Norway and Finland will remove radioactive batteries from lighthouse lanterns in the Baltic Sea

Norway and Finland signed an agreement today on cooperation with Russia on removing radioactive batteries from lighthouse lanterns in the Baltic Sea and replacing them with environmentally friendly solar power units.

“Strontium batteries in lighthouse lanterns along the Russian coast pose a hazard to health and the environment, and are also a potential security threat. It is therefore important that Norway and Finland are now cooperating with Russia on solving this problem,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Foreign Minister Støre and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb signed a Memorandum of Understanding today in Helsinki in which the parties undertake to cooperate on removing radioactive strontium batteries from 71 Russian lighthouse lanterns in the Baltic Sea. Russia and France will remove the remaining 16. Norway will contribute NOK 47 million (around EUR 5.6 million), and Finland NOK 12.5 million (around EUR 1.5 million) to the project.  

“This cooperation on lighthouse lanterns in the Baltic Sea is part of the successful cooperation between Norway and Russia in the field of nuclear safety, which has achieved substantial results. Norway removed the last of a total of 180 strontium batteries in northwestern Russia in September.  I am therefore pleased that the cooperation with Russia in this field is now being continued in the Baltic Sea and that Finland is contributing to the project,” said Mr Støre. 

The County Governor of Finnmark is project manager on the Norwegian side.