On November 24, an expert mission of the IAEA completed its work at the Chornobyl NPP. The mission was focused on the improvement of the radioactive waste (RAW) management system
During three days of work, IAEA experts made a series of presentations, held meetings, and visited the main facilities of the SSE ChNPP for RAW treatment: the Industrial Complex for Solid Radioactive Waste Management and the Liquid Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant.
Mr. Oleksii Miasnykov, Head of Integrated RAW Management Department, commented on the mission’s work: "The objective of the mission is to analyze the RAW management facilities that already exist at the Chornobyl NPP site, as well as the facilities that will be created in the future. It was necessary to consider the acceptance criteria for each of these facilities, verify their consistency and provide an overall assessment of the efficiency of the RAW management system at the Chornobyl NPP."
"We are waiting for expert conclusion from IAEA experts. It will give us an opportunity to see our objects from the sidelines and further improve the entire system formed by these facilities", — Mr. Miasnikov noted.
It is known that the Chornobyl NPP is one of the largest plants in terms of the waste amount. They have various origins: some wastes were generated as a result of the accident; some wastes were produced during the operation of the ChNPP, the rest were produced during decommissioning activities and transformation of the Shelter Object.
Wastes also differ according to their physical, chemical, radiological and other properties. Such a variety requires different methods of processing, storage and disposal. In its turn, this necessitates the establishment of an extensive infrastructure for RAW management, which is still a work in progress.
In addition, an important part of the mission was the expert analysis of risks during RAW management.
On Friday, during the final meeting, the experts presented preliminary findings of the mission. Final conclusions and proposals for improvement of the ChNPP RAW management system will be submitted by the end of 2017.
