Improvement of Ukraine national personnel training system in the field of RAW management, decommissioning and remediation

Ukraine

Most radioactive waste (RAW) in Ukraine arises from the consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl NPP accident. Other wastes arise at nuclear power plants, research reactors and other nuclear fuel cycle enterprises, such as uranium ore production and processing enterprises, and disused ionising radiation sources (DIRS). RAW is also generated outside of the nuclear fuel cycle at non-nuclear industry enterprises such as medical and scientific institutions using ionising radiation sources.

Availability of sufficient numbers of competent personnel is one of the primary conditions for effective and safe RAW and DIRS management, decommissioning and remediation of territories contaminated with radionuclides (RMDR). Education and training of personnel in RMDR as well as professional retraining to meet the challenges of new works are of essential importance. It is vital for a licensee to maintain sufficient numbers of competent personnel to enable it to plan and implement this work and to deal with any unforeseen problems that may arise. This requires staff to be trained.

In that context, the Ukrainian Government, beneficiaries and end-users proposed to improve existing training and training programs on decommissioning, reclaiming contaminated soils and waste management by implementing the best international methodologies. The project accounted with the support of the European Commission, through the program called “Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation” (INSC).

IDOM, acting as leader of the consortium formed by the companies NPP OSI (Ukraine) and GD Energy Services (GDES) (Spain), led the project entitled “Improvement of the national system of training personnel in the field of RAW, dismantling and remediation”, which was funded by the European Commission.

The overall objective of the project was to improve safety of RMDR activities through the improvement of the staff training system for all levels of staff. The main purpose of the project was as follows:

To identify the training needs of Ukraine in the field of RMDR, extending the work previously performed (in relation to RAW management).
To survey the content, methods, materials and outcomes of staff training in RMDR, as used by selected advanced organizations and enterprises throughout the world.
To identify best international practice that may be transferred, with or without adaptation, to meet the needs of Ukraine and, in general, to follow the Systematic Approach to Training (SAT), recommended by IAEA.
To develop a series of training programs to meet the needs of the End Users, as represented by the Beneficiary.
To develop specific training courses and the associated modules and training materials.
To perform training of instructors and deliver pilot training courses for the personnel in the industry.