UKRAINE'S LONG STALLED DEVELOPMENT OF A CENTRAL STORAGE FACILITY FOR USED NUCLEAR FUEL GATHERS MOMENTUM - NATIONAL SECURITY IMPERATIVE

Holtec International, Marlton, New Jersey,  
Thursday, May 1, 2014

USUBC Congratulates Ukraine's new Cabinet of Ministers for taking real action on the storage facility.

Ukraine,Europe's third largest nuclear operator, has finally taken concrete steps tore-start its long stalled project to establish a domestic interim storagefacility for housing its used fuel. On April 24, the nation's Cabinet ofMinisters approved the allotment of 45 hectares in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zoneto the national utility, Energoatom, to establish an autonomous state-of-the-artfuel storage facility to initially serve nine of the country's 15 reactors[seven VVER 1000s and two VVER 440s located at three sites: Rivne (four), SouthUkraine (three) and Khmelnitsky (two)].

Mapof Ukraine Showing the Locations of the Rivne, Khmelnitsky, South Ukraine, andthe Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Sites. The Central Spent Fuel Facility WillBe Located Inside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Holtecwon the international tender for the turnkey supply of the facility in 2005,but the project soon fell victim to governmental indecision and policyuncertainty. When first announced in 2005, the project was hailed as a nationalsecurity imperative and an economic "no-brainer" (the entire cost ofthe project will be paid in a mere 4 years of avoided payments to Russia forstoring Ukraine's fuel). Other benefits such as ending the transport of Ukraine'sused fuel over the country's railroads in Russian casks that don't fully meet theIAEA standards were also widely recognized. Yet, little has happened over thepast eight years.

Mr.Yuriy Nedaskovsky, who has been appointed for the fifth time as president ofthe country's national utility, Energoatom, and is an internationallyrecognized nuclear expert, has re-invigorated the project and resolved to buildthe facility in three years' time despite Ukraine's financial woes. A revisedcontract with Holtec is expected to be adopted by the end of May.

Toexpedite the site's construction work and to create local employment in thenear term, Holtec and Mr. Nedaskovsky agreed to devolve the site design andconstruction work for direct contracting by Energoatom in the revised contract.Holtec has pledged to extend full support to Energoatom's selected contractorto ensure that the facility is world class in terms of ensuring safety ofworkers and protection of the environment.

Thestorage facility will employ Holtec's HI-STORM 190 vertical ventilated systemswith Double Wall multi-purpose canisters containing METAMIC-HT fuel baskets(Ukraine is among the few countries that require a double-walled canister forfuel confinement; most, including the US, permit single wall). The HI-STAR 190transport casks, rated at 38 KW heat load (featuring world's highest heat loadand in full compliance with IAEA's standards), will be used to transport thespent fuel to the Central Facility from the three nuclear plant sites.

"Given the drive and determination being shown by Energoatom’s President,Mr. Nedaskovsky, I have no doubt that Ukraine will have an autonomous storagefacility on its soil within three years ending the country’s vulnerability in akey area. Moreover, the new well-paying jobs created to build and operate thefacility will be a welcome tonic for the country's struggling economy, not tomention the ancillary benefits of infusion of US technology that this projectwill bring", says Holtec's President & CEO, Dr. Kris Singh.