Environmental impact of uranium production and ensuring radiation safety in Ukraine

Among the issues of radiation safety and ecological impact on the environment, the most critical for Ukraine are the reclamation of uranium mine dumps, tailings storage facilities of hydrometallurgical plants, and radon safety of the population, in particular in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad regions.

Ukraine is among the top “dozen” countries in the world in terms of uranium deposits and production, has a developed nuclear power industry with 15 nuclear reactors at 4 nuclear power plants, for which uranium is the main nuclear fuel. In recent years, the share of electricity produced by Ukrainian nuclear power plants in Ukraine has been 51–58%, which makes the issue of nuclear and radiation safety relevant, especially for the regions that are within the boundaries of the Ukrainian crystal shield.

The norms of radiation safety in Ukraine, adopted back in 1997, no longer meet the modern requirements defined in the Publications of the International Commission on Radiation Protection. The lack of individual exposure registers of both uranium industry workers and medical institutions, as well as the population, does not allow for a real picture of radiation safety and the application of legislation on compensation for excess radiation doses.

In order to limit the exposure of the population of Ukraine, it is necessary to organize a mandatory radiation-hygienic survey of land plots for various types of activities, to conduct a detailed survey of children's institutions, residential and public buildings in populated areas and, first of all, located within the boundaries of designated radon-hazard zones; to investigate the radiation indicators of the main sources of drinking water supply; develop and implement radon protection measures.

In order to establish the priorities of rehabilitation measures in Ukraine, it is important to introduce the radiation hygiene passport of the region as an indicator of radiation well-being. The first step towards solving this problem is the creation of a system of operational control, analysis, assessment and forecasting of the radiation situation in the regions of Ukraine.