that it has to merge with some other company and has to consolidate its shares first......and its already trading at 0.003.....(at that time when the news came out).....that means that the Nucon company would be trading at....0.003/275= (MY calculator is not working for this calcuation) which is crazy for a company of Nucons caliber.....
Hence the shares of SFDE has to increase first.... Remember..the date of MERGER is not yet given out...
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
from the website of NUCON NUCON has commenced an acquisition program to acquire Russian companies who are highly specialized manufacturers of materials for the Russian and foreign nuclear markets and who desire to continue, and to improve, their sales to ROSATOM or to be able to enter this Russian market segment through membership in the Consortium. The Company believes it will conclude the first of a series of acquisitions in the second quarter of 2006.
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
but what do they want with Abuccor, or however you spell it?
My main question right now concerns the math of the 275 and the "post-consolidation" (lol) shares they mention in PR, given the debt-deal with CEO Richard Connors, in which 5m prefered (which at their price = the $10k debt) suddenly becomes 50mm common. At today's prices, Connors just spinned $10k into some serious dough...
posted
OK, these RS then issuance of new shares always confuse me!
Here's what I've seen of R/S's in the past 2 years:
After the R/s, the price goes down. generally at least half what the new price was post r/s. Sometimes it comes back up, sometimes not.
So, if this a long term play, and you own 100,000 shares, you'll own 363 after the R/S. Multiply that by aprox $8.25 (post R/S price), then initially, you end up with the same that you paid for it prior to the R/S.
Now, if the pps drops from here, you start losing money. If it doesn't, then you could make some.
Assuming that the company is now actually worth a lot more because of Nucon, then you will probably recover your money in the next 6 months if financials come out really green. However, this is a PINK SHEET stock and audited financials are not required/enforced.
Also, the end OS is a good thing of ending up being 22mil.
Not saying it won't run, cuz it probably will if MATTO is on it! Just saying to be careful (especially of pinks incorporated in Nevada). It could get ugly.
All of that being said, I'm really interested in what Will, Matto, and Superman7 believe it will do prior to the R/S, after the R/S, if any of them would consider holding through the R/S, and in what time frame do they expect huge profit potential from here (being as it already surpassed the .825 pre R/S minimum)? Normally they post the runners (and are really good at spotting these I might add!), but not a lot of commentary on the why. I'm kinda hoping for some commentary and insight from these guys for this one. Even if it's a PM, that's fine.
Thanks!
-------------------- "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'" - Charlie Brown (Charles Shultz) Posts: 719 | From: Leesburg, VA | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Buytex.. No body is willing to talk to me at this time of night.... I gotta get back tomorrow on this one... Its kinda unclear why Mr. Connors made that ....I dont think its legal either...Anyway he is a smart guy....has merged his small company with a monster like Nucon... Lets see how it all pans out... I am liking the prospects of this for monday though......thats for sure and heck I might le some free shares ride as well for long......
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
No offense on the Market Maker signal analysis- but I bought one of the last 500 share lots. I actually tried to buy 50,000, but my account only got a partial fill and then the market closed.
I think the whole MM signal thing is bogu FWIW
Posts: 949 | From: Little Rock, AR | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
We need u bilgert here... What do u think ab this guy Conners .....How did he do this kind of merger....and that debt consolidation shares thing is beyond me... But one thing is clear he made some good money and he did it in time (just before the PR)....
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
J. Holt Smith, legal, Nucon (ya gotta admit, "Nucon" does *not* sound good, lol), anyway, J. Holt the Texas lawyer was married to Julie Newmar...CATWOMAN! yaooow! Could that possibly be the same J. Holt, whose TV deals seem to be OK? (won an award just the other day)
BOWLEG, matto the one who asked *me* to explain it. jftr...
posted
LOL Tex! Yeah, ok, so can you help describe why this is a good play even though it already went up 1000% (.003 at rp release).
Please put it simply for me since I'm a little slow at figuring out the reasons for such plays like this after such a large gain already, and it having surpassed the initial price that a 275:1 would value it at! Just being cautious as I've been burned by R/S heavily in the past!
Thanks!
-------------------- "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'" - Charlie Brown (Charles Shultz) Posts: 719 | From: Leesburg, VA | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by bilgert: No offense on the Market Maker signal analysis- but I bought one of the last 500 share lots. I actually tried to buy 50,000, but my account only got a partial fill and then the market closed.
I think the whole MM signal thing is bogu FWIW
bilgert, see you posting around, good picks, etc...good to see ya. I don't buy "the MM code," either... remember some months ago when we were seeing trades of "911" for a few weeks?
Anyway, that's sorta the point of these questions: why were certain MMs--oh, let's pick....uh...DOMS...--hopping around like frogs on a skillet this afternoon?
Who wants shares? who needs shares? etc, etc... Bid/Ask may as well have been in a blender this afternoon.
quote:Originally posted by bowlegtroy: OK, these RS then issuance of new shares always confuse me!
Here's what I've seen of R/S's in the past 2 years:
After the R/s, the price goes down. generally at least half what the new price was post r/s. Sometimes it comes back up, sometimes not.
So, if this a long term play, and you own 100,000 shares, you'll own 363 after the R/S. Multiply that by aprox $8.25 (post R/S price), then initially, you end up with the same that you paid for it prior to the R/S.
Now, if the pps drops from here, you start losing money. If it doesn't, then you could make some.
Assuming that the company is now actually worth a lot more because of Nucon, then you will probably recover your money in the next 6 months if financials come out really green. However, this is a PINK SHEET stock and audited financials are not required/enforced.
Also, the end OS is a good thing of ending up being 22mil.
Not saying it won't run, cuz it probably will if MATTO is on it! Just saying to be careful (especially of pinks incorporated in Nevada). It could get ugly.
All of that being said, I'm really interested in what Will, Matto, and Superman7 believe it will do prior to the R/S, after the R/S, if any of them would consider holding through the R/S, and in what time frame do they expect huge profit potential from here (being as it already surpassed the .825 pre R/S minimum)? Normally they post the runners (and are really good at spotting these I might add!), but not a lot of commentary on the why. I'm kinda hoping for some commentary and insight from these guys for this one. Even if it's a PM, that's fine.
Thanks!
bowlegtroy, I dont want to buy the company, be friends with the company or be around for any kind of merger or r/s! I went in at .02 this week when it ran to .19. sold at .16= I see potential for us to make some really good green again!
This is why i do this, buy low sell high and don't get caught in thier mess that they create!lol I do not trust any of these for long holds not even for freebies anymore. I want to make a profit once or twice on the same one if there is potential! Great dd everyone,
-------------------- Trading is a blast!! Posts: 4921 | From: Rhode Island | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Company Profile NUCON is a US Corporation with executive and operations offices located in Moscow, Russia.
To accomplish its mission NUCON has:
Established alliances with Russian Federal government agencies responsible for the domestic and export nuclear industries.
Identified and entered into strategic relationships with companies, both Russian and foreign, which supply products and services to the Russian Federation government agencies responsible for the domestic and export nuclear markets.
Identified, acquired and applied innovative, proprietary technologies which have environmental and economic applications for Russian Federation, European and Asian markets.
NUCON has the present capability to provide product, technological and engineering support addressing a myriad of environmental, wastewater, power quality and radioactive waste challenges; these include compliance, shielding, transport and storage requirements, plant equipment protection, energy efficiency and development of techniques for a broad range of radioactive and toxic wastes.
NUCON also has extensive in-house expertise in all aspects of radiological protection and radiological waste management.
NUCON revenues commenced in the fourth quarter of 2005 and currently has 25,858,646 outstanding shares.
-------------------- Trading is a blast!! Posts: 4921 | From: Rhode Island | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Look what I found ab Mr. Valery *****ev .....He was he PLant manager at the nuclear power plant in russia in 1998...Then he was the deputy minister of energy dept in Russia for a while and he has been the CEO of this nuclear waste company for last few years.
Should visit Nucons website ...They have contracts with these monstor companies ....I have necer heard any public traded company ....esp...PINK!!!
NUCON Key Personnel:
Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO Prof. Valery *****ev, PhD Chief Operating Officer Alexander Stepanenko First Vice President and Secretary Peter Goerke Project Manager Andrey *****ev General Counsel J. Holt Smith, Esq.
