Ukrainian Greens Association is voicing concerns about significant safety risks for the whole of Europe as numerous violations of international rules and standards are observed in the preparation for construction of centralized spent nuclear fuel storage facility just 70 km away from the country’s capital Kyiv. The warning comes as the Ukrainian Energy Minister Igor Nasalik has confirmed that the government has secured $260-million loan to finance the project.

We stresses that the decision to build the facility was taken without a proper environmental impact assessment and public consultation with the residents.

Besides, the selection of as the contractor for the project was neither transparent nor open, and the contractor, Holtec International, does not have sufficient experience and a technology tried and tested in any country of the world. We fear that we may again become a “guinea pig” for an unpredictable and dangerous nuclear experiments.

We demand that the Ukrainian authorities must ensure that the project complies with all international rules and standards before the construction is launched. We insist on the unconditional right of the residents of Kyiv and the Kyiv region to receive necessary information and participate in the discussion and decision on the construction of storage facility for spent nuclear fuel close to their homes.

We, Ukrainian Greens Association, have also urged the European Commission, the European Parliament and international environmental organizations to conduct their own independent environmental assessment of the project.

Speaking in Brussels at the first Nuclear Energy Policy Forum on June 30 the representative of our Association Anna Rak said:

“We are deeply concerned about plans to build a spent nuclear fuel storage in the upper reaches of the Dnieper River close to densely populated places. We demand mandatory an open and unbiased risk assessment with the active involvement of civil society and independent international experts. Europe cannot afford to let politicians play fast and loose with nuclear safety.”