Fortum’s know-how is used to purify radioactive liquids in Fukushima
Espoo, Finland, 2012-03-15 10:15 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE 15 March
2012
The materials developed by Fortum to clean radioactive waste will be used in
the upcoming months to treat the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant’s radioactive
liquids in Japan.
Fortum is the key ion exchange media supplier to EnergySolutions LLC for a
project to decontaminate water from the damaged Nuclear Power Plant at
Fukushima. The radioactive liquid purification process used in the project will
use ion exchange materials developed by Fortum. Fortum will supply thousands of
kilos of ion exchange materials in granule form to EnergySolutions for the
purification process. Fortum has worked closely with EnergySolutions who have
been selected by Toshiba Corporation as the technology supplier for the
Project.
Fortum has over 20 years of experience in treating waste containing radioactive
impurities. Developed and registered by Fortum, CsTreat® and SrTreat®, the
highly selective ion exchange media, will be used in the system to treat the
Fukushima liquids which contain a lot of radioactive impurities.
Large volumes of radioactive liquids were generated, during efforts to
stabilize the damaged reactors, following the Fukushima nuclear power plant
accident in March 2011, and Fortum’s products suit perfectly for purifying
them. Since spring 2011, Fortum has offered assistance in the world’s biggest
operation to purify radioactive liquids. Already prior to the agreement signed
now, Fortum has supplied smaller commercial deliveries and test batches to
Fukushima.
”For Fortum, safety is the number-one priority in nuclear power operations and
in nuclear waste issues. For us, this has meant 30+ years of international
networking and sharing know-how with others in the sector. The project being
launched now is testimony to this. I am extremely proud that we can use
Fortum’s expertise in solving Fukushima’s difficult nuclear waste problem,”
says Matti Ruotsala, Executive Vice President, Power Division, Fortum.
Fortum Corporation
Corporate Communications
Additional information:
Heikki Andersson, Vice President, Power Solutions, Fortum, tel. +358 50 453 4092
NURES® product and ion exchange materials
NURES® is designed to remove caesium, strontium and cobalt especially from
large volumes of liquids that are particularly difficult to treat and which
would be very difficult or expensive to purify. NURES® product contains
extremely selective ion exchange materials CsTreat®, SrTreat® and CoTreat® to
absorb radioactivity; a very small amount of the materials are needed compared
to the volume of liquid to be purified. The purified liquid doesn’t contain any
harmful substances and the purified water can be released into a water system.
NURES® product significantly reduces the need for intermediate and final
disposal repository space for radioactive liquids. NURES® product and
CsTreat®, SrTreat® and CoTreat® materials have been sold around the world to
many different types of users.
Fortum
Fortum’s purpose is to create energy that improves life for present and future
generations. We provide sustainable solutions that fulfil the needs for low
emissions, resource-efficiency and energy security, and deliver excellent value
to our shareholders. Our activities cover the generation, distribution and
sales of electricity and heat as well as related expert services.
Fortum’s operations focus on the Nordic countries, Russia, Poland and the
Baltics. In the future, the integrating European and fast-growing Asian energy
markets provide additional growth opportunities. In 2011, Fortum’s sales
totalled EUR 6.2 billion and comparable operating profit was EUR 1.8 billion.
The Group employs approximately 10,800 people. Fortum’s shares are quoted on
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.
Additional information: www.fortum.com
EnergySolutions
EnergySolutions offers customers a full range of integrated services and
solutions, including nuclear operations, characterization, decommissioning,
decontamination, site closure, transportation, nuclear materials management,
processing, recycling, and disposition of nuclear waste, and research and
engineering services across the nuclear fuel cycle.
Additional information: www.energysolutions.com