Ukraine and NATO signed an implementation agreement on safe reburial of radioactive wastes, which formed as a result of the former USSR's military activity on Ukraine's territory.
The Ukrainian Mission at NATO told Ukrinform about this.
“Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Oleh Proskuriakov during a visit to the NATO Headquarters in Brussels signed an implementation agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on support in reburial of radioactive wastes, formed as a result of fulfillment of military programs by the former USSR in Ukraine,” a statement reads.
Signing of the agreement that took place the other day, is a result of consistent joint work and striving of both parties to solve a problem of the ecological rehabilitation of Ukraine's territories through liquidation of radioactive waste storages, which arose still during the former USSR times and were left conserved until this time, the Ukrainian Mission at NATO stressed.
All works on reburial of radioactive waste in Ukraine are planned to be carried out at the expense of the interested Alliance member countries and partners. With this aim, the Trust Fund was founded, where payments will be attracted. Germany is a leading country of the Trust Fund, and donors for today are the U.S., Luxemburg and Switzerland. The volume of fees to the fund is over EUR 1 billion today.
Realization of projects within the frames of the implementation agreement will allow withdrawing radioactive waste from storages unfit for this and reburying them at special enterprises, as well as carrying out rehabilitation of territories, where those storages are now located.
NATO to help Ukraine rebury radioactive waste
KYIV, September 27 /Ukrinform/. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the NATO Support Agency (NSPA) that deals with supporting the safe reburial of radioactive waste, formed as a result of the military programs of the former Soviet Union, signed the Implementation Agreement, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources said in a statement Thursday.
The instrument was signed at the NATO headquarters by Ukrainian Minister Oleh Proskuriakov as the authorized representative of the Ukrainian government.
"This project is unique for NATO, because it is the first in the Alliance's history project, which covers radiation safety and is a good example of what a project should be amid new security challenges," the minister noted.
The aim of the project is to recreate the land resources and the reburial of radioactive waste, formed as a result of the military programs of the former Soviet Union, reduce the negative impact of waste on the environment and population.
The signing of the Implementation Agreement provided an opportunity for the Ukrainian authorities to address the problems of storage and elimination of radioactive waste with the support of NATO member countries; create a legal framework for the implementation of a set of measures of rehabilitation military areas, where radioactive waste storages are located; eliminate the threat of the spread of radioactive materials, significantly improve the radiation safety, reduce the level of social and psychological tensions in the regions associated with the storage of radioactive waste, the report said.