Super-ceramics for nuclear waste Matthew L. Wald The New York Times Thursday, July 18, 2002 NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey While lawyers, senators and even an occasional geologist argue over whether Yucca Mountain in Nevada is a suitable place to store nuclear waste, scientific entrepreneurs are focusing on a finer detail: how the waste can be packaged to isolate it for 10,000 years. . The Senate's approval of Yucca on July 9 makes the question urgent. . So far, the U.S. Energy Department, which is in charge of Yucca, has chosen conventional materials; its current plan is for a cask made of steel alloyed with chrome, molybdenum and nickel, called alloy 22, and a titanium tent above that. The department says it needs 10,000 packages, and plans to spend about $500,000 a package, so the financial incentives are significant. But some scientists doubt that anything metal can sit for thousands of years without rusting in rock that has rainwater percolating through it. A few are offering alternatives, including recently developed ceramics and polymers. In a laboratory here at Rutgers University, a startup company, Nucon, is showing off a scale model made of an odd new ceramic. Ceramics are not known for strength, but this has the same compression strength as steel, Nucon says. Ceramics can be used as thermal insulators, but this one is cold to the touch, a sign that it conducts heat readily. This is desirable in a material that must isolate heat-generating waste that cannot be allowed to heat itself to the melting point. This ceramic has these unusual traits because it has exceptional density and has been baked in a process called cintering. . Cintering gives it another odd quality. Tapped with a metal pen, the model rings like a bell. The sound brings a smile to the face of the company's chief engineer, Adam Khizh, who came to this country from Russia nine years ago. "Perfect cintering," Khizh said. "The sound is very clear." . Nucon's material is a spinel, or magnesium-aluminum oxide. Oxidation (or, in plain English, rust) is the big worry at Yucca. But oxides do not rust; they have already oxidized. . So far, no one has cast ceramic containers large enough to hold bundles of spent nuclear fuel rods. Engineers at Nucon hope to do this, although its model is about the size of half a large watermelon. . Jared Cohon, chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, a panel established by Congress, said that early plans for Yucca had included a ceramic covering over the metal, and that this was dropped because engineers doubted that the covering could withstand rough handling. But a ceramic that could would be appealing, he said, because it would resist corrosion far better than metal. . Some ceramics experts are dubious. Delbert Day, a professor of ceramic engineering at the University of Missouri at Rolla, and a former president of the American Ceramic Society, said it might be simpler to protect the steel by encasing it in concrete. . Paige Russell, the Yucca project's technical lead for waste package design and testing, said that no final packaging decisions had been made and that the design of the containers so far was "conceptual." But for now, she said, the Energy Department has come down in favor of a material it knows better: metal. She said the project would probably choose proven rather than experimental materials. . "We have to understand the performance of the material over time," she said. "We have to understand the performance of the material in different environments, how to manufacture and fabricate the material. There are a lot of positives to using materials that are already known and have been used in industry." . Ceramics are used to stabilize high-level nuclear waste, but only as a matrix material, not as a wrapper. . For low-level wastes - as opposed to the high-level spent fuel that the department wants to bury at Yucca - the Energy Department is trying a new material, a polymer foam to bind up radioactive materials indefinitely. . But the big challenge is spent reactor fuel, which will remain intensely radioactive for centuries and has many components that policy-makers want to keep out of underground water for millennia. . The Energy Department's early plan was for ordinary steel, but it moved up to alloy 22 for better corrosion resistance. But alloy 22 is harder to weld than ordinary carbon steel, and welds, experts say, are where failure most often occurs. . The department's plan is for a "drip shield" of titanium over each container. The containers would be 6 to 7 feet in diameter, and about 16 feet long, to be parked in a line, filling the tunnel like subway cars. . Nucon sees instead giant, elongated watermelons made of ceramic, 18 feet long, with a wall 3 inches thick and an inner diameter of 5.5 feet. The ovoid shape is a way to reduce the risk of cracking the ceramic if it bangs into something; with rounded ends, the force of impact would be better distributed around the container. . Nucon believes it has made an important advance in being able to cast thick ceramics. Making a thick ceramic is a challenge because cintering requires even heating and cooling, increasingly difficult in thick structures. Nucon's solution is a combination of conventional thermal heating, plus microwave energy, which heats evenly.
-----------------------------------------------
Associated Press, 23 June 2002
Russia set to build nuclear dumpsite Arctic grounds can hold 55,000 tons of old sub fuel
Moscow - Russia will build a dumpsite on an Arctic archipelago to store spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned Northern Fleet submarines, a top nuclear official said Friday.
The dumpsite will be at the southern tip of Novaya Zemlya, which was used for nuclear tests during the Cold War, said Valery *****ev, Russia`s deputy nuclear power minister. The last explosion there was conducted October 1990.
