Chernobyl Waste Processing Complex Nears Completion

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant administration has announced that work on the assembly and testing of equipment at the new solid radioactive waste processing facility (PKTRO) is near completion.

Each phase of Technology on the Treatment of Radioactive Waste Management (RAO) passes separate verification. Later, the complete process chain will be tested in its entirety.

The process chain includes:

• Main source of waste: radioactive waste accumulated in the repository of solid waste (HTO).
• Waste is extracted from HTO storage compartments, loaded into a transport container and moved in cell-sorting and fragmentation (SIF) to PKTRO.
• Waste materials removed directly from the Chernobyl Plant reactors will be taken directly to PKTRO.
• Other automated processes used to incinerate and cleanse the materials.
• The remaining materials will be delivered to the storage site “Vector”

The entire route of containers and drums is completely automated. All processes can be monitored through the use of a video surveillance system.

Comprehensive tests of the entire process chain will be conducted through the end of 2008. After these tests are determined successful, further tests will be conducted with materials transferred directly from the Chernobyl Plant reactors.

Photo courtesy of Chernobyl NPP