The Ukrainian Parliament voted in the first reading for the draft Law No. 12356 “On the National Target Environmental Program for Radioactive Waste Management”.
This information is contained in the document card on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
This draft law defines the main directions of state policy in the field of radioactive waste management. It was developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine together with the State Agency of Ukraine on Exclusion Zone Management.
Why the new program was developed
The explanatory note to the draft Law No. 12356 states that the previous program was designed for the period of 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 created.
The new National Target Environmental Program for Radioactive Waste Management is designed for the period from 2025 to 2032.
The Program objective is to:
- significantly reduce the negative impact on the environment of facilities that generate radioactive waste (such as nuclear power plants)
- optimize the processes of their storage and utilization;
- establish strict control and ensure transparency of all stages of work.
The Ministry of Environment says that the Program takes into account the best European practices and contains measures to improve environmental and radiation safety in Ukraine. According to the developers, it will also help create conditions for the safe and sustainable use of nuclear energy in electricity production, and will have a positive impact on the environmental and energy security of the state.
The following activities are planned for 2025-2032 under the Program
- reconstruction and modernization of the infrastructure of existing facilities, such as radioactive waste storage facilities, as well as construction of new facilities using modern technologies;
- improvement of the radioactive waste accounting system;
- development of legal and regulatory framework for radioactive waste management;
- attracting international support for technical and financial assistance in the implementation of the Program tasks and activities.
Funding
The estimated amount of funding for the Program for the period from 2025 to 2032 will be about UAH 20 billion. It will be provided at the expense of:
- 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 an increase/decrease in the revenue part from the funding sources mentioned above.
As EcoPolitic wrote earlier, on December 23, 2024, the Government of Ukraine approved the draft Law of Ukraine “On the National Target Environmental Program for Radioactive Waste Management”. And at its meeting on February 18, the Environmental Committee supported this document.
