Maksym Protsenko, Head of the Engineering Centre at the Chornobyl NPP, has returned from a large-scale international intensive course on modern approaches and technologies for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The training was organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with the Slovak Government (JAVYS).

    The global nuclear industry is constantly evolving, and the number of nuclear facilities entering the decommissioning phase is growing. For the Chornobyl NPP, this process is a reality that requires the use of state-of-the-art technologies and the highest level of expertise among staff.

    The training lasted two weeks and consisted of two modules: a theoretical module at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna (Austria) and a practical module in Trnava at operational sites in Slovakia.

    What did they study and practise?

    • Innovations in planning: the use of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to select the safest and most cost-effective decommissioning scenarios.
    • Cost estimation: Calculation of decommissioning project budgets in accordance with the International Standardised Decommissioning Costing (ISDC) framework and using specialised IAEA tools (PREDECO, as a classification system or matrix of criteria for assessing risks and safety during dismantling operations).
    • Equipment dismantling: Particular attention was paid to analysing the unique experience of our Slovak colleagues in the decontamination and fragmentation of large-scale equipment – in particular, steam generators at the Bohunice NPP units.
    • Waste management: Leading European approaches to the characterisation, packaging, transport and disposal of radioactive waste, as well as procedures for the final release of sites from regulatory control.

    Participants also had the opportunity to practise their radiation monitoring skills at the IAEA laboratories in Seibersdorf and undertook technical visits to the Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant and the National Radioactive Waste Repository in Mokhovce.

    "International experience, particularly regarding the safe dismantling of non-standard, large-scale equipment and the financial modelling of processes, is extremely relevant to our organisation. The theoretical knowledge gained, as well as the practical experience (in particular that of JAVYS) acquired during technical visits to the IAEA laboratories in Seibersdorf, to the Bohunice NPP site and to the National Radioactive Waste Repository in Mokhovce, will enable us in future to effectively adapt international practices to optimise the decommissioning processes for Units 1, 2 and 3 of the Chornobyl NPP. “Continuous development and international cooperation are the key to the safe and effective fulfilment of our strategic objectives,” said Maksym Protsenko.

    The second of four stages of the Chornobyl NPP’s decommissioning is currently underway, involving the final closure and decommissioning of the reactor units at Power Units Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

    To date, the plant’s staff are preparing the premises in the conservation zones of the first-stage power units at the Chornobyl NPP: 94% of the physical work has already been completed on Power Unit No. 2, and 44% on Power Unit No. 1.

    The Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station, which is the city’s main employer in Slavutych, is offering the town’s young people the opportunity to find out more about careers related to working at the CHNPP and to see what it is like from the inside. The career guidance events will be held as part of a recently signed Memorandum of Cooperation between the Chornobyl NPP and the Department of Education and Science of the Slavutych City Council.

    On 24 August, Independence Day of Ukraine, the sixth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen took place in Kyiv, organised on the initiative of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska. Representing the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station at the event was Lyudmyla Kozak, a physical security engineer, who worked at the station for 26 days in February–March 2022 under russian occupation.

    From July 27 to 31, 2026, a technical meeting on the application of IAEA safeguards at the facilities of SSE Chornobyl NPP and the Centralised Spent Fuel Storage Facility (CSFSF) was held in Vienna, Austria. The event was organized by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) and the U.S. Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) within the framework of the International Nuclear Safeguards Engagement Program (INSEP).

    As more and more nuclear facilities around the world enter to the phase of final shutdown and move to the stage of decommissioning, it is important to gain experience in effective and transparent interaction with stakeholders: local communities, regional organizations and society as a whole.

    This was stated by the participants of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Meeting on the stakeholders involvement in the process of Nuclear Facilities Decommissioning, which took place from 20 to 24 July 2026 in the IAEA headquarters in Vienna (Austria). Denys Khomenko, SSE ChNPP Deputy Technical Director (for Operation), presented the Chornobyl plant at the event.

    Nearest Events

    September 26, 1977 – the first power unit of Chornobyl NPP commissioned
    October 1, 1986 – Power Unit 1 post-accident re-commissioning

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