The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) has approved the release of some 20 tonnes of decontaminated carbon steel from the Chornobyl NPP (ChNPP). The steel was generated during the dismantling of plant equipment. ChNPP said this is the first batch of materials from Chornobyl NPP to be released back into the national economy, allowing Ukrainian companies to reuse or recycle them.
“Before being cleared for release, the materials were fragmented, decontaminated, and then thoroughly checked at the Free Release Facility (FRM-03) using gamma-spectrometric monitoring.” ChNPP said. “The results confirmed residual contamination levels that allow the metal to be reused, as verified by 20 measurement protocols and 10 certificates for the batch.”
According to ChNPP: “Launching this process is an important step not only for the Chornobyl NPP but for Ukraine as a whole. Environmentally, it helps reduce the amount of radioactive waste. Economically, it allows additional funds to be directed to decommissioning activities and helps ease the burden on the State Budget of Ukraine.”
FRM-03 entered into industrial operation in September. The facility was specifically established to support the plant’s decommissioning. It was funded by the European Union’s Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (EU INCS).
SNRIU was involved throughout the facility’s construction, conducting nuclear and radiation safety examinations of its design and technical documents in cooperation with international experts. In the run up to its operation, FRM-03 completed comprehensive acceptance tests and a pilot industrial operation phase.
In August, the SNRIU approved the facility’s commercial operation for processing small-sized materials. It is capable of processing up to 10 tonnes of material a day.
SNRIU explained that “during the dismantling of equipment, systems and components as part of the Chornobyl NPP decommissioning programme, significant amounts of radioactive materials are generated, some of which, after appropriate treatment (sorting, fragmentation, decontamination) and subsequent radiation survey, are subject to release from regulatory control”.
This approach “is in line with best international practice and makes it possible to minimise the amount of radioactive waste requiring further treatment and disposal, while at the same time returning a significant amount of valuable materials to the national economy for further use for the public good, with the unconditional protection of the population and the environment”.
In addition, taking into account the experience gained during the implementation of this project, SNRIU, in cooperation with the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA), developed a new version of the Procedure for the Exemption from Regulatory Control of Activities with Radioactive Materials, which ensured the compliance of the provisions of this regulatory act with the requirements of European directives and international standards.
Following the Chornobyl accident in April 1986, which destroyed the NPP’s unit 4 RBMK reactor, a 4200-square kilometre Exclusion Zone was established around the plant, which still remains largely uninhabited. A containment shelter (sarcophagus) was hastily built over the ruins of the reactor to contain radiation and later a new shelter – the New Safe Confinement (NSC) was built over the sarcophagus, which was beginning to leak. The three other units at the site continued to operate with the last unit (3) closing in 2000.
Decommissioning of the site is underway, including the unit 4 reactor inside the NSC and there are plans to gradually reduce the size of the exclusion zone.
