Sergyi Bozhko, Chairman of State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), and Jacques Repussard, Director General of IRSN, the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety today signed a new cooperation agreement in Kiev, in the presence of Ihor Shevchenko, Director of SSTC, the Ukrainian TSO (Technical Safety Organisation).

IRSN and SNRIU have long-standing relations of cooperation in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection. The two agencies work together since 1990 under the European Union TACIS program (nuclear component), which became the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC), in 2007, designed to improve the safety level of nuclear installations, including Ukrainian.

The cooperation covers very broad technical areas such as the evaluation of nuclear installations safety, radiation protection (man and environment), the modernization of existing power plants, the management of radioactive waste and decommissioning of facilities.

The IRSN office in Kiev enables IRSN to ensure ongoing active dialogue with SNRIU, as well as with SSTC, the authority technical support, in all of these areas. SSTC has also integrated the ETSON network of European safety organizations in 2010. ETSON was created at the initiative of IRSN to contribute to the European construction in terms of safety. It now brings together the TSO of the main European nuclear countries.

The accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant shows that extreme vigilance and constant improvement is still needed in the field of nuclear safety. Ukraine, who has lived the Chernobyl accident, almost 30 years ago, has acquired an experience that she shares today with the actors of accident management in the context of international cooperation. It is in this context that SNRIU and IRSN have developed lasting relationships and engage today a new stage in their cooperation.