State environmental experts have given approval for a burial ground that could hold 55,000 tons of nuclear waste and cost an estimated $70 million, *****ev said at a news conference.
*****ev said the project was vital for dismantling 190 decommissioned nuclear submarines, two-thirds of which are in the north.
Nuclear fuel has been removed from 97 submarines, officials have said, while others have languished dockside with nuclear fuel for as long as 15 years because of a shortage of funds for dismantling the vessels and storing the spent fuel.
The dismantling effort was estimated to cost from $2.5 billion to $3 billion. Some European Union nations have offered to provide funds for dismantling the submarines, but talks have been difficult because of Russia`s refusal to accept full legal responsibility for all nuclear risks, offer tax breaks and give Western inspectors unlimited access to all dismantling sites.
*****ev said the government would finance the construction of the burial ground on Novaya Zemlya. He said it wasn`t clear how long it would take to complete the project, but said that it could take from five to seven years to build the first part.
-----------------------------------------
Current Status, February 1998:
Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant
Plant Manager: Valery *****ev Chief Engineer: Yury V. Garusov Utility: Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant Telephone No.: 7-812-69-61397 Fax: 7-812-69-62518
Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant (LNPP) is located 80 km west of St. Petersburg on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the town of Sosnovy Bor. The plant operates the oldest RBMK-type reactors (Chernobyl type) in Russia.
LNPP is the only one in Russia which is not a part of Rosenergoatom Concern. The Concern is managing the remaining 8 Russian nuclear power plants. The "independence" of the plant does not mean social well-being. Last winter the plant was shaken by actions of protest organised by employees who did not get their salaries in time.
Having RBMK-type reactors in operation, the plant is suffering from the shortage of storage capacity for the spent fuel. RBMK-type reactor fuel is not a subject to reprocessing in Russia, thus it is stored in the onsite storage facility. The storage facility located on the bank of Finish Gulf is leaking. Attempts to increase its storage capacity by reducing the distance between each fuel channel have not solved the problem, on the contrary increasing the possibility of accidents.
Nevertheless, the management of the plant is not about to give up. As a result of the safety upgrade of the two eldest reactors funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the management hopes that the life-time of these two reactor installations could be prolonged by 10-15 years.
The construction of reactor installations of MKER-type which intend to replace the currently operational reactors have not begun yet. On the other hand, the construction works on the prototype of VVER-640 in Sosnovy Bor were launched last year in co- operation with German Siemens.
This month Current Status focuses on the last developments at the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, the plant of major safety concern in the Baltic region; the plant funded by the west to continue operation and threaten the north-western Europe for 15 years to come.
LNPP's priorities Having been screwed by lack of money, LNPP's management has defined a few priorities for funding. First of all, this is purchasing of nuclear fuel. The plant spends monthly some 9,2 million USD on this purposes. The second priority is the operational day-to-day needs of the reactors. The third one is the salary for the employees. The forth priority is all kinds of maintenance and repair works on the nuclear installations, while the fifth priority is upgrading and reconstruction of the nuclear power plant. The last two priorities have not received proper funding the last two years.
Economical situation The year 1996 was the hardest year for the LNPP so far. LNPP has some 7000 people employed and managed to produce 19,8 billion kWatt hours of electricity in 1996. The electricity was worth 500 million USD. However, the plant received only 0,9% cash of the money earned. This led to a social explosion in winter 1997. The employees organised a number of strikes, refusing to leave the reactor rooms after their shift was over. The crises was resolved by spring 1997. The plant involved itself into barter trade operations and saved the day... temporary. By the beginning of this year the plant managed to collect 4,5% in cash of the money earned. In the meantime, 5% required just to pay salaries to the employees. The management of the plant fears another crises looming this year: the problem of lacking cash has been aggravated by increased state taxation.
Life-time prolonged Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant has four RMBK-1000 reactor units in operation. The units were commissioned in 1973, 1975, 1979 and 1981 respectively. In 1989 the reconstruction of unit no.1 started. Two years later, in 1991, the reconstruction on unit no.2 was launched. The reconstruction of these first two units was finished in 1994-1995. Unit no.3 was under reconstruction from 1995 till 1996. But once again this unit was shut down for repairs last year. It has not been put back in operation yet. The whole set of works aimed at safety upgrade (reconstruction) was to be over by 1998. The lack of funding postponed the final span of upgrading till the year 2001. Nevertheless, the management of the plant has already stated on several occasions that the planned decommissioning of the two first reactor units will not occur in 2003 as it was defined when the plant was brought into operation. The management is confident that upon completion of all the safety upgrade works the plant will be able to continue its operation for 10-15 years beyond the year 2003.
