The Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant – Ukraine's Uranium
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THE PRYDNIPROVSKY CHEMICAL PLANT– UKRAINE’S URANIUM HERITAGE 2020 SURVEY REPORT ON THE ACTIVITY HISTORY AND THE MODERN STATE OF THE FORMER PRODUCTION ASSOCIATION "PRYDNIPROVSKY CHEMICAL PLANT" Authors: Yuriy Tkachenko Editor: Irina Chubko, Alexander Nikitin Translation: translation agency «WellDone» Proofreading: Charles Digges Publishers: Bellona Foundation BELLONA Vulkan 11 0178 Oslo Norway [email protected] CONTENT LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS .............................................................6 FOREWORD .............................................................................................................................. 7 1. BRIEF HISTORICAL REFERENCE OF PA PCP ...............................................................9 1.1. History of activity (1949—1991) ........................................................................................9 1.2. Technologies for processing uranium raw materials and other chemical products on former PCPs ..................................................................... 12 1.2.1. Production volumes ................................................................................................... 14 2. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PC INDUSTRIAL SITE .......................................................................................15 2.1. Location and infrastructure ................................................................................................ 15 2.2. Terrain .......................................................................................................................................... 18 2.3. Geology and Soils ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.4. Seismicity .................................................................................................................................... 21 2.5. Climate ......................................................................................................................................... 21 2.6. Surface water ............................................................................................................................. 25 2.7. Groundwater.............................................................................................................................. 26 2.8. Biodiversity ................................................................................................................................ 29 2.8.1. Stone site......................................................................................................................... 29 2.8.2. Sukhachivka site .......................................................................................................... 30 2.9. Land use ....................................................................................................................................... 30 2.10. The socio-economic situation ..........................................................................................32 2.11. Demographic situation ....................................................................................................... 32 2.12. Employment of the population and the labour market ........................................ 33 2.13. GDP, income of the population ........................................................................................ 34 2.14. Industry..................................................................................................................................... 35 2.15. General environment condition ......................................................................................36 2.16. SWOT-analysis for Kamianske city ................................................................................ 39 3 3. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AT THE PCHP SITE AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR .........................................................................41 4. LEGAL FRAMEWORK. REVIEW OF RELEVANT STATE REGULATIONS ..............45 5. STATE PROGRAMS FOR BRINGING HAZARDOUS OBJECTS OF THE PRODUCTION ASSOCIATION "PRYDNIPROVSKY CHEMICAL PLANT" TO AN ECOLOGICALLY SAFE STATE AND THE RESULTS OF THEIR IMPLEMENTATION ..........................................................................................................51 5.1. The state program for bringing hazardous objects of the production association "Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant" to an ecologically safe state and ensuring protection of the population from the hazardous effects of ionizing radiation for 2005-2014 ................................................................................ 50 5.2. State Target Environmental Program for Safeguarding Uranium Objects of the Production Association “Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant” ......................... 53 5.3. State Targeted Environmental Program for Bringing Uranium Objects of the State Enterprise ”Barrier” for the Period 2015-2017 (Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of December 23, 2015 No. 1091) ......................................................................................................................... 56 5.4. State Targeted Environmental Program of Priority Measures for Safeguarding the Objects and Site of Former Uranium Production of the Production Association ”Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant” for 2019-2023 ........................................................................................................................... 58 5.5. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 58 6. INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS .........................................................................................60 6.1. Overview of Major Prior Projects for the Risk Assessment of Objects at the PCP Site ...................................................................................................... 60 6.1.1. ENSURE-І ........................................................................................................................ 61 6.1.2. ENSURE-II ...................................................................................................................... 61 6.1.3. IAEA Projects ................................................................................................................ 61 6.1.4. Projects funded by the European Commission ...............................................62 6.1.4.1. Development of a method (strategy, technology) for the reclamation of the territory of the former uranium object "Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant" ...........................63 6.1.4.2. "Implementation of urgent measures for Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant, Kamianske city (formerly Dniprodzerzhynsk), Ukraine" ............................................64 4 7. CURRENT SITUATION AT THE PCHP PROPERTY ....................................................71 7.1. Analysis of radioactive and chemical contamination of PChP territory ........... 71 7.1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 71 7.1.2. Current radiation status of the industrial site .................................................71 7.1.3. Spatial analysis of the distribution of radionuclide content in the soil ........................................................................................................75 7.1.4. Spatial analysis of heavy metals distribution in soils .................................. 76 7.2. Radiation status in former industrial buildings ......................................................... 77 7.3. Tailings ......................................................................................................................................... 82 7.3.1. Zakhidne tailing ........................................................................................................... 85 7.3.2. Centralnyi Yar ............................................................................................................... 88 7.3.3. South-eastern/Pivdenno-Skhidne tailing ......................................................... 90 7.3.4. Dniprovske tailing ....................................................................................................... 92 7.3.5. Sukhachivske Tailing ................................................................................................. 95 7.3.6. Base C and BFR-6 storage sites ............................................................................101 7.3.6.1 Base C repository ........................................................................................101 7.3.6.2. BFR-6 repository ........................................................................................106 7.3.7. Assessment of the impact of the PChP site on the employees and the general public ....................................................................106 8. ROAD MAP TO PCHP SAFEGUARDING..................................................................... 112 9. AFTERWORD .................................................................................................................. 118 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 121 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND DESIGNATIONS GDP — gross domestic product HEI — higher education institution PA PCP, PCP — production association ”Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant” ESW — engineering staff worker HEPS — hydroelectric power plant