On April 17, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the Law "On Amendments to the National Program on Decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and Transformation of the Shelter Object into an Environmentally Safe System" (No. 6624 dated June 22, 2017), submitted for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine .

The Conclusions of the Chief Scientific and Expert Department on the draft Law point to the following: "The draft recommends amending the National Program on Decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and Transformation of the Shelter Object into an Environmentally Safe System, approved by the relevant Law of Ukraine of January 15, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as Program). In particular, the deadline is updated for the implementation of priority activities at the stage of decommissioning of the Chernobyl NPP and transformation of the Shelter Object into an environmentally safe system ("until 2020" instead of "until 2012"); the objective of the program is recognized to ensure the implementation of the state policy on "management of spent nuclear fuel of RBMK-1000 reactors of the Chernobyl NPP", which requires the construction and safe operation of a "dry type storage facility for storage of spent nuclear fuel of RBMK-1000 reactors of the Chernobyl NPP (ISF- 2). "

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The Chernobyl NPP came up for the final stage of commissioning of the Liquid Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant. The State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate of Ukraine (SACI) issued a license, which certifies that the LRTP is brought into line with modern construction norms and requirements.

In line with the Special permit for LRTP operation issued by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine in December 2014, the above-mentioned certificate of the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate of Ukraine (SACI) was a prerequisite for the commencement of LRTP operation. Due to the establishment of new construction norms and regulations, the issue of the certificate was delayed in 2014 until the completion of all the activities stipulated by new requirements. After renovation of the facility, during which fire protection and lightning protection systems were improved, and the building was made cold-proof, the Chernobyl NPP obtained a license of the SACI, and in the near future the Plant will start fulfilling its design tasks related to liquid RAW processing.

In addition, autonomous electric boilers and a steam generator have been installed at the LRTP. This will make it possible to evaporate RAW and reduce their amount by increasing salt concentration in the RAW.

For reference. 63 packages of radioactive waste (RAW) have been generated at the stage of "hot" tests at the LRTP. RAW packages are sent to the ENSDF in accordance with the schedule agreed by the ChNPP and the State Specialized Enterprise "Central Enterprise for Radioactive Waste Management", to which the ENSDF belongs.

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The financial and budgetary accountability of Chernobyl NPP as a whole ensures submission of reliable data on the budget revenues and spending at the ChNPP. This has been spoken about at a meeting of the Committee on Environmental Policy, Nature Resources Utilization and Elimination of the Consequences of Chornobyl Catastrophe, where the report of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine (AChU) on the activity of SSE ChNPP was reviewed.

In particular, results of the audit, conducted by the AChU, have shown that all sums, both of the state target financing and international technical assistance, are in full reflected in the SSE Chernobyl NPP accounting.

“The targeted use of funds allocated from the state budget is ensured at the Plant. It completely meets the requirements of “Procedure for the transfer of contribution of Ukraine into the Chernobyl Shelter Fund” and “Procedure for the use of funds provided in the country’s budget for the safe maintenance of ChNPP Units and Shelter Object and implementation of measures on the preparation for decommissioning” – the report said.

The financial audit, conducted by the AChU, also revealed in the ChNPP financial reporting unessential errors and deviations that in aggregate amount to 0.01% of the balance sheet total. However, in the report it is emphasised that these shortcomings by no means falsify information about the general financial status of the enterprise.

According to the conclusion of the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine, the internal environment, created by the SSE ChNPP, is reliable enough for the preparation of accurate budgetary and financial reporting, as well as capable to minimize risks and promote achievement of the goals set by the enterprise.

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine issued a Certificate to the Chernobyl NPP, which certified the design of packaging set 700-001.720.14.00.00 for transportation of spent fuel assemblies (SFA) and spent additional absorbers (SAA) of RBMK-1000 reactors.

This set is an integral part of a transfer railcar TK-700 and is intended for loading, transportation and unloading of a transfer basket with 9 spent fuel assemblies or with a similar amount of spent additional absorbers with a total mass of up to 1,800 kilograms.

The packaging set 700-001.720.14.00.00 was designed by the Slavutich branch of State Enterprise "State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety", and manufactured at "Skoda" Plant (Czech Republic).

The Certificate was issued in accordance with the requirements of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Authorization Activity in Nuclear Energy Use” and the regulatory act "On the procedure of issuing certificates for safe transportation of radioactive materials”. It certifies that the design of the packaging set 700-001.720.14.00.00 and its radioactive content complies with the requirements established by the Rules for Nuclear and Radiation Safety during Transportation of Radioactive Materials.

The issue of the Certificate of Conformance is an important stage in the implementation of the ISF-2 construction project, due to the fact that the Certificate testifies that during operation this equipment can ensure safety of the operations related to loading, transportation and unloading of spent nuclear fuel.