The major part of "safety upgrade" works has been funded by the west. Thus, in 1996, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sponsored the plant with a gift of 37,2 million USD for safety upgrade programs. This was far not the only money injection LNPP received from the west. The G-7 countries, Finland and Norway have been active in granting money for safety works at LNPP.
Handling of RBMK-reactors spent fuel at LNPP The RBMK- reactors spent fuel is not a subject to reprocessing in Russia. Back in the Soviet Union it was planned to build a regional storage facility for spent fuel of this type by the end of 70-s. In the meantime the fuel was temporary stored in the cooling water pools by the reactor units. By the beginning of 80-s the pools were filled to capacity, while the regional storage facility was still on paper. So the Leningrad NPP had to build one for its own needs.
The storage facility built in the beginning of 80-s is located in 90 meters from the Gulf of Finland. By the end of 1996 the five storage ponds of the facility were filled to capacity prompting engineers of the plant to seek solutions. The solution was found later: the distance between each fuel assembly in the ponds will be halved, something that entails a further safety risk. The storage facility is in an extremely bad state of repair, with large cracks in the walls and roof. Rainwater runs in and contaminated water runs out. For the time-being some 2000 fuel assemblies have been placed there as a result of "tightening" operation, thus making the total number of more than 24 000 spent fuel assemblies. The required reserved space for emergency situations is lacking. Hence, in case of an accidental leakage in one of the ponds there would be no possibility to transfer the fuel in order to reduce the amount radioactivity leaking out.
The longer term solution to the problem has been worked out some two years ago. Engineers have developed a new type metal-concrete cask which is applicable both for intermediate dry storage (some 50 year) and transportation of spent nuclear fuel from RBMK-type reactors. A model of such a cask has passed preliminary tests. The final tests will be held soon at a test field of Design Bureau of Special Machine Building is St. Petersburg. Upon completion of the tests successfully the cask would have to get approval from State Nuclear Inspection of Russian Federation (GAN), and then launched for serial production. The RBMK reactors fuel, including the one from LNPP, will be stored in such casks. The storage site is still a matter of discussion. One of the proposed locations is Krasnoyarsk-26 in Siberia.
Plans for the new NPP in Sosnovy Bor The plans to start commissioning of new type MKER-800 reactors from the year 2003 are shelved. Leningrad NPP has "upgraded" safety of its RBMK-reactors and intends to live on it for 10-15 years. These years will not be wasted. The idea of constructing MKER is strong and living. The only problem is the lack of funding.
In the meantime, the construction of new generation prototype reactor of VVER-640 type was launched in Sosnovy Bor last year. To keep the construction within the frames of schedule the annual funding required amounts to some 250 million USD. In 1997, some 33 million USD were actually allocated. The reactor's primary function would be a demonstration to the potential buyers of the Russian nuclear engineering achievements.
Conclusion Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant is a bright example of the current Russian ways to keep on with the nuclear technology development. The point of the established approach is, having scarce funding, to put some patches here and there and state that safety standards are followed.
Back in 1992, the officials from Europe, the U.S., and Japan hammered out a three- stage, 10 billion USD plan to eventually shut down the worst reactors in the former USSR and Eastern Europe. Others were to be upgraded. The energy sector was to be restructured. The initiative was supported by 1992 July summit of G-7 nations in Munich. In case of implementation, it could mark the biggest technology transfer contemplated since Henry Ford built tractors for Joseph Stalin's Russia more than 60 years ago.
A part of the plan was carried out, indeed. The Soviet reactor installations were "upgraded" to certain safety standards. At the same time, the worst Soviet reactors would never be shut down. On the contrary, they will continue operation for 10-15 years to come, been upgraded by the west. The second sufficient part of the plan dealing with energy sector restructuring was shelved.
As a matter of fact, the situation is becoming more dangerous that it used to be in the Soviet times. At least at that time the NPPs were relatively new. Today, they are run down and out of operational life-time defined by the designers, screwed by social problems. Due to the fact that the construction of the new nuclear power plants is unlikely to happen, the world will face in the beginning of the next century 9 Russian patched nuclear power plants prone to the accidents at a scale higher than ever.
-------------------- This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Posts: 1206 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |