The 63rd IAEA General Conference is taking place this week with the participation of the Ukrainian delegation led by the Head of the SNRIU Hryhorii Plachkov. The State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management is represented by the Head of the Agency Vitalii Petruk and the Head of the Department for International Cooperation and Public Relations Kateryna Pavlova.

A conciliation meeting chaired by the Head of State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion zone management Vitalii Petruk was held in Chornobyl with the participation of experts from SSE «Ecocenter», Chornobyl Reserve, SE «COTIS» and the police in order to solve organizational issues while visiting the Exclusion zone by water. After the meeting there was a trip along one of the recently approved water routes: from city of Chornobyl to Otashiv village. The Head of SAUEZM Vitalii Petruk personally checked the readiness of recently opened routes of visit.

During the meeting of the Supervisory Board on the implementation of the projects of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) program in Vienna (Republic of Austria), the Head of the SAUEZM Vitalii Petruk presented the progress of Ukraine in the implementation of projects in the field of radioactive waste management (RW).

Complex «cold» tests at the spent nuclear fuel storage # 2 (ISF-2) of the Chornobyl NPP have been completed. The tests were performed using spent fuel assemblies simulators to test all technological systems of the facility.

The first 120 packages of radioactive waste (RW), which are formed after liquid radioactive waste processing during the process of decommissioning of the ChNPP, were accepted at the Vector production complex. The waste is taken to a specially equipped surface storage for solid radioactive waste (SESSSRW) of Complex «Vector».

During the Strategic Planning Project Meeting of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) discussions were held on improving the management of the radioactive waste management system (RAW) of Ukraine in the framework of future projects of the program. In particular, the terms of reference for projects should be developed, the implementation of which will help to improve the effectiveness of the SAUEZM in this area and fully integrate the concept of «safety culture» into the radwaste management system.

According to the project of the UNDP / GEF Small Grants Program, implemented by the public organization «Polissia Region», Chornobyl Radiation-Ecological Biosphere Reserve received the «DJI Mavic» quadcopter for the environmental monitoring of flora and fauna.

The experts of the SAUEZM enterprises, with the support of the Norwegian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, presented the tourism potential of the exclusion zone to tour operators from Norway. In particular, they demonstrated the available visit routes, plans to improve the tourist infrastructure and develop the access system to the exclusion zone.

A team of scientists from the UK and Ukraine managed to produce experimental radioactive safe alcohol from Chornobyl water and wheat using traditional “homemade methods”.

During a technical tour media representatives visited the Exclusion zone and got acquainted with the locations of future water routes. These routes will demonstrate the Exclusion zone from the new side - its unique nature.

During the events in Chornobyl on the occasion of the successful completion of the largest project of international cooperation in the field of nuclear safety, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky handed the State Hero of Ukraine Award to three liquidators of the Chornobyl nuclear power station accident: Oleksiy Ananenko – Senior mechanical engineer of the reactor shop of the SSE Chornobyl NPP 1983 – 1989 years, Valery Bespalov – senior engineer of the turbine shop of the nuclear power plant in 1986 and posthumously to Borys Baranov – Chief of the shift in 1976-2005, the reward was given to his son Oleksandr.

State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management is responsible for radioactive waste management at the final stage of nuclear fuel cycle. During recent years it has been actively working on formation of organizational and legal principles and creation of an infrastructure for radioactive waste management in Ukraine, - said the Head of the SAUEZM Vitalii Petruk during the International Conference «Ukrainian Nuclear Forum-2019».I