On the 26th of April 2016, Nuclear Safety Account Pledging Conference was held at Chornobyl NPP. In the presence of Petro Poroshenko, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Ostap Semerak, Director of the State Specialized Enterprise Chornobyl NPP Igor Gramotkin and President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Suma Chakrabarti signed the Third Amendment to the Grant Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and State Specialized Enterprise Chornobyl NPP as Recipient and EBRD.
2016 was declared the year of remembrance of the liquidators and victims of the Chernobyl disaster by the Decree of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. Consequently, following up upon own initiative, on 26th April, on the day of 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl NPP accident, Petro Poroshenko personally visited the ChNPP industrial site.
The President and his attendants paid tribute to the memory of all those, who gave their lives and health rescuing the world against the severest technogenic radiation accident in human history, and laid flowers to the Memorial Sign of the Chernobyl heroes.
During the meeting of the Assembly of Contributors of the Nuclear Safety Account held in Kyiv on April 25, 2016, an agreement was reached regarding attraction of financial resources for settlement of a shortage amounting to €105 million for construction of the Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility. Hennadii Zubko, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Public Utilities of Ukraine, declared this during the joint press-conference giving the comments about results of the Assembly meeting.
He noted that Ukraine meets the commitments being responsible to the world community. “It was decided to pay €3.58 million which Ukraine had to pay as early as in 2011. It was also agreed about additional contribution of Ukraine amounting to €1.4 million. This is our important message to the world community regarding readiness of Ukraine to solve Chernobyl problem”, Hennadii Zubko noted.
According to him, notwithstanding all difficulties, Ukraine meets the commitments relating to construction of key Chernobyl facilities. “It is important for us that world public would give our State an ability to complete strategic projects not losing momentum”, he said.
He expressed gratitude to the international partners of Ukraine who did not leave our State face to face with ChNPP problem. “I do consider that international project on completion of the Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility is successful. This important experience proved the efficiency of international efforts in solving such global tragedies as ChNPP disaster”, Hennadii Zubko emphasized.
He also noticed a necessity to optimize a model of future development of the Exclusion Zone together with donor-countries and other international partners. “We have to look forward together. We must change a tragic 30-year Chernobyl paradigm. A positive perception of this global event is increasing gradually. The basis for this new perception is a development of the Exclusion Zone, scientific innovations, investment attraction, and development of capacities to generate alternative energy. We already see the desire of investors to invest funds into development of trends being strategic for the Exclusion Zone development”, Hennadii Zubko pointed out.
PRESS-SERVICE OF THE VICE PRIME MINISTER OF UKRAINE
On April 23, awarding of the veterans-participants of Chernobyl accident consequences mitigation took place in Slavutych. On the eve of those tragic events, Mykola Tomenko, ex-Head of the Committee came to present appreciation certificates of the Committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Environmental Policy, Natural Resource Management and Mitigation of Chernobyl Accident Consequences.
On 15th April, 4 special canisters were discharged within the frame of the above-stated activities. They are placed according to the technological process for transportation to a “wet type” Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel (ISF-1).
An individual permission of Series No.000040/9 for performing these activities was issued by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine on April 14, 2016, based on the results of reviewing the SSE Chernobyl NPP’s statement and a set of substantiating documents, as well as taking into account the positive results of the applicant’s inspection carried out during 06.04.2016-08.04.2016.
- State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate issued permission for discharge of damaged spent nuclear fuel from Chernobyl NPP Units 1, 2
- Quality of the Ukrainian-French partnership was brought into focus during a visit of the Ambassador of France
- Press-tour dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe
- Press tour for the Ukrainian and foreign journalists to the Chernobyl NPP