Acting SNRIU Chairman and Chief State Inspector for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of Ukraine Oleh KORIKOV and Chair of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) Christopher T. Hanson signed a Memorandum on cooperation in the field of nuclear and radiation safety.

The memorandum provides for the continuation and deepening of cooperation, exchange of experience and interaction between the regulatory authorities of Ukraine and the United States on issues of regulation and supervision of the safety and security of nuclear installations and radioactive materials, the application of guarantees, environmental impact of nuclear installations and radioactive materials.

The Memorandum plans joint programs on a number of important areas in the field of nuclear and radiation safety. In particular, we are talking about:

• studying the US practice of assessing the safety of NPP sites, in particular the placement of small modular reactors, in order to revise and update the relevant regulatory requirements of Ukraine;
• research on the safety of US reactor plants using advanced technologies that could potentially be applied in Ukraine;
• development of safety assessment guidelines for dismantling the «Shelter» facility structures under the New Safe Confinement;
• development of safety assessment methodology for packaging kits for transportation of radioactive materials;
• supporting the activities of the SNRIU in terms of strengthening preparedness and emergency response;
• strengthening the infrastructure of the SNRIU to ensure the fulfillment of regulatory functions under martial law;
• modernization of the accounting system for ionizing radiation sources;
• study of the experience of US NRC regulatory activities in decommissioning uranium mining and processing facilities.

"The signed Memorandum is a logical continuation of the active cooperation that is being implemented between the American and Ukrainian nuclear regulators. The United States of America is our reliable and strategic partner, which has vast experience in the use of nuclear energy and ensuring nuclear and radiation safety: from the development of new reactor plant projects, to the management of spent nuclear fuel and the decommissioning of uranium mines. I am sure that this experience will be useful both for SNRIU, and in general for the Ukrainian nuclear energy, "- said during the signing of the Memorandum Acting SNRIU Chairman Oleh Korikov.