Project for Training Experts on Physical Protection, Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials Contributes to Energy Safety

The Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry held a meeting with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy and the Sandia National Laboratory to plan further cooperation on implementing project “Development of Human Resources Development Program of Ukraine on Physical Nuclear Safety and Security Assessment”. The meeting on the discussion of current tasks within project implementation was held by Deputy Director of Department, Head of Division for Provision of International Safety Regimes and Legislative Initiatives Svitlana Kulchytska with the participation of representatives of National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”.

The initiative of the Ministry to introduce this specialty in the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute is implemented within restart of training experts on physical protection, accounting and control of nuclear materials, which was carried out by the Sevastopol National University of Nuclear Energy and Industry (Autonomous Republic of Crimea) until 2014.

Svitlana Kulchytska thanked the U.S. Department of Energy for long-term support of physical nuclear safety in Ukraine, for technical support of NPP physical protection, development of human potential and expressed hope that we will be able to start training experts in the National Technical University already in 2020 by joint efforts.

Assessing project status Svitlana Kulchytska persuaded of full support by the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry and said: “We have set a fast pace of developing training materials, which is successfully implemented, we are not behind the schedule and are already at stage 3 of the project that involves development of a detailed description of training subjects”.

American colleagues noted a significant scope of work performed at stages 1 and 2 of the project.

The parties discussed project timeframes, current tasks, and issues on provision of the U.S. party with the necessary information on peculiarities of Ukrainian national legislation in the area of nuclear energy and achieving the ultimate goal of the project.

“We hope to deepen cooperation in the development of human potential in the future”, Svitlana Kulchytska summed up.

Press Service of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine