Japan, Ukraine to Perfect Post Nuclear Accident Response

KYIV, Ukiraine, April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Japan and Ukraine will join their efforts in liquidation of the consequences of nuclear disasters. The respective Resolution on Deepening the Relations with Ukraine has been unanimously approved by the House of Representatives of the National Diet of Japan (the bicameral legislative body of the country).

The resolution of the Japanese parliament lists the lamentable experience that both Ukraine and Japan have had with nuclear plants accidents as the basis for the ensuing bilateral cooperation. The two countries resolved to sustain world peace and further their partnership in perfecting post-accident response to nuclear emergencies according to the recently signed agreement. Interestingly, Ukraine has four functioning nuclear plants, while Japan boasts 16.

Reciprocating the invaluable effort of Japan in 1986, Ukraine actively helped liquidate the 2011 Fukushima disaster that resulted from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Hence, Ukraine sent to Japan radiation measuring devices, personal protective equipment, blankets, and medical supplies. Not only Japanese officials thanked Ukraine for the help, but the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also praised Ukraine for providing experts to support Japan in overcoming the consequences of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima-1 nuclear plant.

Ukraine has experienced a drastic nuclear disaster almost 26 years ago. The infamous catastrophe, known to the majority of adult population of the Earth as Chornobyl disaster, occurred on April 26, 1986. The explosion and fire at the 4^th reactor of the nuclear plant in the Northern Ukraine led to a massive radiation leak. Over 400 thousand cubic meters of concrete and 7300 tons of metal framework were used to lock in 16 tons of uranium and plutonium, 200 tons of radioactive corium, and 30 tons of contaminated dust.

Since the time of the nuclear disaster in Ukraine, the country transformed from the world's third nuclear state to a non-nuclear one. Nonetheless, to this day Ukraine uses nuclear energy and hosts nuclear research facilities. Ukrainian scientists remain at the forefront in such areas as nuclear-based medicine and safe nuclear energy use. For example, they produced equipment that allowed working with highly active samples of Iodine-131, widely used in pharmaceutics.

Curiously, Ukrainian nuclear scientists participated in the construction of the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland.

SOURCE Worldwide News Ukraine