Ukrainian NPPs were designed in the USSR in accordance with the safety requirements that had been in force at that time. In order to bring safety of power units to modern internationally-accepted standards, the Concept of safety improvement of existing NPP Units (hereinafter – the Concept) and the Program on modernization of Khmelnitsky NPP Unit 2 and Rivne NPP Unit 4 (hereinafter – the Modernization Program) have been developed in 2005 and 1997 respectively.

The SNRCU Board noted that all pilot measures at Rivne NPP Unit 1 have been fully implemented by the end of 2009. Measures to improve safety in accordance with the Modernization Program for Rivne NPP Unit 4 are physically implemented and thus, the program for this Unit is completed. To complete the Modernization Program for Khmelnitsky NPP Unit 2 in the course of the nearest outage, it is necessary to connect and test equipment that has already been delivered.

At the same time, failure to fulfill in 2009 twenty one pilot measures of the Concept for South-Ukrainian NPP Unit 1 and Zaporizhia NPP Units 3 and 5, in particular those relating to the third category of safety under IAEA classification, demonstrates that their implementation will be delayed.

The Board recognizes activity of NAEK “Energoatom” conducted in 2009 on implementation of the Concept for Rivne NPP Unit 1 (WWER-440) and the Modernization Program for Khmelnitsky NPP Unit 2 and Rivne NPP Unit 4 as satisfactory.  In regard to Units with WWER-1000 reactors (Project B-302, B-338, B-320), efforts of NAEK “Energoatom” have been assessed as unsatisfactory ones.