Ukrainian nuclear power recognized internationally The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) has recognized Ukraine's effor

ts to improve improve safety at operating nuclear power plants by electing Nikit a Konstantinov, acting president of NAEC "Energoatom," to their board at a regul ar meeting in Atlanta, USA on Sept. 11, 2013. The international community trusts the experience and achievements of Ukrainian nuclear experts, whose expertise in the field of nuclear safety is in demand at domestic nuclear power plants, as well as at other nuclear facilities worldwide. WANO experts say "Energoatom" is one of the most opencompanies for peer reviews c onducted by the association.Ukraine is actively developing cooperation with the o rganization in order to improve competitiveness of the domestic nuclear industry . The WANO board consists of 14 representatives of the world's largest nuclear pow er plants operators.It was established in 1989 to improve safety and reliability of nuclear power plants smf share experience and the best practices.Under WANO, n uclear power plants of different countries conduct peer reviews, technical suppo rt missions, exchang information on events and engaging in other joint projects. In addition to NAEC "Energoatom," operating under the auspices of the Ministry o f Energy and Coal, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has also cooper ated with international nuclear safety organizations and partner countries.It has initiated government plans to transfer the agreement between the Cabinet of Mi nisters and NATO in support of redisposal of radioactive waste generated by mili tary programs of the former Soviet Union in Ukraine, to parliament for ratificat ion. Industry experts believe that the new technological solutions will help remove t he risks generated by the past disasters, and to make the nuclear power faciliti es safe. This is important because Ukraine belongs to the few countries with a large-scal e peaceful nuclear energy program for economics, medicine, science, and agricult ure.Ukraine is the 4th largest in Europe and 7th in the world in terms of install ed nuclear capacity. Ukraine is also ambitiously developing its nuclear industry. Under construction are power units 3 and 4 at Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant, a centralized reposi tory for spent nuclear fuel from Ukrainian nuclear power plants, a nuclear fuel factory, the New Safe Confinement for Chernobyl "Shelter," and storage faciliti es for long-term storage and disposal of radioactive waste in the Exclusion Zone . The government in early September approved meausres for allocation of an additio nal 4.298 billion UAH(excluding VAT) for the project to improve the nuclear power units safety in 2013-2017.This amount is partially coming from sale of electrici ty and thermal energy produced at the NAEC "Energoatom" facilities.Other sources of funding for the Ministry of Energy and Coal have to be agreed with the Minist ry of Finance. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the indicative funding for the project (12.5 b illion UAH) for the entire period of its operation in 2011-2017.The government al so provided for an annual revisions of the amount that should help make project more efficient. According to Experts of the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation, the need for additional funding in 2013 is associated with improvement of nuclear safety after the Fukushima-1 accident in Japan in 2011. OFFSET: Ukraine is 4th largest in Europe in terms of installed nuclear capacity