(August 21, 1998) One country and more than 150 citizens' groups from 39 counties have already registered for the public participation process for the controversial K2/R4 project in Ukraine. There is also substantial support for the process from the Ukrainian public, an overwelming majority of whom oppose the project.
(496.4902) Petr Hlobil - The K2/R4 project involves completion of two partially built Soviet-designed reactors at nuclear power plants in the Ukrainian towns of Khmelnitsky and Rivne. Although K2/R4 is beset by economic and safety problems, it has passed initial review at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which the project's sponsors have approached for financial support (See WISE NC 490.4860: Still Enough Chances To Block Funding K2/R4). The bank will now require the sponsors to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and make its results available to the public. A public participation process (PPP) will then follow, during which concerned citizens may voice their concerns about the project. The PPP is supposed to be at least 120 days, most likely from September to December-January. There is some misunderstanding if the "notification" about the EIA and PPP should be during the first 30 days of the 120 days, or before the start of those 120 days.
According to the project's sponsors, the EIA documentation was planned to be released within the first 10 days of August. But there was a delay because of "translation problems".
The information package is to consist of four parts:
- Overview over the project, project presentation.
- Least-Cost report (by Stone & Webster).
- Safety analysis (Riskaudit).
- Environmental Impact Assessment.
All together these would have about 2,000 pages (= 6 kg).
Ukraine is also a signatory to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, which requires countries planning projects with the potential for transboundary environmental impacts to notify other, potentially affected countries.
So far, the Austrian government and citizen and environmental groups from 39 countries in Europe, the United States, Asia and Oceania, in addition to Ukrainian groups, have expressed their willingness to participate in the project's public participation process. The local population is strongly against the project, and together with Ukrainian citizens' groups would use the process to oppose it. Such citizen involvement in major public works projects is new to Ukraine. According to a recent survey of public opinion in the region where the plants are located, 94 percent of respondents oppose the project.
In early 1997, an independent panel of economic experts deemed that K2/R4 does not meet the EBRD's economic criteria. In addition to economic problems, the project poses many serious safety problems, most of which are due to structural flaws in the original Soviet design. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has identified these safety problems, which include an increased risk of fire due to improper cable layout, faulty steam generators, containment vessels which are susceptible to rupture, faulty control rods and poor and obsolete instrumentation and control. Although these safety problems are well known, the project's sponsors do not intend to address a number of the most serious deficiencies until the first refuelling cycle at the reactors, after they have been in operation for three years.
Source and Contact: Petr Hlobil, Energy Coordinator CEE Bankwatch Network. Kratka 26, Praha 10, 100 00, Czech Republic.
Tel + Fax: +420-2-781 65 71
WWW: http://peu.ecn.cz and www.geo.ut.ee/bankwatch