DOCSLIB.ORG

Slavutych Atomograd As the Last Ideal City of the USSR: Challenges and Adaptation Mechanisms of Resilience

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Slavutych Atomograd As the Last Ideal City of the USSR: Challenges and Adaptation Mechanisms of Resilience GeoJournal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10236-x (0123456789().,-volV)( 0123456789().,-volV) Slavutych atomograd as the last ideal city of the USSR: Challenges and adaptation mechanisms of resilience Stanley D. Brunn . Olena Dronova . Olena Kononenko Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020 Abstract Urban resilience implies the ability of all management practices, stimulating innovations in components of a city system to maintain or restore nuclear/alternative energy, IT, and cultural/artistic their functions following unforeseen events, and the events. Urban management and planning systems ability to adapt to external changes. We apply the remain active and are ongoing. concept of resilience and adaptation to Slavutych atomograd following the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Keywords Urban resilience Á Chornobyl nuclear Station explosion. Challenges and responses facing power station Á Urban development threats and the urban management and planning systems are challenges Á Ukraine examined. Perceptions of Slavutych’s resilience capacity are integrated into research based on a survey of residents. The main challenges faced were lack of targeted financing; insufficient economic diversifica- ‘‘Resilience is a complex, multi-dimensional tion and professional employment opportunities; an challenge for urban sustainability planning and aging population and outmigration of youth and design.’’ (Ahern 2011, p.8) professionals; physical remoteness from the Kyiv Region; declining quality of municipal infrastructure, ‘‘Resilience means constantly shedding declining poor housing and community services; and slow industries and replacing them with new ones. It is in introduction of market mechanisms. Resilience poten- the very nature of cities to constantly transform tial formation is used in effective municipal their economic base.’’ (Pole`se 2010,p.13) ‘‘Even though social processes across the globe are increasingly being theorised through a S. D. Brunn (&) resilience lens, this has rarely been the case Department of Geography, University of Kentucky, within the domain of everyday life in the city. Lexington, KY 40506-0027, USA The resilience debate also remains highly geo- e-mail: [email protected] graphically selective, as regions that have O. Dronova Á O. Kononenko undergone far-reaching systemic change over Faculty of Geography, Department of Economic and the past 20 years—including the post-commu- Social Geography, Taras Shevchenko National University nist states of the former Soviet Union and eastern of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine e-mail: [email protected] and central Europe )—generally remain omitted from it.’’ (Bouzarovski et al. 2011, p.1) O. Kononenko e-mail: [email protected] 123 GeoJournal Introduction urban resilience (Bouzarovski et al. 2011; Denysenko 2015; Golubchikov et al. 2015). In the processes of globalization and deindustrializa- tion, cities in the contemporary world are facing constant challenges and threats to their existence. Methods Cities in post-communist countries, including Ukraine, are undergoing significant changes in their This research addresses the concept of Urban political and socio-economic systems with the result Resilience. First, we examine this concept in the face that global impulses are imposed on many internal of the challenges of its use from diverse origins in the features that are considered relicts of the previous literature and focus on a cross-cutting interdisciplinary epoch (Maruniak 2007). In a socio-political context approach that fosters integrative management and these relate to the gradual transition from a previous planning systems related to both resilience and period of rigid regulation and prescriptive planning to adaptive mechanisms. Second, and at a practical level, efforts toward creating a competitive business envi- we examine the challenges and responses to them in ronment. Urban processes and spaces shaped during Slavutych by using various scientific and open sources the planned economy are being transformed and (programs, reports and strategies) as well as official influenced by the political, economic and cultural statistics and personal observations. Third, we conduct transition to capitalism (Sy´kora 2009). In some cases, a survey of city residents that sought to integrate the urban development is complicated by individual social dimensions of the challenges along with problems having different origins, for example, the prospects for building the resilience potential. In political influence of neighboring countries, natural or short, the research methodologies adopted combined a human-made disasters, and the loss and closure of system-structural approach and situational analysis, a city-forming enterprises. survey and a mix of chorological, historical, statistical This research focuses on the capacity of resilience and other methods. We recognize that resilience and adaptation mechanisms that are at play in the formation processes are different for each city and development of post-communist cities facing chal- hope that this case study will prove useful in useful lenges and threats. The case study examined is urban strategies for decision-making systems Ukraine’s youngest city, the last urban utopia of the elsewhere. Soviet Union’s ideal cities, the Slavutych atomograd. Its foundation was the result of a major industrial disaster viz, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station Theoretical background (ChNPS) which faced an emergency