Experts from Germany, Russian Federation, Ukraine and United Kingdom attended a dedicated Workshop on quantitative methods for determining content of organics in radioactive waste water from 20 to 22 June 2018 at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna. The goal of the workshop, carried out under an ongoing technical cooperation project1, was to identify basic methods to characterize the content of organic matter in radioactive waste water from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The presence of organic matter in contaminated waters makes the operation of standard design technological units rather difficult, and as a result, the water purification system at Chernobyl NPP has special additional units that treat organics to avoid any unexpected release of radionuclides. The main source of organics is the dust suppression system in the shelter that utilises organic compounds to supress generation of radioactive aerosols in the air. The IAEA workshop aimed to identify relevant test protocols and devices to be used in the water purification system.
Experts attending the workshop identified six basic methods for determining the content of organic matter, and made recommendations on activities to implement in order to select the most appropriate test protocol to be further used in practice. The workshop results will contribute to the implementation of working programmes at water purification units and enable an authenticated approach in the action plan for the liquid radioactive waste treatment plant at the Chernobyl NPP.
The IAEA provides support to Ukraine to safely manage radioactive waste, including the large quantities of waste of various types that resulted from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) accident. Since 2015, the Chernobyl NPP has been at the first stage of decommissioning, which is tentatively planned to be implemented by 2028. To improve the management of the radioactive waste that resulted from the Chernobyl accident, many activities must be carried out, including the creation of the necessary infrastructure for radioactive waste management and retrieval, and for the conditioning of radioactive waste for storage or disposal in dedicated facilities.
These activities are at the core of the IAEA technical cooperation project, which supports the implementation of radioactive waste management programmes in Ukraine though expert missions, workshops and topical meetings, scientific visits and fellowship placements, as well as through the procurement of equipment, materials and services such as training.
1 UKR9038, ‘Supporting Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plant Units and Radioactive Waste Management at the Chernobyl Site and in the Exclusion Zone’. The project is for a two year span.