Finnish press: Russia is going to resume the installation of beacons with nuclear fuel in the north of the country

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The Finnish publication Talouselämä reports that it has information that Russia allegedly intends to resume a program to install so-called "nuclear beacons" in the north of the country. At one time, they were used in the Soviet Union to provide navigation in the northwestern latitudes, where, due to harsh conditions, it was difficult to ensure the operation of conventional lighthouses.

Nuclear lighthouses were equipped with Beta-M radioactive thermoelectric generators operating on the strontium-90 isotope. Due to the high heat transfer of the isotope, a current was generated in the lighting device, which ensured the year-round operation of the lighthouses in an autonomous mode. According to Megaprojects, more than a thousand lighthouses operating on the Beta-M generator were installed in the USSR until the beginning of the 90s of the last century in the north and in the Baltic Sea.



There were dozens of such lighthouses on the coast of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

- said the Finnish professor of nuclear engineering Juhani Hyuvarinen.

After the collapse of the USSR in the early 90s, the program for the development of “nuclear navigation” was suspended, some of the equipment of the lighthouses was dismantled, and some, according to Hyuvarinen, were simply stolen in the post-Soviet confusion. The professor suggests that people were attracted by the fact that the lighthouses are constantly heated, they were dismantled and the fuel rods were taken away for heating, not realizing how dangerous it was.

And so they died

- I briefly summarize the fate of the Hyvarinen thieves.

The publication reports that some of these lighthouses are still operating in the north of Russia and at least one is located just a kilometer from the Norwegian border.

Megaprojects reports that in 2016 Russia allegedly set out to resume the program for the development of "nuclear navigation". For this, a new type of nuclear beacons was developed, in which it was planned to use the nickel-90 isotope instead of strontium-63. Unlike strontium, nickel rods are safer as they don't emit deadly gamma radiation.

However, according to the authors of the article, there is a risk that the equipment of such a beacon will be stolen. And then from radioactive elements, if they fall into "the wrong hands", it is quite possible to create a "dirty nuclear bomb", Finnish experts are sure.

For information. Russian scientists in 2016 announced the creation of a prototype battery operating on the nickel-63 isotope. The declared period of its uninterrupted operation is 50 years, the half-life of nickel-63 is 100 years. According to the authors, the invention has a wide range of applications: from medical equipment to spacecraft for deep space exploration. Scientists emphasize that nickel-63 is characterized by the so-called "soft" radiation that does not harm a living organism. At present, Rosatom is developing advanced nuclear isotope-based batteries, and such projects are underway in the United States.

This is how legends about “dangerous and treacherous Russians” are born in the West, in which the local public willingly believes. At the same time, the real danger associated with the shelling of the Zaporizhzhya NPP carried out by Ukrainian troops, as well as with terrorist attacks against the power lines of the Kursk NPP, for some reason does not bother Finnish experts.
  • Alexander Grigoryev
  • https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Маяк_в_Кашкаранцах.jpg
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42 comments
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  1. +29
    17 August 2022 09: 44
    The publication reports that some of these lighthouses are still operating in the north of Russia and at least one is located just a kilometer from the Norwegian border.
    And what's wrong with that?
    If the enemy does not like it, then we are doing everything right.
    1. +5
      17 August 2022 10: 00
      Finns, what is it that worries you so much? If you don’t argue with NATO, then no one will steal ... Unless from Limpopo ...
      1. 0
        17 August 2022 10: 31
        Finns ... If you don’t argue with NATO, then no one will steal

        Duck, you don't understand. The Finns mean polar bears and walruses, which can encroach on lighthouses, mistaking them for red fish ... That’s where all the fears come from ... Bears and walruses are a pity ... And the Russians, they don’t care, you can’t get through them, except perhaps by joining NATO .. ​​Here the Finns are marching in a slender column to annoy these damned Russians ..
        1. 0
          17 August 2022 13: 06
          Yes, it's just an attention grabber. The main thing in the headlines of the newspapers is "Atomic Lighthouse" and that's it, hamsters will not read further or the first couple of paragraphs where there will be a "deep and expert" opinion and details why. And here comes another myth.
  2. +6
    17 August 2022 09: 44
    Allusion to "if it rains, there will be an accident at the lighthouse" laughing laughing laughing
  3. +18
    17 August 2022 09: 45
    Why did you poison your neighbors?
    - So in the store they told me that cockroaches should be poisoned along with the neighbors.
    )))))
  4. +11
    17 August 2022 09: 47
    If Erdogan nevertheless allows you to enter NATO, they will set up other "beacons" for you there, God forgive me!
    1. +6
      17 August 2022 09: 51
      By the Netherlands lol
    2. +2
      17 August 2022 09: 57
      Quote: impostor
      they will set up other "beacons" for you there, God forgive me!

      They will not ask which beacons to put, atomic or acetylene.
      1. +7
        17 August 2022 10: 15
        When I lived in Murmansk, there was the only case in the 90s. They even showed it on TV. there is no power supply unit. practice, sailed to the island, dismantled the unit, and then they had a question about how it works. They grunted for courage and started disassembling. Something started to get worse, guessed from what. the boat was found in the Kola Bay. A conversation was held on TV, no one else touched the lighthouses.
        1. +2
          17 August 2022 10: 37
          Quote: tralflot1832
          dismantled the block and then they had a question how it works.

