From 16 to 20 September, the Chornobyl NPP became a site to conduct national workshop of IAEA. The workshop subject is characterization of liquid and solid RAW, and immobilized waste packages as well.

The workshop involved the international experts of IAEA from Hungary and France, representatives of ISP NPPs, SNRIU, and 19 specialists from ChNPP. The main subject matters for discussion addressed the international practices relating to waste characterization, in particular, their legislative regulation, characterization equipment, and techniques for radionuclide activity measurement.

The information provided during the workshop is important for Chornobyl NPP since the nuclear power plant is currently at the decommissioning stage resulting in generation of large amount of waste.

As for immobilized waste packages, it is a reminder that industrial operation of the Liquid Radwaste Treatment Plant was resumed in July 2019. Start of end product production became possible when the facility received the cement of required brand. During the first six months of industrial operation, it is planned to reach design capacity by the facility in the amount of 10 RAW packages per 24 hours.

Read more: Radioactive Waste Management

According to the words of IAEA expert, Mr. Peter Ormai, Ukraine follows the best world practices and implements them in its activities with regard to characterization. “Partially, it can be explained that international organizations render huge assistance due to the problems arose in the country after ChNPP accident. And this is not only financial or technical assistance, but also assistance provided to the regulator in developing up-to-date regulatory acts. Resulting from the things we’ve heard during this workshop, I can say with confidence that Ukrainian regulatory framework absolutely corresponds to the international practices”, the IAEA expert stated.

The workshop was held under Project UKR 9038 “Supporting Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plant Units and Radioactive Waste Management at the Chornobyl Site and in the Exclusion Zone”.