Signing of the Memorandum on Cooperation
On July 12, 2023, a regular meeting of the Presidium of the NAS of Ukraine was held under the chairmanship of the President of the NAS of Ukraine, academician Anatoly Zagorodny. At its beginning, a Memorandum on interaction and cooperation was signed between the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management (SAUEZM) and Slavutych City Council.
In his speech, Academician Anatoly Zagorodny emphasized that the Institute for Safety Problems of NPP is located in the city of Chornobyl, which provides scientific and technical support for the Chornobyl NPP power units decommissioning and the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system. The Institute was created back in 1992 in Chornobyl, in order to conduct on-site research of nuclear and radioactive materials and other sources of ionizing radiation and thus eliminate dangerous transport operations. And in 2017, the Academy of Sciences, together with the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management signed a joint decision on the appointment of the Institute for Safety Problems of NPP as the scientific supervisor of works on the Chornobyl NPP power units decommissioning and the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system. And now we are expanding our cooperation by including the city of Slavutych.
“I believe that such cooperation and interaction will make it possible to create an up-to-date center of scientific activity for specialists from all over the world, to develop the research potential of the Exclusion Zone and Slavutych, which in turn will make it possible to scientifically substantiate technical decisions related to the Chornobyl NPP power units decommissioning, the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system, the introduction and development of technologies for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management, the return to economic use of contaminated territories, simulation of possible nuclear disasters and their social consequences.”
Academician Anatolii Nosovskyi, in turn, reminded the audience that the Institute for Safety Problems of NPP has been constantly engaged in research related to overcoming the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster since 1992. This especially applies to the Chornobyl NPP power units decommissioning and the Shelter object transformation into an ecologically safe system. Scientists of the Institute performed a significant amount of research, on the basis of which measures were developed and substantiated to ensure the radiation safety of personnel and minimize radiation effects on the environment during the construction of the New Safe Confinement. The Institute monitors the state of the Shelter object construction structures and studies the nuclear fuel-containing materials state, performed scientific and technical support for the construction of the Centralized Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel and many other works in the Exclusion Zone.
Today, the stuff of the Institute faces many challenges that require close cooperation both with the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management and with the administration of the city of Slavutych. The Institute created a new laboratory for the study of the Chornobyl NPP irradiated graphite. This task is relevant not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world. Together with SUEZM and Chornobyl NPP, the Institute signed a protocol in 2020 to create another new scientific laboratory for testing robotic devices in real radiation conditions in the premises of the Shelter object. The COVID-19 epidemic and then the war did not allow us to start these works. In addition, it should be added that the Institute’s infrastructure was destroyed during the military occupation of the Exclusion Zone. With the help of national and international benefactors, we were able to restore part of the laboratory equipment and start work, but additional investments are still needed before full restoration.
“Therefore, we are very interested in cooperation with the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management and the city of Slavutych. This cooperation will create conditions for the influx of international investments, restore and develop the research potential of our Institute, the Exclusion Zone, and the city of Slavutych.”
The Memorandum on Cooperation was signed by the President of the NAS of Ukraine, Academician Anatoly Zagorodny, the Head of the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management, Yevhen Kramarenko, and the Head of the Slavutych City Council, Yuriy Fomichev.
