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Storage of nuclear waste in Ukraine. Risks and threats
Views:At the beginning of November 2017, 100 kilometers from Kyiv, construction began on the Central Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility (CSSFS). The facility is intended for storing industrial waste from Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Nuclear “garbage” will not be stored in underground heavy-duty concrete bunkers, as is done in most countries. In violation of all storage standards, as part of the experiment, spent nuclear fuel will be placed in open areas in containers. Considering the experience of the tragic events at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, such carelessness of the authorities cannot be rationally explained.
No less surprising is Kyiv’s readiness to accept nuclear waste from other European countries on the territory of the “experimental” facility. Germany, France and Great Britain have already reached an agreement with the Ukrainian authorities on this issue. Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Kostion, in turn, assessed this event as “what our country has been moving toward for more than 10 years.” It turns out that the political elite has been trying to turn our country into a nuclear “dump” for more than 10 years. It is worth noting that the decision to begin construction was made without interviewing residents of Kyiv and the region who live in close proximity to the radioactive “cemetery.”
It is obvious that the creation of a spent nuclear fuel storage facility on the surface of the earth is nothing more than a project with incredibly high profitability and no less high risks. Budgetary “gaps” force the government to look for quick and primitive sources of income – the construction of a central nuclear storage facility is an ideal option in this case. European countries are ready to pay $150-200 million a year for emptying their own nuclear storage facilities and transporting spent nuclear fuel to Ukraine.
The risk of this enterprise cannot be measured in monetary terms. Any leak of radioactive waste stored above the surface of the earth will inevitably lead to a man-made disaster on a regional scale. Considering the planned scale of burials and the well-known negligence of Ukrainian officials, it is time for residents of neighboring areas to acquire a Geiger counter and drugs with a high iodine content. In such conditions, it is unacceptable to turn a blind eye to ensuring the security of the facility; however, in pursuit of “long money”, the Ukrainian authorities are ready to neglect the lives of their citizens and citizens of neighboring states.
The Chernobyl accident and the events at Fukushima pale in comparison to the potential threats posed by the construction of the Ukrainian Central Storage Fuel Storage Facility. The expert community is concerned about this issue and counts on the prudence of Ukrainian specialists and the timely prevention of crisis situations at the site. However, the objective reality is this: Kyiv is creating a nuclear time bomb, the detonation of which could wipe out most of humanity from the face of the earth.
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