A Kick-off Meeting under the Contract No.2015/365-776 “Creation of facility for release of materials from regulatory control at ChNPP”, being funded by the European Commission and implemented within the frame of the EC Project U4.01/11Е, was held on 4th February at the Chernobyl NPP.
Within this Contract it is expected to supply to the Chernobyl NPP site the entire list of equipment and software from a stationary gamma-spectrometry measuring system and mobile measuring devices to an operator’s cabin, bar code systems, radio stations and all the items needed for full operation. Beside that the Contract provides for the equipment installation, acceptance tests, certification, licensing and commissioning, as well as training of the ChNPP personnel who will operate the facility.
The participants from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Great Britain and Ukraine representing such companies as DEVCO Unit B5 (EC), JRC (Joint Research Center, EC), JSO (Joint Support Office, EC), VF a.s. and Ukratominstruments Corporation jointly with the Chernobyl NPP representatives discussed the project organizational chart, delivery dates, technical and communication issues.
FYI:
Large amount of radioactive waste was generated at the Chernobyl NPP as a result of 1986 accident. Additional volumes of radioactive waste are expected to be generated in the nearest future due to decommissioning of the ChNPP, nuclear facilities of other nuclear power plants, as well as a result of activities on clean-up of radioactively contaminated territories.
In such case there is a quite wide range of materials and equipment with low levels of radioactive contamination. Implementation of the above mentioned project will enable to demonstrate that radioactivity levels of a part of materials (e.g., metal scrap) are sufficiently low to allow them being released from regulatory control. And this means that such materials can be processed safely.
It is worth noting that release of materials from regulatory control allows achieving cost-effective management of RAW by reducing their amount that requires disposal in complex engineering storage facilities. It means that the release of materials from regulatory control is an essential element in safety assurance during decommissioning.