Antarctica Radiological Source Removals - A Complex US-Russian Cooperative Effort

In order to meet the power requirements for scientific experiments in Antarctica during and after the Soviet era, the Soviet Antarctic Expedition (SAE) deployed radioisotopic thermoelectric generators (RTGs). The RTGs provided long term reliable autonomous power, using Strontium 90 as a radiological heat source (RHS). These RTGs have since exceeded their service life, and are no longer serviceable. However, the radiological heat sources (RHS) within the RTGs are still active and present a security risk, as well as a potential environmental hazard. As part of an international cooperative effort to recover the more than 800 Russian RTGs, it was decided to repatriate the RTGs from Antarctica back to the Russian Federation for disassembly and final disposition. Because most of the international and Russian laws were written for countries, and Antarctica is a continent with special international status under the Treaty of Antarctica, the legal preparation and obtaining the necessary licenses and permissions was exhaustive and complex. Moreover, approvals for ports of call and crossing territorial waters with equipment housing radiological material also presented numerous challenges. Of the remaining RTGs to be recovered one (1) was located far within the interior of Antarctica and had become buried deep into the ice pack. This required a special expedition consisting of trained subject matter experts from various Russian entities, and special technologies, such as ground penetrating radar, ice cutting equipment, and retrofitted vehicles to transport the RTG back to one of the coastal stations. The RTG was then loaded by helicopter onto a ship with the other RTGs. It was a true cost-sharing effort as the Russians provided the use of one of their ships to repatriate the RTGs back to Russia, while the US funded retrofits to the ship, training, equipment, disassembly and other related activities.