The now-defunct Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant (; ''Prydniprovsky khimichnyi zavod'', ''PHZ'', also PChP) in the city of Kamianske,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, processed

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

ore for the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

nuclear program from 1948 through 1991, preparing yellowcake. Its processing wastes are now stored in nine open-air dumping grounds containing about 36 million tonnes of sand-like low-

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

residue, occupying an area of 2.5 million square meters. The sites, improperly constructed from the very beginning, have been abandoned by the industry long ago and remain in very poor condition. The top concern is the dumps’ proximity to both the large

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

and city residential areas. According to government experts, the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s separating the grounds from soil water are already leaking, causing the pollution of Dnieper basin. It is believed that further deterioration of the dams, irrespective of any outer accidents, may cause a devastating radioactive

mudslide A mudflow, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/ ...

. The Ukrainian government is now tightening control over the grounds and seeking international aid in projects aimed at securing and the gradual re-processing of the PHZ wastes. Recently, the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

has evaluated the condition of the sites and is considering dispatching a major observation and aid mission to Kamianske. From 1946 to 1972, the company was engaged in uranium enrichment (production of its

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

) - the plant processed 65% of uranium ores in the Soviet Union. Attempts to recycle fuel elements began in 1974, but due to the growing number of oncological diseases in the city, this idea was abandoned. The isolated dump grounds (about nine altogether, at a depth of 3 m) of the former plant are now located in different parts of the city and operated by the purposely-created "Barrier" State Enterprise - with an obscure-meaning new name that has yet to be widely known. That is why the sites, the company, and the whole problem is still commonly referred to as the "Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant (PHZ) wastes". In 1964, the first treatment facilities appeared at the enterprise. In 2003, the Cabinet of Ministers approved an 11-year program on "bringing hazardous facilities of the Prydniprovsky Chemical Plant to an environmentally safe state and ensuring protection of the population from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation".

References

Environment of Ukraine Nuclear technology in Ukraine Kamianske Radioactive waste Chemical engineering Dnieper basin Chemical companies of Ukraine Nuclear technology in the Soviet Union Chemical companies of the Soviet Union Government-owned companies of Ukraine {{Radioactivity-stub

See also

References