          If one person has collected something, then the other will always be able to disassemble it! ..
        2. 0
          17 August 2022 18: 32
          Corpses do not swell from radiation. wink
          1. 0
            17 August 2022 18: 51
            They didn’t show the corpse from humane purposes, they took their word for it.
        3. +1
          22 August 2022 13: 19
          A similar case was: Incident with RTG, Georgia, Tsalenjikha region, 2001.
          Three superminds decided to tear apart a couple of RTGs, in my opinion from a former radio beacon.
          They removed the protection, loaded it into a GAZ-66 and drove it. On the way, the highlanders became very unwell. Of the three, one was lucky, got off with outpatient treatment. The second fried, but it took a year and several operations, survived. But he probably didn't live long.
          And the third suffered so much that the poor fellow just slowly rotted alive and died of sepsis.
          Radiation is a tricky thing. It does not appear immediately even with a severe lesion. Doesn't kill instantly.
          I read a report on this case, according to my IAEA, in English, not everything is clear verbatim, but with photographs of how those two were treated. The network has. It's better to read this on an empty stomach...
  5. +11
    17 August 2022 09: 51
    In, bilad, a discovery was made. In Novaya Zemlya, we also had automatic weather stations with such units. For a long time already the habit of atomic tanning should have been developed, why howl?!!
    1. 0
      22 August 2022 13: 04
      There are so many atoms on Novaya Zemlya that lighthouses are useless))
  6. +11
    17 August 2022 09: 51
    and Fukushima is not interested in this yuhani ?? otherwise they both poured into the Pacific Ocean and poured ... and no green pis, which is typical ...
  7. +2
    17 August 2022 09: 57
    after the Finns joined NATO, the opinion of their scientists is of no interest to anyone. cut off all contact with them
    1. +2
      17 August 2022 10: 23
      But what about conversations, in the style of "do you respect me?".
      1. 0
        17 August 2022 11: 50
        I don't think it's about Finns
  8. +3
    17 August 2022 10: 00
    Chukhons become plugs, all holes! (((
    1. 0
      17 August 2022 10: 55
      Quote: Sergey39
      Chukhons become plugs, all holes!

      "Small bug, but smelly!"
  9. +2
    17 August 2022 10: 02
    The professor suggests that people were attracted by the fact that the lighthouses are constantly heated, they were dismantled and the fuel rods were taken away for heating

    They were sawn, expecting to find copper and aluminum inside. And yes, with this approach, it doesn’t really matter whether the gamma radiates there or the “soft” beta, the fur-bearing animal will come anyway.
  10. +1
    17 August 2022 10: 02
    This is how legends about “dangerous and treacherous Russians” are born in the West, in which the local public willingly believes.
    Everything is logical ... there the Nazis of the ZNPP are smashing, but the "evil Russians" will be to blame.
  11. +4
    17 August 2022 10: 03
    On my own territory, I turn what I want ... Free!
  12. 0
    17 August 2022 10: 15
    ... Finnish experts for some reason do not care

    They've been well dressed up. They don't have much to worry about now. And, it is very long.
  13. +2
    17 August 2022 10: 20
    people were attracted by the fact that the lighthouses were constantly heated, they were dismantled and the fuel rods were taken away for heating, not realizing how dangerous it was. And so they died

    Did they get a Darwin Award?
  14. +1
    17 August 2022 10: 20
    it is not clear if these lighthouses have been standing for the last 30 years, then what will be wrong with them now? Americans all over the world are waving a nuclear club - and silence .. And then they suddenly panicked
  15. 0
    17 August 2022 10: 32
    I heard about autonomous lighthouses in the north. But about the Baltic for the first time. In the north, this makes some sense. Why should Finam be sad? They then to the northern sea route in no way.
  16. GNM
    +3
    17 August 2022 10: 33
    ... people were attracted by the fact that the lighthouses were constantly heated, they were dismantled and the fuel rods were taken away for heating, not realizing how dangerous it was ...




  17. 0
    17 August 2022 10: 33
    Let them say thank you that they did not install combat lasers on the lighthouses, although ...
  18. 0
    17 August 2022 10: 36
    Maybe the meaning is somewhat different? Maybe the point is that they decided not to put their eggs in one basket (with satellite navigation), but decided to restore the damaged and abandoned system?
  19. The comment was deleted.
  20. 0
    17 August 2022 10: 59
    And so they died
    warm, happy, smiling...
    just like from a novel ... almost "Stalker IV".
    1. +1
      17 August 2022 19: 40
      Harry Harrison has written a pretty good sci-fi story that revolves around a malfunction of an atomic-powered lighthouse. Harry Harrison. Repairman (The Repairman (1958)).
  21. 0
    17 August 2022 11: 41
    And what, Russia should ask permission from this lousy professor ... or from NATO?
  22. 0
    17 August 2022 12: 11
    What's in the "bottom line": the "Finnish press" is very much interested in the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route.
    Question: how does this relate to joining NATO? What do you think? BUT?
  23. 0
    17 August 2022 17: 48
    Punish Finland with all the measures you can take now that might irritate them.
    1. 0
      17 August 2022 21: 28
      Could be punished. Only laziness.
  24. -1
    18 August 2022 06: 17
    It was always not clear to me why, as soon as Russia does something for the benefit of its people, a howl always rises
  25. 0
    19 August 2022 13: 38
    Probably along the Finnish border and arrange dumps of nuclear trash, if the wind blows towards them.
    1. 0
      22 August 2022 13: 08
      There are more than enough such dumps on the Kola Peninsula. One story on Andreev's lip is worth something ...
  26. 0
    23 August 2022 11: 37
    They stole the rods because they attracted with warmth, and then they died ... If such idiots live among the Scandinavians, then why spread this lie to the citizens of the Russian Federation? It sounds like a stupid popular cranberry horror story ... All according to "secret documents"!

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