Ukraine Chornobyl Chronology
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chornobyl Chronology Last update: December 2008 This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here. Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation. Nuclear Waste: 2008-1995 OVERVIEW Spent fuel is generally stored on site in cooling ponds at the nuclear power plants at which the fuel assemblies were used. Ukraine previously sent its spent fuel to Russia to be reprocessed, but this course became a contentious issue after Russia passed a law in 1992 prohibiting the import of radioactive material into Russia. This action resulted in storage crisis at Ukrainian power plants. In 6/93, however, Russia passed a new law that allows Ukrainian spent fuel to be reprocessed, but not stored, in Russia. The law does not allow the import of nuclear waste into Russia, but allows the import of Russian-origin spent fuel as long as the resulting waste is returned to the territory of the state which delivered it. Temporary Storage Agreement Reportedly, Russia and Ukraine have signed an unpublicized agreement in which Ukraine may continue to store its spent fuel and waste in Russia for two years. This agreement was based on two prior agreements signed by Russia and Ukraine in 1/93 and Ukraine's pledge to place all of its peaceful nuclear activities under IAEA safeguards. The agreement stipulates that the spent fuel and radioactive waste can be temporarily stored in Russia, after which the waste is to be returned to Ukraine. In 5/95 Ukraine again began shipping its spent fuel to Russia for reprocessing. Approximately 265 tons of spent fuel are produced each year at all of the NPPs in Ukraine. Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Storage Sites There are six spent fuel storage sites and many low-level radioactive waste storage sites, including the Chornobyl zone, in Ukraine. On 6/30/95 a Law on the Handling of Radioactive Waste was passed by the Supreme Rada which establishes the Ministry of Chornobyl Affairs (now a part of the Ministry for Emergency Situations) as the state Related content is available on the website for the Nuclear Threat Initiative, www.nti.org. This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS. agency responsible for licensing storage of radioactive waste. The law also determines the liability of individuals found guilty of violating the newly established radioactive waste management norms and establishes the public's right for compensation in the case of improper handling of nuclear waste by the state or its licensee. Article 4 of the Law states that financing for the handling of radioactive materials comes from a special State Fund for the Handling of Radioactive Waste. According to the Law, enterprises contribute to the Fund in proportion to the amount of waste they produce. Until the Fund is set up, the government will finance the handling of radioactive waste from resources allocated for RADON and Chornobyl management. State Program The Ukrainian government in 1996 approved a state program for radioactive waste management through 2005 which will be under the direction of the Ministry of Chornobyl Affairs (now the Ministry for Emergency Situations). This program will establish a national accounting system for nuclear waste and will provide for the construction of radioactive waste repositories and the reconstruction of existing radioactive waste management facilities. According to the program, spent fuel will continue to be stored in on-site pools until 2005. A central geological repository for spent fuel and high-level waste will be sought in 1996-97. By 2000, a draft project will be ready for an underground storage facility, which will be built between 2008 and 2020. The program also envisages the decontamination of 1500 hectares of land containing over 150,000 curies of activity at mining and milling sites. The chief of the information and analysis center for waste integration at the state association RADON will coordinate these tasks. —"Russia to Receive Used Nuclear Fuel from Ukraine," ITAR-TASS, July 19, 1995. "Ukrainian Shipments Lift Threat of Plant Closures," Nuclear Fuel, July 31, 1995, p. 16. A. F. Linyov, "Shcho Robyty Z Yadernymy Vidkhodamy?," Zeleny Svit, April 1995, p. 4. "On the Handling of Radioactive Waste," Holos Ukrainy, August 30, 1995, pp. 6-8; in FBIS-TEN-95-015, "Environment and World Health," August 30, 1995. Alex Brall, "Ukraine Passes Law on Radioactive Waste Management," Nucleonics Week, July 20, 1995. pp. 14-15. UI News Briefing, 4/30/96. Peter Coryn, "Ukraine Government Passes Waste Plan, But Hitch Delays Implementation," Nuclear Fuel, June 3, 1996. DEVELOPMENTS 17 September 2008 HOLTEC TO COMPLETE CHORNOBYL DRY STORAGE PROJECT The Ukrainian government and the U.S. company Holtec International have finalized the implementation terms of the Chornobyl dry storage project, SpentFUEL reported in September. The new dry storage facility is intended for spent fuel assemblies from the shutdown Chornobyl units 1, 2, and 3, which are presently stored in a wet storage facility. This dry storage facility, reportedly the largest in the world, might eventually provide storage for spent fuel from Ukraine's operational nuclear power reactors, the publication quoted Holtec president Dr. Kris Singh as saying. According to SpentFUEL, the company is also assisting Ukraine with back-end management capacity development. —"Ukrainian government ratifies contract with Holtec for Chernobyl dry storage project," SpentFUEL, 21 September 2008. Related content is available on the website for the Nuclear Threat Initiative, www.nti.org. This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS. 31 July 2008 CENTRAL FUEL STORAGE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION FACES DELAYS Yuriy Nedashkovksiy, head of Ukraine's Enerhoatom announced on 31 July that Ukraine's centralized fuel storage facility might not be commissioned until 2012, two years later than was originally anticipated. The U.S. company Holtec International is set to design and construct the facility, which would provide dry storage for 2,500 VVER- 1000 and 1,100 VVER-440 spent fuel assemblies from the Rivne, South Ukraine, and Khmelnytskyy nuclear power plants. The location and design of the facility, however, are yet to be approved by Ukraine's parliament. —"Ukraine postpones commissioning of nuclear waste storage facility in 2012," Interfax, 31 July 2008. Alexei Breus, Maureen Conley, "Energoatom hires Holtec to prepare three plants for transport casks," NuclearFuel, 7 April 2008. 23 June 2008 VEKTOR WASTE DISPOSAL UNIT AT CHORNOBYL LAUNCHED The first stage of Ukraine's radioactive waste management complex Vektor, a project begun in 1998 and financed by the government of Ukraine, was commissioned on 23 April. The facility is expected to have the capacity to process 19,000 metric tons of radioactive waste and will chiefly be used for the waste currently at Chornobyl. Approximately 10 percent of this capacity, however, might be used for waste from other facilities in Ukraine. Completion of the second stage of the project and hiring of personnel is expected to be completed soon. —Alexei Breus, "Chernobyl 22 years later: Reactors defueled, sarcophagus stabilized," Nucleonics Week, 1 May 2008. "Ukraine launches first nuclear waste disposal unit," RIA Novosti, 23 April 2008. 24 February 2006 OFFICIALS ADDRESS CONCERNS ON PLANNED NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE FACILITY On 24 February 2006, Ukraine's Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov provided assurances that the nuclear waste storage facility, slated for construction by the U.S. company Holtec in the Chornobyl area would only be used to store waste from Ukrainian NPPs. Yekhanurov's comments came in light of criticism of the planned facility by Ukrainian politicians — Speaker Vladimir Litvin as well as Ex-Premier Yuliya Timoshenko. American officials have rushed to explain that the facility would not be used for American spent fuel. Moreover, a fact sheet by the U.S. Embassy in Kiev stressed that conclusion of an agreement with Holtec did not imply that construction would commence, as there was yet a need to complete a feasibility study and an environmental impact study, discuss the issue a local referendum, provide notification to Ukraine's neighbors, and gain the agreement of Ukraine's Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.