status following the April 1986 explosion. This new monofunctional Resilience is defined as the ability of a system to city for the ChNPS workers was constructed in two respond to changes or violations without changing its years by political decisions and various management foundations (Walker and Salt 2006), that is, the ability instruments and through the efforts of architects and of any system to return to its functional state following designers from various Union republics. The closure unexpected events. In different fields, resilience is of ChNPS in 2000 created the major challenge facing considered an answer to the world of rapid change, the city of Slavutich. Having existed now for more complexities and unexpected events. The term itself than thirty years, the city is an example of classical was adopted by the social sciences from the natural urban development including stages of prosperity and sciences as it expands the traditional notion of decline and rebirth which are inherent in cities with a ecosystem resilience (Berkes 2007). The concept lengthy or short history. A detailed analysis is included appears in various forms and especially as it relates about the threats and perspectives of ‘‘resilience to the various factors affecting it. It does, however, potential’’ facing a young Ukrainian monofunctional contain some conceptual fuzziness, especially when city with a unique origin, especially since there are applied to ‘‘social worlds’’ and especially interdisci- limited research publications in post-communist space plinary collaboration (Star and Griesemer 1989). In that address urban development within the context of contemporary western scientific literature, resilience concepts and practices extend across a wide range of 123 GeoJournal security and policy issues, including environmental those changes in urban systems that are under the security, military programs, critical infrastructure, influence of various threats. These include research on migration policies, counterterrorism, landscape and several fronts: (1) urban ecological resilience in the urban planning (Dunn Cavelty et al. 2015). context of systematic socio-nature processes and Resilience also focuses on processes related to environmental services (Liu et al. 2007; Ernstson combating violations and the implementation of et al. 2010); (2) the occurrence of natural hazards security mechanisms (Kaufmann 2013). These studies including climate change and natural disasters (Le- are closely linked to literature on new or constantly ichenko 2011; Islam and An, 2014); (3) human-made updated methods of prediction, caution, prevention risks and anthropogenic threats such as industrial and risk as they relate to security management pollution, human-caused disasters, accidents on trans- (Rasmussen 2007; Petersen 2012). Recognizing that port systems (Attoh-Okine 2016; Fischer et al. 2018); the concept contains elements of both uncertainty and (4) the formation of resilience in relation to political unpredictability, it is not surprising that it has and socioeconomic challenges including military appeared in research on national security and interna- conflicts, terrorist actions, changes in political prior- tional relations. According to Biriukov (2015), ‘‘re- ities and in financing, deindustrialization, and the silience’’ is achieved through formation of a diversification of the economy and migration (Savitch, partnership between the state, society and business 2014; Cowell 2014) (5) the formation of social to ensure national security. Such a partnership is preconditions for resilience including participation in important in being able to withstand challenges and decision-making, community cohesion and awareness threats from other spheres of human activity. of residents (Townshend et al. 2015); and (6) the The concept of resilience can also be applied to ability of management and planning systems to build different scales, that is, from a national level to a local resilience and adaptive mechanisms responding to one, from a government to municipalities and from challenges (Fleischhauer 2008; Coaffee 2013). Rec-
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Present and Future Environmental Impact of the Chernobyl Accident
    IAEA-TECDOC-1240 Present and future environmental impact of the Chernobyl accident Study monitored by an International Advisory Committee under the project management of the Institut de protection et de sûreté nucléaire (IPSN), France August 2001 The originating Section of this publication in the IAEA was: Waste Safety Section International Atomic Energy Agency Wagramer Strasse 5 P.O. Box 100 A-1400 Vienna, Austria PRESENT AND FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT IAEA, VIENNA, 2001 IAEA-TECDOC-1240 ISSN 1011–4289 © IAEA, 2001 Printed by the IAEA in Austria August 2001 FOREWORD The environmental impact of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident has been extensively investigated by scientists in the countries affected and by international organizations. Assessment of the environmental contamination and the resulting radiation exposure of the population was an important part of the International Chernobyl Project in 1990–1991. This project was designed to assess the measures that the then USSR Government had taken to enable people to live safely in contaminated areas, and to evaluate the measures taken to safeguard human health there. It was organized by the IAEA under the auspices of an International Advisory Committee with the participation of the Commission of the European Communities (CEC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The IAEA has also been engaged in further studies in this area through projects such as the one on validation of environmental model predictions (VAMP) and through its technical co-operation programme.
