The Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt as a basis the government's draft law No. 12356 “On the National Target Environmental Program for Radioactive Waste Management”.
This was announced by the government representative in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnychuk.
According to the information in the draft law card, it has already been included in the parliament's agenda.
The explanatory note to the draft law No. 12356 states that the previous program was designed for the period 2008-2017. The tasks and activities envisaged by it were funded from the state budget by only 10%. This funding was sufficient only for the maintenance of radioactive waste management infrastructure, but did not allow for the full implementation of the tasks envisaged by the program. Therefore, most of them were not fulfilled, the necessary elements of the radioactive waste management infrastructure were not created, and an integrated radioactive waste management system was not established.
The new National Target Environmental Program for Radioactive Waste Management is designed for the period from 2025 to 2032.
Main provisions
In the developed document:
- The problems to be solved by the Program are identified.
- The choice of the optimal solution to the problem is justified taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of alternative options.
- The goal of the Program is stated.
- The ways and means of solving the problems are described.
- The financial, material and technical, and labor resources required for the Program implementation are estimated.
- The results that will be achieved after timely and effective implementation of the Program are characterized.
Financing
The estimated amount of funding for the Program for the period from 2025 to 2032 will be UAH 20043.6 million, i.e. about UAH 20 billion. It will be financed from the following sources:
- the State Fund for Radioactive Waste Management;
- the general fund of the state budget;
- funds of radioactive waste producers;
- international technical assistance;
- voluntary contributions from enterprises, institutions, organizations, citizens and other sources not prohibited by law.
The explanatory note states that this indicative amount of funding may be changed during the development of amendments to the Program in case of increase/decrease of the revenue part from the above-mentioned funding sources.
Main results of the Program implementation of economic nature:
- the first and second stages of the Vector complex were built and put into operation;
- technological equipment for the Vector complex was purchased and put into operation;
- radioactive waste processing facilities were built at Khmelnytsky and South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants;
- storage facilities for radioactive waste containers were constructed at Zaporizhzhya NPP;
- trenches were constructed at the Buryakivka radioactive waste disposal site;
- the radioactive waste accounting system was modernized and radioactive waste databases were formed;
- a set of prospecting and research activities was carried out.
The main results of the Program implementation were of environmental nature:
- spent radiation sources were transported to the Vector storage facility;
- a state inventory of radioactive waste was conducted;
- radioactive waste management facilities were brought to an environmentally safe state.
Main results of the Program implementation of social nature:
- the personnel of specialized radioactive waste management enterprises underwent training, retraining and upgraded their qualifications;
- the National Plan for Deep Geological Disposal of Radioactive Waste in Ukraine was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for consideration;
- developed the Concept of a geological repository and a site selection plan for the creation of a geological repository in Ukraine.
In December 2024, the Government of Ukraine approved the draft Law of Ukraine “On the National Target Environmental Program for Radioactive Waste Management”.
