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    On July 29, a contract was singed for civil works related to New Safe Confinement facility (NSC). Commissioning Stage 2 (CS-2). Dismantling the unstable structures of the SSE ChNPP Shelter in terms of “early” dismantling. The signatories are the SSE Chornobyl NPP and Ukrbudmontazh who became an awardee as the result of auction held at Prozorro platform.

    In November 2016, New Safe Confinement covered Shelter facility – one of the most powerful symbols of Chornobyl NPP. The surveys and expert evaluations, held within the whole period of Shelter existence, have revealed the structures the probability of whose collapse is very high. Following the stabilization actions taken in 2008 the maximum end-of-service-life deadline of the stabilized structures was specified as late 2023.

    As per Shelter Implementation Plan the dismantling of these unstable building structures (so called early dismantling) is to be commenced following the NSC takeover for operation and to be completed by the end of 2023.

    On July 24, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine amended "The Grant Agreement (Chornobyl Nuclear Safety Project) between EBRD, Cabinet of Ministers and State Nuclear Regulatory Committee of Ukraine" dated 8 July, 2009.

    Amendment will increase the amount of financing by the European Bank for the licensing process for commissioning of the new ChNPP Spent Nuclear Fuel Dry Storage Facility (ISF-2).

    The Amendment will promote:
    1. ISF-2 construction completion in line with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation and international standards.
    2. Ensuring the facility commissioning taking into account best international practice and international experience.
    3. Decreasing of the burden on the Ukrainian budget by financing of a technical assessment of documents justifying ISF-2 safety from international assistance funds.

    On July 8, the industrial operation of the Liquid Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant (LRTP) was resumed. For a week of operation in this mode, 34 packages of end product were prepared at the plant. After 28 days of holding, the RAW packages will be transferred for disposal at the engineered near-surface disposal facility for solid radioactive waste.

    The start of producing the end product became available since the LRTP received the cement of required brand manufactured by Ukrainian enterprise “Dniprotsement”. It had passed pre-testing and meets the required process conditions completely.

    On July 4, the first batch of cement (50 tones) was delivered to the industrial site of ChNPP. The batch passed receiving inspection, and already on July 8, the processing line at LRTP was launched and immobilization of the evaporated concentrate was started.

    A final meeting of the Assembly of Chornobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) Contributors and a regular meeting of the Assembly of the Nuclear Safety Account (NSA) Donors took place in Kyiv on July 9, 2019. The Ukrainian delegation at these Assemblies was represented by the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ostap Semerak, Head of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management (SAUEZM) Vitalii Petruk, Acting Director General of the State Specialized Enterprise “Chornobyl NPP” Serhii Kalashnyk, and Chairman of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) Hryhorii Plachkov.

    At the Assemblies the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) presented updates on the work progress under the Shelter Implementation Plan including the construction projects on the New Safe Confinement (NSC) and the Interim Spent Fuel Dry Storage Facility (ISF-2).

    On July 10, in the Exclusion Zone the NSC was officially handed-over from JV NOVARKA, i.e. the General Contractor of this huge project, to the Client, i.e. the SSE “Chornobyl NPP”. The event was attended by the country's top leadership, representatives of the CSF’s donor-countries, officials of the EBRD, management and representatives of the SNRIU, SAUEZM, SSE ChNPP and NOVARKA.

    On 2-3 July 2019 a workshop reviewing results of ChNPP Cooling Pond decommissioning was held under IAEA support at the Institute of Hydrobiology of NAS of Ukraine and at the ChNPP industrial site, with experts from Ukraine, Japan and Great Britain participating in the discussion.

    The workshop has reviewed the results of surveys performed by Institute of Hydrobiology and Agricultural Radiology of NAS of Ukraine, Ukrainian Hydrometeorological institute and other scientific and research organizations of Ukraine. Experts once and again focused attention on the importance of accuracy of the monitoring performed by ChNPP specialists under the Cooling Pond Decommissioning Project.

    According to Fedir Lanskykh, the Leading Engineer of ChNPP Strategic Planning Department, most of the workshop participants have agreed about the necessity to carry on surveying the processes taking place in the Cooling Pond now when it's reached the design level of water and is in the decommissioned status, and in the future. This activity is of great scientific importance, since until these days there is no experience and scientifically confirmed data in the world practice on the decommissioning of engineering ponds of such dimensions, particularly in a situation when its water area and surrounding territories are contaminated with radionuclides.

    1. Cooperation with Belgium: RCEM decontamination
    2. FORATOM Delegation Visits ChNPP
    3. Sharing Experience of Ion-Exchanging Resin Sampling
    4. A message about explosive device (UPDATED)

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