    [Show full text]
  • Annoucements of Conducting Procurement Procedures
    Bulletin No�24(98) June 12, 2012 Annoucements of conducting 13443 Ministry of Health of Ukraine procurement procedures 7 Hrushevskoho St., 01601 Kyiv Chervatiuk Volodymyr Viktorovych tel.: (044) 253–26–08; 13431 National Children’s Specialized Hospital e–mail: [email protected] “Okhmatdyt” of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Website of the Authorized agency which contains information on procurement: 28/1 Chornovola St., 01135 Kyiv www.tender.me.gov.ua Povorozniuk Volodymyr Stepanovych Procurement subject: code 24.42.1 – medications (Imiglucerase in flasks, tel.: (044) 236–30–05 400 units), 319 pcs. Website of the Authorized agency which contains information on procurement: Supply/execution: 29 Berezniakivska St., 02098 Kyiv; during 2012 www.tender.me.gov.ua Procurement procedure: open tender Procurement subject: code 24.42.1 – medications, 72 lots Obtaining of competitive bidding documents: at the customer’s address, office 138 Supply/execution: at the customer’s address; July – December 2012 Submission: at the customer’s address, office 138 Procurement procedure: open tender 29.06.2012 10:00 Obtaining of competitive bidding documents: at the customer’s address, Opening of tenders: at the customer’s address, office 138 economics department 29.06.2012 12:00 Submission: at the customer’s address, economics department Tender security: bank guarantee, deposit, UAH 260000 26.06.2012 10:00 Terms of submission: 90 days; not returned according to part 3, article 24 of the Opening of tenders: at the customer’s address, office of the deputy general Law on Public Procurement director of economic issues Additional information: For additional information, please, call at 26.06.2012 11:00 tel.: (044) 253–26–08, 226–20–86.
    [Show full text]
  • Systems Mutations Revealed in the National Collection of Chernobyl Mutants of Common Wheat
    Systems mutations revealed in the national collection of Chernobyl mutants of common wheat Burdenyuk-Tarasevych LA1, Zlatska AV2, Korol LV 2, Shytikova Yu V 2 1 Bila Tserkva Division of Research and Breeding, Kyiv region, Mala Vilshanka 09175 Ukraine. 2 Ukrainian Institute for Plant Varieties Examination, 15 Henerala Rodimtseva Str., Kyiv 03041, Ukraine. e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] INTRODUCTION collected from the fields, near the Chernobyl` Reactor in 1988. 2000 M4-M12 mutant lines were derived from those 239 accessions. The huge genetic diversity of wild and cultivated wheats has attracted interest from scientists all over the world. Methods. Pedigree analysis was performed for a Evolution events leaded to speciation in genus Triticum selection of the mutants. Genetic analysis (analysis of L. were caused by spontaneous hybridisation and crosses) of the mutant lines was performed to investigate environmental influence. All these events over the the genetic control of the particular phenotypic centuries have developed the current genetic diversity of characteristics. Acid-PAGE electrophoresis [2] was used wheat. In this process of evolution a key role has been to check the purity of lines and accessions and to played by mutations, without which it would be difficult confirm their pedigree. to explain the existence of a number of species, varieties and lines of the genus Triticum L [1]. It is known that in nature mutations occur quite rarely. In order to develop RESULTS AND DISCUSSION new mutants for research and breeding chemical mutagens and ionizing radiation have been utilised. The varieties Bilotserkivska 47, Poliska 70, Myronivska 808 and Kyianka had stable morphological characteristics before exposure to ionizing radiation.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF: Transforming Chernobyl
    The works to transform Chernobyl into a safe and on the ground. Total costs for the Shelter secure state are nearing conclusion. The New Implementation Plan – of which the NSC is the Safe Confinement (NSC), a gigantic steel arch, most prominent element – were estimated to be has been erected and is now being equipped €2.1 billion in 2014, leaving a large funding gap with systems and tools to make the site safe for of €615 million. generations to come. The EBRD shareholders’ decision in November Impressive progress has been made and we are 2014 to commit an additional €350 million confident that the NSC will be completed and (from the Bank’s reserves) for the NSC and operational by the end of 2017. an anticipated €165 million from the G7/ European Commission have significantly The Chernobyl project would not have been reduced the funding gap. However, a shortfall of possible without the active involvement and €100 million remains. generous contributions of the international community and Ukraine. The fact that to date Ukraine is currently in a vulnerable state and more than 40 countries and the EBRD have cannot be left to bear this uniquely hazardous provided funds speaks for itself. burden alone. The EBRD welcomes the leadership of the G7 to secure the full funding As the project is now far-advanced it is possible of the project. to make a reliable cost estimate based on the final design of the NSC and the progress Suma Chakrabarti, EBRD President PART OF A LARGER The New Safe Confinement (NSC) is a structure intended to the international community’s work together with Ukraine cover the destroyed reactor unit 4 at Chernobyl, the site of got under way.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident : Its Decommissioning, The
