European Union actions and projects on Chernobyl zone: making the area safe again

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1 EuropeAid European Union actions and projects on Chernobyl zone: making the area safe again Press Pack Commemoration of the 30 th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident 26 April

2 Info Sheet: EU's actions European Union actions and projects in the Chernobyl zone: over 730 million committed After the Chernobyl accident of 1986, the European Commission initiated a vast nuclear safety programme and cooperated with international partners to improve the safety of the Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In the context of this programme the European Commission funded a number of industrial projects in Chernobyl, worth 550 million. In addition to contributions to international funds (the Chernobyl Shelter Fund and the Nuclear Safety Account) managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD); the Commission funded other projects to study, assess and mitigate the consequences of Chernobyl accident and for the processing and storage of radioactive waste at the site. Other projects addressed the social and regional consequences of the of the Chernobyl accident and provided for power replacement following the closure of the plant, as well as reform of the energy sector in Ukraine. In total, the European Commission has committed around 730 million so far to Chernobyl projects, as follows: Industrial projects: 550 million out of which 470 million were channelled through the international funds, and 80 million implemented directly by the European Commission; Power generation support: 65 million; Social Projects: 15 million; Research projects: 100 million. Context Situated 110 km north of Kiev, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant s (ChNPP) construction 2

3 began in the 1970s. By 1983, four units were in operation, producing approximately 10 percent of Ukraine s electricity. At the time of the accident in 1986, two additional units were under construction. The nearby city of Chernobyl had a population of The accident happened on the night of 25 to 26 April1986 during a test that went dramatically wrong due to design weaknesses and safety rules not being adhered to. Following the Chernobyl accident, some persons were evacuated from the vicinity of Chernobyl and a Shelter (sometimes referred to as sarcophagus ) enclosing the remains of Chernobyl NPP Unit 4 was constructed under exceedingly hazardous conditions. Units 1, 2 and 3 were put back into operation, raising the fear of another accident. The G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and European Commission (EC) took the lead in providing assistance to mitigate the consequences of the accident. In 1995 a Memorandum of Understanding between the G7, the EC and Ukraine on the closure of the Chernobyl plant by the year 2000 reflected this commitment. The EC has played a major role in its implementation through TACIS (a programme to provide general technical assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States and, since 2007, through the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC) programme. EC TACIS and INSC programmes: Working together towards nuclear safety Following the Chernobyl accident, the EC launched a nuclear safety programme under TACIS which, between 1991 and 2006, allocated some 1.3 billion to nuclear safety and security projects (mostly in Russia and Ukraine). From 2007 to 2013 the EC expanded its nuclear safety assistance and cooperation to third countries under the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC), which had a total budget allocation of 524 million. A large proportion of this budget has been allocated to Chernobyl - examples of these projects are mentioned below. At the end of 2013 a new INSC for the period was stablished, with a budget of 225 million. Chernobyl - global international effort Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) and the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) The Shelter built in 1986 was not intended as a permanent solution and in 1997, with the strong support of the European Commission, a group of international experts from the European Union (EU), USA, Japan and Ukraine finalised a multidisciplinary construction management programme known as the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP). In 1997 the G7, the Commission and other donors requested the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to set up the Chernobyl Shelter Fund (CSF) for the implementation of the SIP. By 2007, 10 years after the agreement on the SIP, a number of main tasks had been completed that allowed the start of the construction of a New Safe Confinement (NSC), the last major construction project at the ChNPP site under the SIP 3

