5.10. CONCLUSIONS

(a)The Russian and Ukrainian legislation affirms the priority of human health and environmental protection in the context of the operation of nuclear installations.

(b)A legislative and regulatory basis established in both the Russian Federation and Ukraine ensures that all nuclear power plants operate with a valid licence. A legal mechanism exists for regulatory body review and assessment of plant safety and renewal of plant licences on a regular basis.

(c)In the Dnieper Basin within the Russian Federation there are two nuclear power plants in operation. They comprise seven reactor units of the RBMK type. Following the Chernobyl accident, modernization programmes have been put in place that have significantly increased the safety of these reactors.

(d)In Ukraine there are 13 WWER units in operation, of which ten are in the Dnieper River basin. These reactors belong to the common PWR type. Significant improvements have been made to these reactors and are ongoing.

(e)During normal operation the radioactive emissions from the reactors in the Dnieper River basin represent a small fraction of the authorized discharge limits. The contribution of these emissions to the atmospheric radioactive burden and to the aquatic environment are negligible for the Dnieper River basin.

(f)For potential severe accidents, a set of intervention criteria that are consistent with the Basic Safety Standards [5.19] and the relevant ICRP recommendations [5.30] has been established by the countries of the region.

(g)Over the past few years considerable effort has been made to complete the IDSA for reference units, covering all types of the reactors operating in the river basin. This assessment includes analyses of DBAs and BDB and severe accidents, as well as PSAs. These studies have been performed in accordance with current international practice.

5.11. RECOMMENDATIONS

(a)Rules and regulations governing the safety of the operation of nuclear power plants should be further developed with a view to harmonizing them within the Dnieper River basin region, consistent with international practice and the standards of the IAEA.

(b)Cooperation and information exchange between regulatory organizations should be strengthened to make use of the experience gained in implementing the safety upgrading programmes and lessons learned from operating experience.

(c)The scope of SARs for each of the nuclear power plants should be in compliance with the national requirements and be consistent with the IAEA safety standards and current international practices. The experience gained in developing the assessments for the reference units should serve in future as a sound basis for these reports. It would be desirable to exchange information on the results.

(d)Comprehensive, plant specific PSAs should be finalized for all nuclear power plants in the region and subjected to thorough regulatory review. This would provide the basis to use them for identifying priorities for safety improvements and risk informed decision making. The countries could benefit from participation in the activities organized by international organizations such as the IAEA on comparison of PSA studies for similar reactors.

(e)To improve preparedness for a possible nuclear accident, technical measures (early warning systems, decision support systems), institutional measures (logistics) and links between nuclear power plants and regional administrative units should be improved.

(f)Plans established for safety improvements should be carried out as a matter of high priority. Exchange of experience in implementing safety improvement programmes for similar plants will help to harmonize the level of safety in the region and minimize the potential for radioactive releases from operational nuclear power plants.

REFERENCES TO SECTION 5

[5.1] Radiation Situation in Russia and Adjoined States in 1996, SPA Typhoon, Obninsk (1997) (in Russian).

[5.2] EGOROV, Y.A., LEONOV, S.V., MALAKHOVA, T.V., MELNIKOVA, N.N., “Hydrographical network and water supply of the Kursk NPP, and its influence on the Seim River”, Ecology of the Regions of Nuclear Power Plants, Atomenergoproekt, No. 4 M (1995) 78–103 (in Russian).

[5.3] VISHNEVSKIY, V., River and Water Bodies of Ukraine: Status of Water Use, Vopol, Kiev (2000) (in Ukrainian).

[5.4] ADAMOV, E.O., et al., Safety improvement at NPPs with RBMK reactors, Atomnaya Energiya 62 (1987) 219–226 (in Russian).

[5.5] AGAPOV, A.M., et al., “Setting up a sectorial ASKRO of Minatom of Russia as a subsystem of EGASKRO”, Proc. Conf. on State and Development of a General National Automated System of Radiation Monitoring in the Territory of Russia, SPA Typhoon, Obninsk (2001) 5–9 (in Russian).

[5.6] RYAKHIN, V.M., et al., “Automated system of the radiation monitoring around the Kursk NPP: The state and prospects”, ibid., pp. 74–80.

[5.7] Radiation Situation in Russia and Adjoined States in 1999, SPA Typhoon, Obninsk (2000) (in Russian).

[5.8] VOITSEKHOVITCH, O.V., SHESTOPALOV, V.M., SKALSKY, A.S., KANIVETS, V.V., Monitoring of Radioactive Pollution of Surface and Underground Waters after the Chernobyl Accident, National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kiev (2001) (in Russian).

