無視福島核災的教訓和石油外洩的風險，俄國政府正在籌備一項核能新設施，打造海上核電廠。新的做法是，萬一發生核災，便將核物料丟入海裡。
俄國政府的第一台海上核電廠，根據Baltiskii Zavod船廠總經理Aleksandr Voznesenskii本月在聖彼得堡第六屆國際海軍展上的說法，將會在2016年啟用。Voznesenskii說，「羅蒙諾索夫院士」海上核電廠將是第一座能夠提供俄國偏遠地區能源、暖氣和水的船艦。並且類似功能的海上核電廠將在不久的將來陸續量產。
俄國媒體推測，此海上核電廠將首先用於俄羅斯偏遠的東北部北極地區和遠東地區，這些地區長久以來因為缺乏能源而發展緩慢。
「羅蒙諾索夫院士」海上核電廠的技術基礎來自蘇聯的核動力破冰船。每台21,000噸船隻將有兩個「改良式艦艇推進反應爐」，提供高達70百萬瓦的電能或300百萬瓦的暖氣，足以供給一個人口200,000的城市。此外，海上核電廠還有海水淡化的功能，每天可供給240,000立方公尺的淡水。
可能有人已經想起蘇聯時代的核動力破冰船釋放放射性物質到環境中的事件。蘇聯的第一艘核動力破冰船列寧號於1957年啟航，以三個OK-150反應爐供應動力。1965年二月發生冷卻液漏失的意外，二號反應爐內部分燃料融化或變形。清除和放置殘骸就花了兩年的時間，這些殘骸隨後被丟入Novaia Zemlia附近的Tsivolki灣。重新填入燃料後不久即發生第二次意外，這次是冷卻系統滲漏。這對蘇聯北極地區的環境絕非好事。
「羅蒙諾索夫院士」有兩個改良式KLT-40反應爐，但是沒有引擎，因此必須先在造船廠大規模興建完成後，再被拖到供應城市、鄉鎮或工業區附近的海域。
Baltiskii Zavod船公司強調，「羅蒙諾索夫院士」和往後的機種都有嚴謹的安全設計，已排除所有可能的風險，核子反應爐不會受到海嘯和其他天然災害的威脅。船公司也宣稱，「羅蒙諾索夫院士」達到國際原子能機構的所有要求，不會對環境造成傷害。
船公司表示，包括中國、印尼、馬來西亞、阿爾及利亞、納米比亞和阿根廷等15國都對採購海上核電廠表示興趣。
俄國政府對海上核電廠還有一個期望，就是透過供應核電力給北極和遠東地區，讓更多的石油和天然氣得以出口，幫俄國政府增加收入。
不過，拖繩會斷、船會沉，北極的氣候環境更是難以預料。海洋是全人類共同的資產，國際社會應對這個計畫表達更多關切。
So much for the lessons of Fukushima. Never mind oil spills, the Russian Federation is preparing an energy initiative that, if it has problems, will inject nuclear material into the maritime environment.
The Russian Federation's first floating nuclear power plant "should be operational by 2016," Baltiskii Zavod shipyard General Director Aleksandr Voznesenskii told reporters earlier this month at the 6th International Naval Show in St. Petersburg, where the shipbuilding complex is located.
According to Voznesenskii, the "Academician Lomonosov" FNPP will be the first vessel belonging to the new line of floating nuclear power plants that can provide energy, heat and water to remote and arid areas of the country. Mass production of similar floating nuclear power plants is scheduled for the near future.
The "Academician Lomonosov's" technology is based on the USSR's construction of nuclear-powered icebreakers.
The Russian media is speculating that the floating nuclear power plants will first be used in remote areas of the northeastern Arctic Russia and the Far East, as these regions currently suffer from a lack of energy, slowing their development.
Each 21,000 ton vessel will have two "modified KLT-40 naval propulsion reactors" that will provide up to 70 megawatts of electricity or 300 megawatts of heat, sufficient for a city with a population of 200,000 people.
Additionally, the floating nuclear power plants can provide water desalination services capable of supplying up to 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day.
Those with historical memories will recall accidents with a Soviet-era nuclear icebreaker that released radioactivity into the environment.
Launched in 1957, the "Lenin," the USSR's first nuclear powered icebreaker, was powered by three OK-150 reactors. In February 1965, there was a loss of coolant incident, and some of the fuel elements melted or deformed inside reactor number two. The debris was removed and stored for two years, and subsequently dumped in Tsivolki Bay near Novaia Zemlia.
The second accident was a cooling system leak, which occurred in 1967, shortly after refueling.
Not a reassuring development for the Soviet Arctic environment.
The vessel is equipped with two modified KLT-40 reactors but has no engines, so it needs to be towed into place. The floating nuclear power stations are to be mass-built at shipbuilding facilities and then towed to a destination point in coastal waters near a city, town or industrial enterprise
The Baltiskii Zavod shipyard stresses that The "Academician Lomonosov" and its successors are all designed with a safety margin exceeding all possible threats, which makes their nuclear reactors invulnerable to tsunamis and other natural disasters. They shipyard claims the ships meet all the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency and do not pose a threat to the environment.
The shipyard states that 15 nations, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Algeria, Namibia and Argentina have expressed interest in buying floating nuclear power plants.
An added benefit of the FNPP as envisaged in Moscow is that the provision of nuclear power to the Arctic and Far East will free up more oil and natural gas for foreign export, allowing the Russian Federation to generate additional hard currency.
But tow cables snap, Arctic conditions can be unpredictable, ships sink. As the ocean is the common heritage of humanity, perhaps the international community might evince more interest in this project.
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