L. Bogdan and V.Golubev
Ministry for Environmental
Protection and Nuclear Safety of Ukraine
ABSTRACT
The state with radwaste management in Ukraine on the whole reflects the picture with RW in the former USSR. Now at least of three independent operating governmental structures and three regulatory bodies dial with this sphere in Ukraine concerning at diverse issue RW. Naturally, the efforts to solve all collected problems by each of this establishments separately can't be successfully, so the development of the state program with radwaste management in Ukraine was a necessary step.
According to provisions of the Law of Ukraine on Radioactive Waste Management which was put in force on June 30, 1995 the inter-ministry expert group had developed the State Program on Radioactive Waste Management in Ukraine for 1996-2000 and till 2005 which was approved by the Presidium of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on April 29, 1996.
The program presents a general description of main sectors and problems of the existing radioactive waste management infrastructure and establishes main directions and tasks of its future development.
The purpose of the Program is the realization of the State policy in the sphere of radioactive waste management. The program considers the following main directions of the national policy of radioactive waste management:
- creation and operation of a united radioactive waste inventory system;
- development and introduction of mechanism of financing to
- reduce expenses of the State Budget for waste management and
- increase a part of expenses defrayed by waste producers;
- construction of radioactive waste storages;
- reconstruction and modernization of waste facilities;
- development of R&D support for radioactive waste
- management; designing and introduction of waste treatment installations, waste containers, special vehicles, etc.
According to the Program the main problems to be solved in radioactive waste management field in Ukraine are siting, construction and commissioning of waste repositories for both Iow-level&intermediate-level wastes and high-level wastes.
In accordance with the basic tasks of radioactive waste management the Program consists of separate sections in which the basic problems, proposals on the solution of these problems are stated. In every section the enumeration of prime measures is picked out.
The responsibility for the financing and the fulfilment of the Program is assigned on separate sections to the ministries and branches determined as capital on these sections. The general coordination is assigned to the Emergency Ministry of Ukraine.
Annually, on the results of the year, the corresponding ministries and the branches submit to the Emergency Ministry the report on the results of the Program fulfilment. The Emergency Ministry summarizes them and submits the final report in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Program is subjected to adjusting and statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine every three years.
THE MAIN CONTENTS OF THE PROGRAM
The Program states that from the solution of the problems of safety at the storing or final burial of the radioactive waste depends the future not only of the nuclear energy but also health and prosperity of present and future generations of the population of the country.
The danger of the radionuclide influence on the living organisms depends of the kind of radiation, term, when they are of great danger, pathways of theirs hits in an organism, their activity, concentration, other. Consequently, first, it is necessary to do, that to ensure the collection and storage of ionized irradiation sources, in particular radioactive waste. Following, and it is the main purpose is the radioactive waste reliable isolation.
The storing and burial of radioactive wastes is authorized only in specially intended for this purpose radioactive waste storages.
The long-lived radioactive wastes, except the radioactive waste of uranium industry are subject to burial only in a solid state, in the stable geological formations, with obligatory their transformation in explosion-, fire-, nuclear safety form guaranteed the localization of wastes in the boundaries of depths rock.
The burial of the short-lived wastes in a solid state can be realized in the shallow and near the surface radioactive waste storages.
The spent nuclear fuel not subjected to processing, after the corresponding endurance is saved in the special storages of spent nuclear fuel supplied by a multibarrier system of isolation and protection, equipped with technical means of withdrawal of fuel from this storages.
During of all period of radioactive wastes storing the regular control for their state, for the radiological situation in the radioactive waste storages and in the environment is realized.
It is stipulated by the Program:
For creation of such storages it is necessary to execute a large volume of geological-research works, to carry out the model and full-scale researches, to elaborate and approve in corresponding regulatory bodies the scientific, technical, ecological and economic backgrounds.
The maximum of cooperation and collaboration between the Emergency Ministry, the Goscomatom, the Minecobezpeka and the Ministry of Health in the creation of centers on processing and burial of radioactive waste is stipulated by the program. The collection and the reliable radioactive waste burial appears as the extremely important nature protection activity. Therefore these works can be supplied by the reliable, reasonable financing. For this purpose it was stipulated to create the special State Fund for radioactive waste management, the means for which will come mainly from the juridical and physical persons, in the result of which are formed such waste.
The responsibility for the mitigation of the accident consequences on the Chernobyl NPP were undertaken by the state. Therefore the financing of all works, connected to the transformation of "SHELTER" in the ecologically safe system and of radioactive waste management of a Chernobyl origin, is stipulated by the Chernobyl fund.
The Program contains the measures about the following brunches of activity:
For each of this measures there are the terms of its fulfilment and responsible ministry established as it shown at the undermentioned example:
MEASURES CONCERNING THE CREATION OF A CENTRALIZED SYSTEM FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
Measures Leading Organizations and Subcontractors Terms of Fulfilment
Prime measures:
Thus we can state, that abovementioned Program includes all brunches of radioactive waste management and enable to arrange the statement in this sphere in Ukraine taking into account IAEA recommendations and achieved world experience.
*CRHW - Central Repository of High-Level Waste
**RDLR - Research Deep-Underground Laboratory-Repository