[5.9] Radiation Situation in Russia and Adjoined States in 1995, SPA Typhoon, Obninsk (1996) (in Russian).

[5.10] Radiation Situation in Russia and Adjoined States in 1997, SPA Typhoon, Obninsk (1998) (in Russian).

[5.11] Radiation Situation in Russia and Adjoined States in 1998, SPA Typhoon, Obninsk (1999) (in Russian).

[5.12] VINOGRADOV, V.N., GUSAROV, V.I., EGOROV, Y.A., “Evaluation of the current state of the Kursk NPP region”, Ecology of the Regions of Nuclear Power Plants, Atomenergoproekt, No. 4 M (1995) 5–30 (in Russian).

[5.13] BEZRUKOV, B.A., IVANOV, E.A., KOCHETKOV, O.A., SHERSHAKOV, V.M., “Optimization of permissible releases of NPPs”, Proc. Conf. on State and Development of a General National Automated System of Radiation Monitoring in the Territory of Russia, SPA Typhoon, Obninsk (2001) 201–207 (in Russian).

[5.14] EGOROV, N.Y., EGOROV, Y.A., KADUSHKIN, A.V., “Radionuclides and radiation situation in terrestrial ecosystems in the

Kursk NPP region”, Ecology of the Regions of Nuclear Power Plants, Atomenergoproekt, No. 4 M (1995) 197–239 (in Russian).

[5.15] KRYSHEV, I.I., et al., Radioactive Contamination of NPP Regions, USSR Nuclear Society, Moscow (1990) (in Russian).

[5.16] KRYSHEV, I.I., RYAZANTSEV, E.P., Ecological Safety of Nuclear Power Engineering, IzdAT, Moscow (2000) (in Russian).

[5.17] UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, Water Quality Evaluation and Prediction in Areas Affected by the Chernobyl Accident (Bryanskaya Oblast), Rep. RUS/95/004, UNDP, Moscow (2001).

[5.18] DROVNIKOV, V.V., et al., “Radionuclides in ecosystem components of the Kursk NPP cooling pond”, Ecology of the Regions of Nuclear Power Plants, Atomenergoproekt, No. 4 M (1995) 295– 320 (in Russian).

[5.19] FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS, INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION, OECD NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY, PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources, Safety Series No. 115, IAEA, Vienna (1996).

[5.20] DAVYDENKO, N., NPP closure, spent fuel and radioactive waste management, Bull. Rosenergoatom 32 8 (2002) 8–11 (in Russian).

[5.21] KOZLOV, Y.V., SAFUTIN, V.D., TIKHONOV, P.S., TOKARENKO, A.I., SPICHEV, V.V., Longterm storage and transportation of spent nuclear fuel, At. Ehnerg. 89 (2000) 273–284 (in Russian).

[5.22] EGOROV, Y.A., RYABOV, S.E., CHIONOV, V.G., “Doses for population in vicinity of Kursk NPP”, Ecology of the Regions of Nuclear Power Plants, Atomenergoproekt, No. 5 M (1996) 31–43 (in Russian).

[5.23] INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECH-

NOLOGY CENTER, WWR-K Conversion,

Project K-503, ISTC, Moscow (2002).

[5.24] GALICH, V., Russian NPPs are among the safest in the world, Bull. At. Energy, No. 3–4 (2001) 17– 22 (in Russian).

[5.25] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Method for the Development of Emergency Response Preparedness for Nuclear or Radiological Accidents, IAEA-TECDOC-953, IAEA, Vienna (1997).

[5.26] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Generic Assessment Procedures for Determining Protective Actions During a Reactor Accident, IAEA-TECDOC-955, IAEA, Vienna (1997).

[5.27] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Generic Procedures for Monitoring in a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency, IAEA- TECDOC-1092, IAEA, Vienna (1999).

[5.28] Nuclear and Radiation Safety in Ukraine: Annual Report 2001, State Nuclear Regulatory Committee of Ukraine, Kiev (2002) (in Ukrainian).

[5.29] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Method for Developing Arrangements for Response to a Nuclear or Radiological

Emergency, EPR-METHOD (2003), Updating

IAEA-TECDOC-953, IAEA, Vienna (2003).

[5.30] INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION, Principles for Intervention for Protection of the Public in a Radiological Emergency, Publication 63, Pergamon Press, Oxford and New York (1993).