In early July, Chornobyl NPP obtained the third-party liability insurance policy for nuclear damage that could affect their lives, health and property. Such a policy is one of the prerequisites for obtaining licenses to operate NSC-SO and ISF-2 facilities.

Obtaining the policy was preceded by a visit of World Nuclear Insurance Pool survey. Its task was to estimate the key ChNPP facilities (two Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facilities, NSC, Radioactive Waste Management Facilities, etc.) and to generate a Technical report regarding the insurance risk of the plant.

Oleksandr Babenko, Director General of the Nuclear Insurance Pool of Ukraine, commented on the insurance process of Chornobyl NPP in such a way: "When insuring, the Facility should be assessed. In our cases [in Chornobyl NPP case — ed.] this is a very complex technological facility, and here we perform an engineering risk assessment.

On the one hand, we are looking at "hardware". It is, in principle, good everywhere, both in the world and in our country. On the other hand, it is no secret that the human factor is the main cause of accidents and all troubles, not only in the nuclear field. Therefore, we pay attention to the safety culture, the staff attitude to safety, its training and all sorts of things that can lead to some problems. In any case this is a large industrial facility."

Read more: Survey of World Nuclear Insurance Pool

According to Viktor Kuchynskyi, Deputy Head of ChNPP’s Strategic Planning Department, obtaining the policy mainly became possible after the New Safe Confinement construction, because the Shelter object posed too high risks.

For information

The Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, to which Ukraine acceded in 1996, states that "The Nuclear Facility Operator shall be liable for nuclear damage if it is proved that it was caused by a nuclear incident at his nuclear facility or related to nuclear material removed from or produced by his nuclear facility” and in some other cases.