News

: 14 July 2017

Radioactive Waste Management Fund

On July 11, 2017 The Verkhovna Rada adopted a package of draft laws to restore targeted financing and use of the State Radioactive Waste Management Fund (RAW), which will restore its cumulative status and finance the implementation of the state program for utilization of such waste.

In particular, 231 people's deputies (226 votes were required) voted for the adoption of draft law No. 6435 "On Amendments to Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine" On the Management of Radioactive Waste to Improve the Mechanism of Funding the Activities related to the Radioactive Waste Management".

Ivan Rybak, people's deputy, representative of the parliamentary subcommittee on environmental policy, nature management and elimination of the Chornobyl accident consequences, noted that it should be possible by 2019 to move fully to financing of RAW management activities from the budget of the Fund. The funds will be used for the development of the radioactive waste management system, the construction of long-term storage facilities and scientific research.

Deputies also adopted draft law No. 6436 "On Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine on the Improvement of the Mechanism of Financial Support for Radioactive Waste Management".

Vitaly Petruk, Chairman of the State Agency for Exclusion Zone Management, noted that the adoption of these draft laws will restore the accumulative status of the fund, that means, money in the fund will accumulate from year to year (on condition of limited use), to provide funding for the construction of very expensive storage facilities or other units.

The situation with the fund was commented on by Igor Gramotkin, General Director of the Chornobyl NPP: "What opportunities does the RAW fund give us? Contributions to the fund will be made both by enterprises that produce radioactive waste, and Ukraine. The Fund will provide funding for RAW management and ChNPP decommissioning projects. This means that we are moving away from direct budget funding. The RAW Fund will be an accumulative fund, which means that we will be able to plan our activities for several years ahead, instead of annual planning, as was the case during direct budget financing".

: 14 July 2017

One more step has been taken in the implementation of ISF-2 Construction Project

As of July 12, general construction works have been completed at the Interim Storage Facility (ISF-2). The tower crane has already been dismantled, which will enable the completion of activities related to the improvement of the territory in the near future. Finishing works in most of premises have also been completed. The works on equipment installation are now coming to an end.

Commissioning works are intensively continuing in the building of the Spent Fuel Processing Facility (SFPF). Tests of ISF-2 equipment and systems are proceeding at full throttle. Individual tests have been competed and the relevant documents have been issued for acceptance of approximately 15% of the total number of equipment after individual tests. 9 out of 24 load-lifting mechanisms have been tested under load. The state labour inspectorate issued permissions of operation of 8 load-lifting mechanisms.

Autonomous tests of the automated systems equipment have been performed, in particular, equipment of the Automatic Radiation Monitoring System (ARMS) and the Nuclear Materials Control and Accounting System (NMC&AS). Comprehensive tests of the NMC&AS have also been completed. Autonomous tests of equipment of the radiation monitoring system and the physical protection system are in progress. The complex test has been completed and documents for the acceptance of the compressed air preparation and supply system have been issued.

The Assembly of Chernobyl Shelter Fund contributors and Nuclear Safety Account donors is held in London

The Assembly of Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) contributors and Nuclear Safety Account (NSA) donors is held at the London Headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 5 July through 7 July.

Members of the Ukrainian delegations have informed that participants of the Assembly of CSF contributors highlighted fulfilling all financial and organizational actions on implementing the Shelter Implementation Plan according to the approved plan and schedule. The Assembly approved the financing for developing a technical part of the design to dismantle unstable structures of the Shelter Object over which the New Safe Confinement (the Arch) was installed in November 2016. Besides, the Assembly also agreed to allocate funds to procure the required equipment for performing these works and dismantling the Shelter Object's unstable structures.

It is an important decision for Ukraine that yet again demonstrates the support to Ukraine from the international community in overcoming consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

The next Assembly of CSF contributors and NSA donors will be held in December 2017 in Ukraine, at the Chernobyl NPP site. According to the schedule, the NSC acceptance for operation is planned for that time.

: 29 June 2017

As for the cyber attack

As of 27.06.2017 due to the cyber attack: the SSE ChNPP's official website was not accessible, servers for controlling the local area network and auxiliary systems of SSE ChNPP information resources (mail server, file-sharing servers, Internet resources' access server, electronic document flow system server) were switched off. There was partial failure in operation of personal computers of workplaces of operators of individual radiation monitoring systems without loss of the control function as a whole.

From the time of the attack the compensation measures to monitor radiation situation of the ChNPP industrial site have been developed and are under implementation. The monitoring is performed by the instruments. Changes in the radiation situation parameters have not been recorded. The control levels are not exceeded.

At the moment (29.06.2017) all other technological systems, including the Integrated Automated Monitoring System of Shelter Object (IASK), Integrated Shelter Database (ISDB), Module «Karma» - operational account of personnel radiation doses, personnel access control system to ChNPP (SKDP), and other technological systems are operated in routine regime.

Operation of the website and servers, main and auxiliary services has been restarted; the Internet access was resumed. Testing and performance restoration of information systems and personnel workplaces are underway.

: 21 June 2017

The government reviewed and agreed the amendments to the National Programme for Chornobyl NPP Decommissioning

On June 21, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reviewed and agreed the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the National Programme for Decommissioning of the Chornobyl NPP and Transformation of the Shelter Object into an Environmentally Safe System", which provides for implementation and funding of the relevant activities during subsequent years and budgetary financing of the relevant activities until 2020.

"In view of the recommendations of parliamentary hearings of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine over recent years, which constantly emphasized the need to update the National Programme, we developed amendments to the Programme that should be approved in order to implement the main measures for decommissioning of the Chornobyl NPP and transformation of the Shelter Object into an ecologically safe system. The fulfillment of these tasks will ensure the national security of Ukraine and will allow creating conditions for the protection of future generations from the effects of ionizing radiation and radioactive substances" — commented Vitaliy Petruk, chairman of the State Agency for the Exclusion Zone Management.

According to him, the updated National Programme will create legal grounds for further development and possibilities to fulfill the following key activities by 2020: