The Bellona Foundation is financed approximately 60% from private businesses through the Bellona Magazine, the Foundation has some income from member-fees and sales of information products, and the last three years Bellona has received contributions from the Foreign Ministry in Norway for some of the Foundation's work in Russia.
To document, and work towards the decrease of, dangerous emissions and hazardous waste from industrial sources. Working towards clean production and environmentally sound products.
Be an active participant in the Norwegian energy debate, especially towards the Norwegian oil and natural gas production. Study and promote renewable energy and alternative technological solutions to environmental problems.
To participate and initiate work on constructive solutions to problems related to different sources of energy. Thereunder nuclear waste challenges of storage and handling. Our aim is to provide background information for cost-efficient priorities for the decision makers.
The Bellona Foundation has since 1990 worked with sources of radioactive contamination in north-western Russia, starting with an action against the nuclear testing at Novaja Zemlja, this as a part of our work related to environmental problems in the Arctic. The work on radioactivity was partly presented in the report "Sources of radioactive contamination in the counties of Murmansk and Arkhangel'sk", written by Thomas Nilsen and Nils Bøhmer and published in Norwegian, Russian and English. The report gives a study of the Russian Northern Fleet's problems in connection with the clean-up after the cold war. In addition the situation on the Kola Nuclear Power Plant, the nuclear ice-breakers in Murmansk and the dumping of radioactive waste at sea are described. The report also discusses problems concerning testing of nuclear bombs on Novaya Zemlya, "peaceful" nuclear explosions in the region, transportation of used nuclear fuel, civil sources and future plans for use of nuclear energy.
The report was first presented in Russian on March 1, 1994. The report has laid the basis for new initiatives. Since then, more than 1.400 copies have been distributed in Russia, mainly to Russian environmental, radiological and military authorities. The English version is being referenced by institutions within the EU and US.
We would also emphasise our report "Reprocessing plants in Siberia", which present available information regarding the immense nuclear waste and pollution problem from the nuclear reprocessing facilities in the Arctic region.
In 1996, the foundation published an update of the report, focused solely on nuclear waste and other radiological problems pertaining to the Northern Fleet. As in the 1994 report, this is based on open sources and collated by us. Our Russian co-operators and staff members have conveyed non-classified material only. We have sought co-operation with Russian authorities wherever possible, whether military, industrial or civilian, for corrections and comments.
This work was strengthened by the initiative of now retired Governor Komarov, to establish a County administered Working Group to realise increased safety and environmental protection from nuclear sources in the County of Murmansk, where Bellona, the Northern Fleet and various institutions in the county participate. The mandate is to create and advise environmentally sound methods for handling of radioactive waste.
On Oct. 5 1995 this work was halted, when the Bellona office in Murmansk was raided by the Federal Security Bureau of the Russian Federation, the FSB (former KGB), confiscating computers, diskettes, cameras and other material.
On February 6, 1996, Bellona employee and co-author of the Northern Fleet report Alexandr Nikitin was arrested by the FSB. He was held in isolated detention until December 14 the same year. During the first month of imprisonment he was refused councel. The FSB charge of espionage still stands against him, and Nikitin may not leave St. Petersburg.
The Northern Fleet report, first published in draft form in connection with the G7+1 meeting in Moscow in April '96, was released in its final version on August 28 the same year. The report has been prohibited in Russia - by FSB order - since the confiscation of 1505 copies by St. Petersburg customs on October 18.
Lepse is a storage-ship, which is placed at the harbour of Murmansk, filled with used nuclear fuel rods. The ship is in a severe condition, and may sink at the harbour if not improved. Bellona has for some time worked with Murmansk Shipping Company and governmental representatives to find a sustainable solution to this problem. In October 1994, the Bellona Foundation and Murmansk Shipping Company arranged a conference onboard the nuclear icebreaker "Sibir". Attending was amongst others the former European Union Commissioner Ioannis Paleokrassas and representatives from the Northern Fleet. The conference made an important step in bringing the European Union into the solving of these problems. The Bellona Foundation has been coordinating parts of this work.