The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine plans to conduct an inspection survey of the centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility in January this year, on the results of which it will consider the issue of licensing the storage facility, acting chairman of the inspectorate Oleh Korikov said.
“We assume that in January 2022 an inspection survey of the facility will take place, on the results of which our licensing commission will consider the relevant materials, and a decision will be made in due course,” Korikov said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He clarified that the decision on the storage license will be made by the regulator after the elaboration of the documents prepared by Energoatom, the removal of expert comments, and inspection of the facility.
“A very long way has already been passed. I see that we are at the finish line, but both the operating organization, the regulatory body and our technical support organization still need to work,” Korikov explained.
As reported, in early December, Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Haluschenko proposed to the Cabinet of Ministers to recognize the work of the head of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine, Hryhoriy Plachkov, as unsatisfactory.
The minister expressed the opinion that the regulator is delaying the issuance of a license to Energoatom for the operation of the centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility by requiring additional information.
Plachkov, for his part, called these and other statements of the minister manipulative, pointing out that cold tests and inspection were not carried out at the centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility.
On December 15, the government dismissed Plachkov from office, appointing Korikov, who has been working as the first deputy head of the regulator since June 2021, acting chairman of the inspectorate.