    The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident : its decommissioning, the Interim Spent Fuel Storage ISF-2, the nuclear waste treatment plants and the Safe Confinement project. by Dr. Ing. Fulcieri Maltini Ph.D. SMIEEE, life, PES, Comsoc FM Consultants Associates, France Keywords Nuclear power, Disaster engineering, Decommissioning, Waste management & disposal, Buildings, structures & design. Abstract On April 26, 1986, the Unit 4 of the RBMK nuclear power plant of Chernobyl, in Ukraine, went out of control during a test at low-power, leading to an explosion and fire. The reactor building was totally demolished and very large amounts of radiation were released into the atmosphere for several hundred miles around the site including the nearby town of Pripyat. The explosion leaving tons of nuclear waste and spent fuel residues without any protection and control. Several square kilometres were totally contaminated. Several hundred thousand people were affected by the radiation fall out. The radioactive cloud spread across Europe affecting most of the northern, eastern, central and southern Europe. The initiative of the G7 countries to launch an important programme for the closure of some Soviet built nuclear plants was accepted by several countries. A team of engineers was established within the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development were a fund was provided by the donor countries for the entire design, management of all projects and the plants decommissioning. The Chernobyl programme includes the establishment of a safety strategy for the entire site remediation and the planning for the plant decommissioning. Several facilities that will process and store the spent fuel and the radioactive liquid and solid waste as well as to protect the plant damaged structures have been designed and are under construction.
    [Show full text]
  • CHERNOBYL DISASTER a Further Systematic Literature Review, Focus Group Findings, and Future Directions
    Selected Health Consequences of the CHERNOBYL DISASTER A Further Systematic Literature Review, Focus Group Findings, and Future Directions Jonathan M. Samet, MD, MS Sonny S. Patel, MPH Professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair Research Associate Department of Preventive Medicine Department of Preventive Medicine Keck School of Medicine of USC University of Southern California Director, USC Institute for Global Health [email protected] [email protected] Selected Health Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster: A Further Systematic Literature Review, Focus Group Findings, and Future Directions April 25, 2013 Jonathan M. Samet, MD, MS Professor and Flora L. Thornton Chair Department of Preventive Medicine Keck School of Medicine of USC Director, USC Institute for Global Health [email protected] Sonny S. Patel, MPH Research Associate Department of Preventive Medicine University of Southern California [email protected] UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA • GLOBAL HEALTH This document was prepared by Jonathan M. Samet, MD, MS and Sonny S. Patel, MPH. The authors thank and acknowledge support from Green Cross Switzerland. In addition, the authors thank Dr. Gluzman of the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association and Dr. Kostyuchenko of the Kyiv City Clinical Psychiatric Hospital for their input and contribution to this report. Photos were supplied by the authors, Green Cross International, Green Cross Switzerland, and Green Cross Belarus. Special Thanks To: Green Cross Switzerland, Green Cross Ukraine, Green Cross Belarus, Ukrainian Psychiatric Association, Kyiv
    [Show full text]
  • The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
    THE CONGRESS Appendix OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL T�e Sl�vut��� Appe�l AUTHORITIES l�un��ed �� t�e Inte�n�tion�l �onfe�en�e “��e�no��l 20 �e��s on lo��l �nd �egion�l �ut�o�ities de�ling wit� dis�ste�s” Resolution 215 (2006)1 Slavutych (Ukraine), 2-4 March 2006 on ��e�no��l 20 �e������s on lo��l We, �nd �egion�l �ut�o�ities de�ling wit� dis�ste�s The participants in the International Conference “Chernobyl, 20 years on: local and regional authorities dealing with disasters”, local and regional elected representatives, parliamentarians and representatives of . The date of 26 April 2006 marked the 20th anniversary governments, international and non-governmental of the unprecedented catastrophe in the history of mankind organisations and experts, which took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. Meeting in Slavutych on the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, 2. The consequences of the Chernobyl disaster have long been a subject of speculation and the issue is a no less Resolve to adopt an appeal, which will be forwarded to the topical subject today, which is why the Congress decided to Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council hold a conference on “Chernobyl, 20 years on: local and of Europe and to other interested organisations. regional authorities dealing with disasters” in Slavutych in Ukraine, from 2 to 4 March 2006. Here in Slavutych, some 50 kilometres from Chernobyl and twenty years after the worst technological disaster in the history of humankind, we feel the need to solemnly 3.
