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Workshop – Ukrainian experience from exercising radioactive waste management under exceptional conditions
October 16, 2023 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
About the workshop
During times of war, licensees of nuclear and radiation technology facilities may be unable to meet regulatory safety requirements designed for peacetime. This challenge has arisen in Ukraine, particularly within the radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management facilities located in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and units of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant under decommissioning. Regulating the safety of facilities with nuclear and radiation technologies during wartime is an unprecedented task.
In an upcoming workshop, representatives from the Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory body (SNRIU) and its Technical Support Organization (SSTC NRS), will share their experiences regarding the three topics mentioned below.
- Maintaining Safety Principles and Provisions in Wartime Conditions
The SNRIU, in collaboration with the SSTC NRS and with support from the Norwegian regulatory body (DSA), has developed approaches and procedures for regulating the safety of facilities and activities within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone during wartime. The core of this approach is to require licensees to operate facilities in modes with minimal risk of emergencies and accidents while limiting authorized activities. Based on this, the scope of application of the safety principles and general provisions has been determined.
- Handling Licensing Matters During and After Liberation by the Hostilities
After regaining by Ukraine control of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, licensees of facilities within the zone faced challenges complying with safety requirements due to factors such as a shortage of personnel and uncertainty regarding the safety of the facilities following the uncontrolled presence of occupying troops. In response, the regulatory body temporarily suspended licenses and established conditions for their reinstatement. Before license restoration, facility operators had to ensure the facilities were in a safe state, capable of conducting authorized activities, and underwent comprehensive safety inspections. The SNRIU reinstated licenses following a thorough state review conducted with the assistance of the SSTC NRS, which assessed the acceptability of facility safety levels and the operators’ ability to ensure safe operations.
- Lessons Learned from Emergency Preparedness and Response in Wartime Conditions
Based on the Ukrainian experience, most recommendations, regulations and guidelines on emergency preparedness and response cannot be applied in the context of wartime. The probable events cannot be classified according to INES due to limitations established in the application area of the document for wartime. Also, divisive criteria for preparedness and emergency stages, such as event class declaration, are unclear. All these problems became obvious for the experts of the SNRIU Information and Emergence Center during an assessment of the consequences of a potential accident at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. Currently, experts are working on adapting standard calculations and procedures to the war conditions. Depending on the available time resources, the application of the assessment approaches referring to both, preparedness and response stages, is reasonable. Preparedness for an emergency resulting from military attacks at an NPP requires more information and knowledge about the potential military threats and the facility’s response to hostilities. However, a group of postulated reference events can be considered based on an expert’s view, the possible type of impact at the NPP, the ongoing situation at the site, and its potential evolution.
The presentations will be followed by a session where participants can ask questions and discuss these topics. The feedback and discussions from workshop participants will be beneficial for the future work of the Ukrainian regulator and its Technical Support Organization.
Target audience
- National Regulators, Decision Makers
- Technical Support Organisations
- Waste Management Organisations
- Research Entities
- Professionals/Experts involved in the safety case development and/or review
- Civil Society
- Participants involved in cooperating projects (as PREDIS, etc.)
- International audience (IAEA, NEA, ENSREG, EC, others).
Tentative Agenda
- 5′ Opening and Welcoming. Presentation of SNRIU and SSTC NRS Representatives
- 20′ Maintaining Safety Principles and Provisions in Wartime Conditions
- 20′ Handling Licensing Matters During and After Liberation by the Hostilities
- 20′ Lessons Learned from Emergency Preparedness and Response in Wartime Conditions
- 50′ Open Discussion
- 5′ Closing
Registration information
Registration for the workshop is free, but mandatory. Registration deadline is October 11 2023. An MS Teams link will be provided to all registrants by October 13 2023 at the latest.
