German consortium awarded Ukrainian waste contract

A consortium of four German companies has been awarded a contract to improve infrastructure for managing radioactive waste, the rehabilitation of contaminated areas and the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Ukraine.

The consortium - comprising Brenk Systemplanung, DMT, Plejades and TÜV Nord EnSys - was awarded the contract for the project, which is within the framework of the European Union-funded Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC). The INSC is designed to support non-EU countries in improving nuclear safety. The contract will run for an initial two-year period and have a maximum budget of €1.5 million ($1.6 million).

According to the tender notice, the main objectives of the contract are to support the Ukrainian State Corporation 'Radon' in establishing an emergency response system for "radiation incidents involving unauthorized radioactive materials that are not related to nuclear power plant operation". It also calls for the establishment of integrated, automated monitoring systems for radiation and environmental protection at Radon facilities, as well as the remediation of radioactive waste storage sites resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident and situated outside the exclusion zone.

In a statement yesterday, DMT said it will jointly lead with TÜV Nord EnSys Hannover the assessment of some 50 radioactive waste storage sites. By means of a ranking, they will also identify a possible pilot rehabilitation project, for which a complete remediation concept - including safety report and tender documents - must be created. Recommendations for the processing of other sites will then be drawn from the pilot. This work, DMT said, will be carried out "in close cooperation with Ukrainian counterparts, the site managers and the relevant authorities".

The European Commission launched its TACIS (Technical Aid to the Commonwealth of Independent States) nuclear safety program in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl accident to provide nuclear safety assistance mostly to projects in Russia and Ukraine. Since 2007, it has widened its nuclear safety assistance and cooperation to third-party countries under the INSC, which had a total budget allocation of €524 million for 2007-2013. A new INSC covering 2014-2020 was adopted in 2013, with a total budget of €225 million. The INSC program grants for projects aims at promoting a high level of nuclear safety, radiation protection and the application of efficient and effective safeguards of nuclear material in third countries.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News