Ukraine Calls for New Level of International Cooperation on Nuclear Safety

KYIV, Ukraine, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kyiv summit for safe and innovative use of nuclear energy - the initiative of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, has become a public discussion forum for representatives of more than 40 countries, including the G8 and EU countries and international organizations from all over the world. The Summit is directly linked to commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Chornobyl catastrophe.

Kyiv summit became an event where the world leaders acknowledged that nuclear safety does not recognize national borders and requires global response and all parties have to work together to meet all the challenges related to the use of nuclear energy and technologies.

Ukraine shares the vision that nuclear safety is integrally connected to the exchange of innovative ideas on designing, planning, construction and maintenance of nuclear facilities. Particular importance of safe nuclear energy is proven by Ukraine's experience while overcoming large-scale humanitarian and security consequences of Chornobyl disaster. Ukraine has called other countries that possess nuclear facilities and have not acceded to the Convention on Nuclear Safety to join it. This will allow for global application of more rigorous safety norms on all nuclear power plants, said Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.

According to Ukraine's announcement during the 2010 US nuclear security summit most of Ukraine's enriched uranium has already been disposed ofand the rest of it will be removed before the Seoul summit in April 2012, informed President Yanukovych. To-date, Ukraine has disposed of about 106 kg of weapons-grade uranium, said Ukrainian president.

Ukrainian nuclear power plants have gone through a meticulous modernization of power units, increasing their safety. For the first time ever a unique comprehensive safety assessment of all nuclear power units in the whole country has been conducted through the EU-Ukraine-IAEA joint project in Ukraine. As a result, IAEA experts and the EU have established compliance of all units of Ukrainian nuclear power plants with modern requirements of the IAEA's nuclear security measures.

Currently, there are four operational nuclear power plants in Ukraine: the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe, the Rivne atomic power plant, Khmelnytsky nuclear power plant and South-Ukrainian nuclear power plant. The infamous Chornobyl nuclear plant was completely shut down in 2000.