Radiation monitoring vehicle for Ukraine
The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority will equip a radiation monitoring vehicle for use by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine. The mobile laboratory will help the radiation and nuclear safety authorities find radioactive substances and objects in the environment. The project, funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Nordic partners, is part of broader radiation safety cooperation with Ukraine.
Russia's war of aggression has increased the risk of both accidental and deliberate radiation hazard situations and accidents in Ukraine. The risks include accidents at nuclear power plants, radioactive waste storage facilities and research facilities. In exceptional circumstances, radioactive substances and nuclear materials may be lost and used maliciously.
The radiation monitoring vehicle to be delivered to Ukraine is equivalent in its basic functions to the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority's (STUK) radiation monitoring vehicle called SONNI (Sophisticated On-site Nuclide Identification). The Ukrainian radiation safety authorities also received a radiation monitoring vehicle from Finland in 2011. While there is still a great deal of need for the first vehicle in Ukraine, it has exceeded its technical service life and some of its equipment is broken.
According to Principal Advisor Aapo Tanskanen from STUK, the new radiation monitoring vehicle will be better equipped than the old one. He also considers it especially important to plan a long service life for the vehicle and its equipment. The vehicle is also needed during peacetime and during the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Special attention will be paid to the durability and serviceability of the equipment in the vehicle. The vehicle should stay in good working order for up to ten years. In addition to the vehicle, its radiation monitoring equipment in particular must be serviced and its software updated regularly. In addition to the commissioning training, regular additional training is planned for the vehicle's Ukrainian operators.
The new radiation monitoring vehicle is expected to be in use by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) by the end of 2026. The vehicle will be called NORDIM (Nordic Radiation Detection and nuclide Identification Module) and it will be mainly financed from the development cooperation appropriations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The project is also co-financed by the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish authorities DSA, SSM and DEMA.
In 2022, STUK signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) on cooperation and exchange of information related to nuclear and radiation safety.
STUK has provided emergency assistance to the Ukrainian authorities, including radiation monitoring devices in cooperation with the Finnish Ministry of the Interior. The goods have been delivered to the Ukrainian authorities through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
STUK is monitoring and assessing the nuclear and radiation safety situation in Ukraine and is actively communicating the risk significance and potential impacts of the situation.
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