Apr 18 - BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

Ukraine will start building a facility for storing spent nuclear fuel in 2007, the head of the Enerhoatom national nuclear power generating company, Yuriy Nedashkovskyy, has said in an interview with a business paper. It has not yet been decided where the facility will be built, but most probably it will be in Chernobyl, Nedashkovskyy said. There are no fears of dependence on the American Holtec company, which will be making containers for spent nuclear fuel, as Ukraine should be able to make the containers without Holtec, he added. The following is the text of the interview with Yuriy Nedashkovskyy conducted by Mariya Bondar and entitled "Atom keeper" published in Kontrakty on 17 April; subheadings have been inserted editorially:

The president of the Enerhoatom national nuclear power generating company, Yuriy Nedashkovskyy, considers the estrangement zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to be the best place for storing spent nuclear fuel.

Preparations for construction

[Interviewer] What are the chances for the project of creating the central facility for storing spent nuclear fuel (CFSSNF) to be implemented in Ukraine?

[Nedashkovskyy] They are quite high. Ukraine cannot abandon the idea of building facilities for storing spent nuclear fuel. Its delivery to Russia becomes more expensive every year. We paid our partners 435 dollars per kilogram of substance containing uranium isotopes in 2005, while the sum of 600 dollars is being discussed in 2006. I shall not comment on this price growth because the negotiating process has not been completed yet. I shall just tell you that the average world market price for spent nuclear fuel removal is from 1,200 dollars to 1,300 dollars per kilogram of substance containing uranium isotopes. Ukraine altogether spends from 40m dollars to 120m dollars a year for storing spent nuclear fuel from Rivne, Khmelnytskyy and South Ukrainian nuclear power plants in Russia. For the moment, the Russians do not impose limits on the amounts of spent nuclear fuel deliveries and the terms of its storing, but we cannot rule out restrictions of this kind in the future. There has been a precedent: Russian storing facilities did not accept spent nuclear fuel from Ukrainian nuclear power plants at all during three years in early 1990s.

We expect that the Supreme Council [parliament] will adopt the law on the CFSSNF construction in the first quarter of the year 2007. The construction of the storage facility will tentatively begin at the same time. The designer-general of additional power units' construction at the Khmelnytskyy and Rivne nuclear power plants, the Enerhoproekt institute, is preparing a feasibility study for investments. The text of the study will be submitted to Ukrinvestekspertyza [government agency in charge of assessing investments] for consideration. We shall draft the relevant bill jointly with the Fuel and Energy Ministry for submitting it to parliament. It will be preceded by public hearings, a local referendum, and generally speaking, all actions envisaged by law.

Location in Chernobyl preferable

[Interviewer] Where do you plan to build the storage facility?

[Nedashkovskyy] Its location has not been determined yet. We are considering three options: two sites in the Chernobyl zone and one on the territory of the Khmelnytskyy nuclear power plant. In my personal opinion, the first two seem to be more feasible. The infrastructure which enables us to store spent nuclear fuel already exists in the Chernobyl zone. However, we influence the choice of the CFSSNF location at the level of recommendations. The final decision will be taken by the Supreme Council. In the course of the election campaign, many people spoke against locating the storing facility in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, referring to the fact that the site of the planned constructing was too close to Kiev.

Cooperation with US company

[Interviewer] Containers for fuel transportation to the CFSSNF and storing them there will be produced by the Holtec corporation. Do you fear dependence on your US partners?

[Nedashkovskyy] I have no fears. According to the conditions of the contract, Holtec will provide us with the technique of storing spent nuclear fuel and will teach us how to apply it. In case of necessity, we shall be able to organize container production ourselves.

Let me remind you that we conducted an international gradual tender in 2003. There were two participants that got into the final: Holtec and Ukratomenerhobud closed joint-stock company. Both projects were of equal worth from the technological point of view. However, the US corporation provided us with its own technology, while the Ukrainian consortium intended to borrow GNB technology used in Europe. In addition, Holtec offered us more convincing guarantees of fulfilling the contract and more beneficial scheme of funding.

[Interviewer] But boron aluminium used by Holtec for container production is not manufactured in Ukraine.

[Nedashkovskyy] We can either organize our own boron aluminium production, or replace it with a substance having similar characteristics, for example, boron steel, at the stage of developing a working design.

[Interviewer] What else, in addition to legislative restriction, can hinder the removal of spent nuclear fuel from foreign nuclear power plants to the storage facility?

[Nedashkovskyy] Containers' construction was developed specially for certain kinds of power units, and namely, for VVER-1000 and VVER- 440 operating at Rivne, Khmelnytskyy and South Ukrainian nuclear power plants. It will be just impossible to store cassettes with irradiated nuclear fuel in these containers. In addition, the quantities of spent nuclear fuel which the storing facility can accept are limited.

Ukrainian companies' planned involvement

[Interviewer] Holtec will be able to invite third parties for carrying out design and construction works. What companies are implied?

[Nedashkovskyy] Most likely, they are from Ukraine. Holtec representatives will prepare a list and will get our approval. The most important point is that these companies should comply with the requirements of the Holtec International quality guarantees.

[Interviewer] Why do Ukrainian officials advertise feasibility of expensive spent nuclear fuel recycling?

[Nedashkovskyy] Recycling techniques are being improved; they are becoming less expensive and ecologically hazardous. In 20 to 30 years, when power units of the third and fourth generations currently undergoing tests are used for commercial needs, and when Ukraine accumulates enough spent nuclear fuel, the project of building an enterprise for recycling irradiated nuclear fuel will become fully profitable. In addition, we have redundant industrial nuclear potentialities, and development of nuclear power engineering and creation of a complete cycle will enable us to find the way of applying it.

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