    [Show full text]
  • After the Chernobyl Accident... More Than 1.8 Million People Still Inhabit the Contaminated Territories
    ALEGRIA MONTORO PASTOR (PhD) Laboratorio de Dosimetría Biológica Servicio de Protección Radiológica WHY? After the Chernobyl accident... More than 1.8 million people still inhabit the contaminated territories. 502,377 children, residents of Ukraine, were born in families where the parents have been exposed to ionizing radiation. Countries from EU offer hosting programs for Ukranian Non-Government Organization which has a program of hosting children Ukranian children with families from Valencia (Spain). Our biodosimetry laboratory reviewed the literature in order to obtain more information on the level of human hazard due to such accidental exposure: Various cytogenetic studies reported an increased frequency of chromosomal aberrations in children from contaminated areas (Padovani et al. 1997; Barale et al. 1998). WHO found in a report (2006) a complete lack of analytical studies (Stepanova et al. 2008). One proven way to obtain information related to the absorbed radiation dose is to quantify the cytogenetic effects. OBJECTIVES To assess whether the children living in the areas contaminated by the Chernobyl accident are exposed to ionizing radiation... Started a collaboration program to assess the radiation dose absorbed by children living near Chernobyl as NGO (Spain) Biodosimetry laboratory well as the health and nutritional (Hospital La Fe, Spain) status. The aim of this study was to carry out a cytogenetic analysis of 55 Ukrainian children and adolescents living in the Chernobyl area and whose parents were exposed to ionizing radiation due to the nuclear accident. For this purpose we carried out a dicentric chromosome assay to elucidate a possible exposure to radiation from different contaminated sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Too Much to Handle Radioactive Waste Management in the Post Nuclear Accident Country Ukraine
    Too much to handle Radioactive waste management in the post nuclear accident country Ukraine Kyiv, 2017 Too much to handle Radioactive waste management in the post nuclear accident country Ukraine Olexi Pasyuk Centre of Environmental Initiatives ‘Ecoaction’ www.ecoaction.org.ua [email protected] This paper is a contribution to the publication: Achim Brunnengräber, Maria Rosaria Di Nucci, Ana María Isidoro Losada, Lutz Mez, Miranda Schreurs (Eds.). Nuclear Waste Governance: An International Comparison. Vol. II, to ap- pear in Springer VS, c. 300 pp We gratefully acknowledge language editing effort by Jess Wallach. Abstract In 1986, Ukraine experienced a major nuclear accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant (NPP); over three decades later, this event continues to define Ukraine’s waste management situation. Today, radioactive waste at the Chornobyl NPP site and surrounding exclusion zone constitutes over 98% of total solid radioactive waste. Spent nuclear fuel is excluded from this figure as it has special legal status and is not considered to be radioactive waste. Following Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, its institutional system to manage nuclear waste problems has continually changed and has not reached the state of clear responsibilities and distribution of roles between various institutions. However, the need for this clarity is recognized by experts and proposals have been made to centralise the management system. EU and IAEA funding enables research on the waste management system most suitable for Ukraine, including deep geological disposal (DGD), regulatory system improvements and physical infrastructure. Adaptation of the Ukrainian standards and practices to the European standards will be ac- celerated in view of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
    [Show full text]
  • European Amazonia Nature-Based Tourism Development Scenario for Polesia
    European Amazonia Nature-based tourism development scenario for Polesia © Daniel Rosengren/FZS #VisitPolesia December 2019 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 Aims................................................................................................................................................ 4 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 5 1. Destination Polesia ................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Tourism on protected areas .............................................................................................. 9 1.2 Wildlife and birdwatching tourism ................................................................................... 