4 The New Safe Confinement is being constructed on site and later on will be slid over the sarcophagus which shelters the destroyed unit 4. A contract for the construction was awarded to the French-led NOVARKA consortium, which includes the companies Bouygues and Vinci. This contract was signed in September The NSC is due to be slid by the end of 2016 and the installation finally commissioned by the end of The Nuclear Safety Account - Spent Fuel Storage and Radioactive Waste Processing The Nuclear Safety Account (NSA), also managed by the EBRD, was set up in 1993 to finance nuclear safety projects in central and Eastern Europe. Today it provides the funds for the decommissioning of the three remaining Chernobyl units, the last of which was shut down in the year countries and the European Commission contributed to the NSA. The main projects currently funded by the NSA are the Liquid Radioactive Treatment Plant (LRTP), which started operation at the end of 2014, and the Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility (ISF2). The construction of the ISF2 is being done by the US company Holtec, its completion is foreseen for The ISF2 will provide for the processing and storage of the spent nuclear fuel from the units 1, 2 and 3, which is required for the decommissioning of the plant. To date, the international Donor Community has provided some 2.5 billion to the CSF and NSA, mostly the G7 and the EC. The EC contribution is about 470 million so far 1. Revised cost estimates and settlement of claims (due to, for instance, the revision of the scope of the project, delays in implementation, etc.) led to a renegotiation of the contract for the New Safe Confinement in Completion of the SIP required an additional 615 million. A donors conference took place on 29April 2015 in London, to fill in this gap. This conference was organised by the EBRD and the presidency of the G7 (Germany at the time), which chaired the event. Most of the 615 million financial gap was covered by the EBRD, the G7 and the EC, but other donors made also significant contributions. Ukraine also confirmed its readiness to continue supporting the funding of the Chernobyl projects as well as to provide the government support needed to facilitate their completion. By the end of 2015 the EBRD indicated that Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility (ISF2), which is funded through the NSA and had an originally estimated cost in the order of 300 M, would require an additional 105 M for its completion by the end of The cost increase was mainly due to external causes outside the project management control (large depreciation of the EURO against the US$, escalation and contractor claims, war risk in particular). A further pledging conference is due to take place in Kiev on 25 April 2016 to raise the required amount. The event is due to be co-chaired by the Japanese presidency of the G7 and Ukraine. Other Chernobyl Projects funded by the European Commission Radioactive waste Management The TACIS programme provided for the construction of the Chernobyl Industrial Complex for Solid Radioactive waste Management (ICSRM) with a total budget of 47 million of which about 1 Excluding the 25 April 2016 pledge 4

5 43.5 million were provided by the European Commission. The ICSRM is intended to retrieve, treat, condition and safely store solid radioactive waste stored on site, as well as to manage solid waste resulting from the decommissioning of units 1 to 3. It includes a low and intermediate level waste storage facility that was handed over to the Ukrainian end-users in December 2007, a Solid and Liquid Waste Storage (SLWS) building (handed over in June 2008) and a waste retrieval and processing facility (handed over in February 2009). The Commission has also cooperated with Ukraine in the licensing of the ICSRM. Other TACIS Nuclear Safety projects in Chernobyl related to waste management facilities and radioactivity measurement, including the installation of environmental monitoring equipment, were completed in the 30 km-chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Since 2007 additional waste management and decommissioning projects have been funded by the European Commission in Ukraine under the framework of the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation. The vast majority of the projects foreseen or under implementation to date are directly related to the remediation of the Chernobyl site. The total budget for these activities in the period amounted to some 26 million. Since 2011 a further 10 million was allocated by the EC s to radioactive waste management activities in the Chernobyl site. The EC contribution in this field amounts to some 80 million in total. Support to the Ukrainian Nuclear Regulator In parallel to the implementation of the projects supporting the remediation activities in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the European Commission has continuously supported the Regulatory Authority of Ukraine and its Technical Support Organisation in the licensing process of the above mentioned facilities. The best European and international practices have been transferred by the European sister organisations. Research related projects The EU research effort started soon after the accident, it covered aspects of emergency management and environmental rehabilitation as well as human health detriment, up to 100 million were allocated by the Commission to research on the health and environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident and assistance towards their mitigation. The research was carried out jointly by EU and Former Soviet Union scientists and addressed a wide range of issues, including improved methods for treating highly exposed accident victims, decontamination strategies for urban and rural areas, countermeasures to reduce contamination in foodstuffs, epidemiological studies of exposed populations, characterisation and treatment of childhood thyroid cancer, emergency management and the development of a European atlas of Chernobyl contamination. Much of this research had fairly immediate impacts, either in terms of influencing policy and practice by the authorities in the three countries in terms of the longer term management of contaminated areas or in determining the nature of assistance from, in particular, the EC. Notable examples of assistance include the provision of equipment and training for the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer in young people, production facility for thyroxin which is needed long term after removal of the thyroid gland, iodisation of salt in iodine deficient areas which are prevalent in many of the affected areas, information centres in several settlements both to inform and encourage more active involvement of the local population in the recovery process. 5

