Ukrainian experience: safety issues of radioactive waste management in the territories affected by hostilities

Ukraine continues to face problems of ensuring safety in the territories affected by hostilities, where many radiation-hazardous facilities are located and radioactive sources are used or stored. These include in particular, plant under decommissioning and other facilities at the site of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the sites of the national radioactive waste (RW) management operator, and other facilities linked to RW management inside and around the Chornobyl exclusion zone (CEZ). Regulating the safety of such facilities during wartime is an unprecedented task. Problematic issues are related to the temporary occupation by military forces, the aftermath of fighting such as unexploded shells and mines, and the continuing risk of shelling and missiles that pose threats to safety supervision. The radiation risks are linked to possible damage and theft of equipment, loss of control over RW packages, violations of the operating rules at the facilities, difficulties in delivering personnel to the facilities, and partial evacuation of personnel. At the same time, the situation is made complicated by continuing military risks and the loss of normal logistical capabilities. The regulator State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine, in collaboration with its technical support organisation, the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety and with support from the Norwegian radiation and nuclear safety authority, has developed approaches and procedures for regulating the safety of facilities and activities within the CEZ during wartime, at the time of active armed conflict and addressing the aftermath following de-occupation. This approach was developed in the absence of global experience in regulating safety under such conditions and can be applied as further areas are de-occupied and hostilities cease. This article aims to share with the international community unique Ukrainian experience in maintaining safety principles and provisions in wartime conditions and handling licensing matters during the hostilities and after liberation of the occupied territories.