Ukrainian, U.S. nuclear regulators sign memorandum on nuclear, radiation safety cooperation

MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax) - Head of Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate (SNRIU) Oleg Korikov and Chair of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC) Christopher T. Hanson have signed a memorandum on cooperation in nuclear and radiation safety.

The document gives the green light to deepening cooperation, exchanging experience and promoting contacts between the two countries' nuclear regulators in controling and supervising the safety and security of nuclear installations and radioactive materials, the application of guarantees, and the environmental impact of nuclear installations and radioactive materials, Ukrainian media said, citing the SNRIU website.

The parties have outlined a number of joint programs aimed at reviewing and updating regulatory requirements by studying the U.S.' practice of assessing the safety of nuclear power plants' sites and installing small modular reactors.

The memorandum also involves a program to analyze the safety of U.S. reactor units using advanced technologies that could be applied in Ukraine, developing safety assessment guidelines for dismantling the Shelter facility structures under the New Safe Confinement, bolstering SNRIU's infrastructure in conditions of martial law, and studying the record of the NRC's regulatory work to take the uranium industry's mining and processing facilities out of operation.