6 Support to Ukraine for the loss of power generation at the Chernobyl NPP At the time of the closure of the last operating unit of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in December 2000, EC President Prodi pledged 65 million for alleviating Ukraine s additional costs of electricity generation in the interim period until the completion of new power generating plants. Starting in February 2001, the Fuel Gap Programme was tasked with supplying fossil fuel to Ukrainian power plants for the generation of electricity. Social projects - Supporting the victims of the disaster The Commission's European s cooperation has not just been about improving the technical facilities and finding long-term solutions for nuclear decommissioning. It aimed also at helping those who have had to live with the legacy of Chernobyl to rebuild their lives. In order to alleviate the social impact of the closure of Chernobyl plant, the EC granted 3.5 million to the creation of alternative employment sources. The project target group was the population of Slavutich (which consists for the most part of Chernobyl NPP workers, employees of auxiliary industries and members of their families), the management of Chernobyl power plant, the business community of Chernobyl, and employment and training services. The technology transfer approach under TACIS was successful, with local communities being given the tools and techniques to help themselves The EC allocated also 6 million for projects concerning the socio-economic recovery of the contaminated areas and support for the affected population. This included the Cooperation for Rehabilitation Programme (CORE), a multilateral programme initiated in 2003, which funded projects in the four contaminated regions of Belarus through development and implementation of a range of activities in the economic, social, health, and cultural spheres, based on the principles of international cooperation, multilevel integration and local participation. The programme supported also several projects to create better employment conditions in the region. The EC has also set up the "Children of Chernobyl" projects to help mothers and children who were contaminated by the 1986 accident by providing all new-borns in the area with access to quality healthcare at local hospitals as well as giving parents access to "better parenting" courses. The programme installed state-of-the-art equipment like infant resuscitation sets, ventilation sets, infant incubators and phototherapy lamps, set up nutrition classes for vulnerable families of the region and opened safe playgrounds for young children. The EC contribution amounted to some 700,000. The EC contributed some 650,000 to a project aimed at the social and economic development of the districts in Rivne region contaminated following the Chernobyl accident.. More than 70 rural households received plant material (apples, strawberry, black currant, red currant & gooseberry) and got access to modern horticultural equipment and tools. In total 37,5 ha of orchards and fruit plantations have been planted. The participants were trained in fruit growing techniques and received consultation how to grow fruits and berries taking into account local conditions while limiting the uptake of radioactive elements (mainly Ce 137). Skills of the rural population were improved, former agricultural activities restarted and new jobs were created in the whole area. This project was completed in In 2011 the EC committed an additional 5 million to further 'social projects' to address the consequences of the Chernobyl accident around the exclusion zone which were strongly supported by the European Parliament. The implementation of the projects started in 2013, they 6

7 include the following activities: Updated mapping of the radioactive contamination of the Invankiev district; The creation of an information centre to provide advice to the population and the monitoring and sanitary protection system for the pregnant women and young children; Additional analytical equipment and components for the Ivankiev hospital, including necessary food complements for the most vulnerable population; The provision of a wood incinerator with state-of-the-art filtering system to power the Chernobyl district heating system. This incinerator will allow burning contaminated wood that remains a potential risk in case of forest fires; The provision of a 0.75 ha greenhouse to grow clean vegetables for the local population; Child sanitary protection programme. Further information: European Commission Nuclear Safety actions European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Nuclear Safety Department Contacts Elgars Ozolins Elgars.Ozolins@ec.europa.eu Tel Adriaan Van der Meer Adriaan.VAN-DER-MEER@ec.europa.eu Tel José Mota Jose.Mota@ec.europa.eu Tel Pascal Daures Pascal.daures@ec.europa.eu Tel