13 1.3 Nuclear tourism ............................................................................................................... 15 1.4 Cultural heritage of Poleshuks ........................................................................................ 17 1.5 Agritourism....................................................................................................................... 19 1.6 Flood tourism ................................................................................................................... 21 2. Profiles of potential nature-based tourists ...........................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Emergent Stateness: Critical Urban Geopolitics in Slavutych, EWJUS
    Emergent Stateness: Critical Urban Geopolitics in Slavutych Nathaniel Ray Pickett University of Kansas Abstract: The city of Slavutych was built specifically to house the workers who would continue to work post-disaster at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) and their families. It was the pinnacle of Soviet planned cities, the culmination of decades of lessons learned from similar projects, and the architectural embodiment of Soviet multinationalism. However, in spite of all the excitement the new city elicited, within just a few years the now-independent Ukrainian government, under pressure from international organizations like the International Atomic Energy Association and the United Nations, established a hard expiration date for the shutdown of all ChNPP reactors, which in turn would mean economic devastation for Slavutych and render its existence wholly unnecessary. Rather than wait for the inevitable, city leaders and residents leveraged global and national interest in the Chornobyl disaster and its aftermath, drawing investments from multinational corporations, international organizations, and states to keep the city alive. Their scattergun approach to economic diversification and pre-emptive urban revitalization paid off, as Slavutych thrived even as the rest of Ukraine suffered major economic and demographic crises. This paper examines how Slavutych citizens were able to forge, and then to act upon, geopolitical relationships to mitigate the lingering social, political, and economic effects of the Chornobyl disaster in the city.1 Keywords: critical geopolitics, Ukraine, Chornobyl, urban studies. INTRODUCTION he 1986 Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) disaster was a T technogenic event with massive political, social, ecological, and biological repercussions that resulted in a wide range of state-scale policies and national-scale social transformations and adaptations in Ukraine (Baranovs'ka; Yekelchyk; Imanaka; Shevchenko).
    [Show full text]
  • Securing the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone Against Illegal Movement of Radioactive Materials
    Securing the Chornobyl exclusion zone against illegal movement of radioactive materials Oleg O. Bondarenko1, Mykola I. Proskura2, Klaus E. Duftschmid3, Nikolay E. Kravchenko4, 1 SSSIE Ecocentre, 6 Shkilna Street, Chornobyl 07270, Kyiv region, Ukraine, E-mail [email protected] 2 State dept. – Administration of the Chornobyl Exclusion zone, 14 Radyanska Street, Chornobyl 07270, Kyiv region, Ukraine 3 Technical University Graz, Institute for Techn. Physics, 15 Petersgasse, A-8010 Graz, Austria, Consultant to IAEA 4 State Customs Committee of Russian Federation, 11/5 Novozavodskaya, 121087 Moscow, Russia Abstracts. Within the framework of the IAEA Nuclear Security Program the technical cooperation project “Strengthening Security of Nuclear Materials in Ukraine” (UKR/0/008) is aimed primarily to strengthen protection the entrance/exit checkpoints of the Chornobyl exclusion zone and adjacent State borders of Ukraine against illicit movement of radioactive materials (including nuclear materials). The particular situation of the exclusion zone presents a high risk of uncontrolled movement of radioactive materials from and into the exclusion zone. In view of the future construction of the “Shelter-2” and decommissioning of the three closed reactor blocks it is expected that the traffic through the exclusion zone will considerably increase in the next years and those large amounts of possibly contaminated metal scrap, construction material and equipment will leave the zone. There is also a risk of illegal movement of radioactive waste into the zone, possibly also through the international border, which could make the zone to an illegal dumping ground for radioactive waste. As practice shows theft of nuclear materials cannot be excluded.
    [Show full text]