On 15 August 2024, Head of SNRIU - Chief State Inspector for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of Ukraine Oleh Korikov held a working meeting with Mark Foy, Chairman of the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA), and his deputy Petteri Tiippana, who were on a working visit to Ukraine from 12 to 15 August.
At the same time, the WENRA heads are the heads of the national nuclear regulators of the United Kingdom and Finland: Mark Foy is the Chief Executive and Chief Nuclear Inspector of the Office for Nuclear Regulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (ONR), and Petteri Tiippana is the Director General of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of the Republic of Finland (STUK).
“I am glad to welcome you to Ukraine. I am grateful for the unwavering support of our country in matters related to nuclear and radiation safety, which you proclaimed in the first days of the full-scale war launched by the russian federation against Ukraine. It is important for us to hear the voice of support from Finland and the United Kingdom during the meetings of the IAEA General Conference and Board of Governors, during the work of the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association and at other international platforms and meetings. Finland and the United Kingdom are one of the undisputed authorities in the field of nuclear regulation, whose opinion is listened to by most of our colleagues in the civilised world”, SNRIU Chairman Oleh Korikov said in his welcoming speech.
During the meeting, the Head of the Ukrainian State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate informed in detail about the experience of regulation in the conditions of war, the state of nuclear and radiation safety at the Zaporizhzhya NPP occupied by the russian federation. He noted that the occupation of ZNPP has led to significant degradation of equipment, systems and components of ZNPP and that its safe operation can be restored only through immediate de-occupation, demilitarisation and return under full control of the Ukrainian state.
He added that the occupants, contrary to common sense and generally accepted principles and standards of nuclear and radiation safety, continue to create provocations at ZNPP, trying to put the blame on Ukraine.
The parties reviewed the status of the development of the programme for the restoration of state regulation in the field of safety of nuclear facilities at Zaporizhzhya NPP, which was affected by the hostilities and occupation by russian troops, the improvement of the emergency preparedness and response system, the implementation of European nuclear safety principles in Ukrainian legislation on the use of nuclear energy, the approval of the Regulation on Pre-licensing Assessment of Nuclear Facility Design in Ukraine and the prospects for licensing small modular reactors.
The meeting participants also discussed the work on restoring regulatory control in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, the process of decommissioning ChNPP power units, providing assistance to enterprises involved in the management of radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, and ionising radiation sources, improving the radiation monitoring system, and assisting in strengthening the SNRIU's functional capabilities.
As a result of the meeting, WENRA representatives assured of their readiness to continue supporting Ukraine in improving nuclear safety, providing comprehensive support to restore resources, equipment, and components of nuclear energy enterprises lost since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In addition, they expressed interest in studying the Ukrainian experience of nuclear regulation in wartime.