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Maryna Bondarenko, press secretary and political council member of Ukraine’s Green Party Courtesy photo In the midst of Ukraine’s continuing crisis in parliament, a big majority of lawmakers managed to ratify a controversial international agreement last week, whereby Ukraine will serve as a transit zone for nuclear waste moving between Russia and Bulgaria

total of 279 out of 450 MPs passed the 10-year trilateral accord on July 27, when most Rada watchers were busy wondering whether President Viktor Yushchenko would dismiss the legislature, which has been operating under a pro-Russian majority since earlier this month.

Ukrainian government officials have publicly guaranteed the safety of the nuclear containers, which will carry fresh as well as spent nuclear fuel, but Ukraine’s Green Party and other environmentalists are not convinced. They argue that, given the condition of Ukraine’s railway system, people living along the transportation route will be subject to the risk of a nuclear accident.

The trilateral agreement was signed on April 27, 2006 by Olena Mykolaychuk, head of Ukraine’s State Committee for Nuclear Regulation.

According to the international accord, the Ukrainian leg of the transit route begins in Khutir Mykhaylivsky, a village in northeastern Sumy Region, which borders the Russian Federation. Fresh nuclear fuel from Russia then traverses Ukraine by train to Ukraine’s southwesternmost tip, the port city of Izmail in Odessa Region. From that point, it is loaded onto special container boats, which cross the Black Sea to the Bulgarian coast.

In addition, spent nuclear fuel (or high-level radioactive waste) from Bulgaria’s Kozloduy plant is to be transported back to Russia along the same route for further processing.

The negotiations between Bulgaria, Ukraine and Russia over the transport of fresh and spent nuclear fuel stretched out over the course of three years, beginning in 2002, reportedly due to difficulties with Russia and Ukraine reaching agreement.

Marina Bondarenko, the press secretary and political council member of Ukraine’s Green Party, told the Post that the timeframe for signing and ratifying the international accord had effectively expired about a year ago, and that the renewal of talks in 2006 was a surprising development.

“In the current political context, where parliamentary factions have taken four months to divide posts and portfolios, the speed and bizarre unity with which 279 deputies ratified this agreement was absolutely astounding,” said Bondarenko.

Moreover, she noted that the state of Ukraine’s railway system, which is in dire need of upgrade and repair, as well as the risks associated with transporting nuclear materials across the Black Sea, call into question not only the April 27 accord but also the Ukrainian government’s overall energy policy.

Bondarenko said that as Ukraine is a signatory to the Aarhus Convention (which the Rada ratified on Nov. 18, 1999), officials of the Ukrainian government are not only obliged only to inform, but also to consult, the public when making decisions on environmental issues.

“We know of the route [from Izmail to Khutir Mykhayvskiy], but were the people who live in these areas informed that nuclear waste is going to be transported right past their windows, were they asked whether or not they agree to this, will the trains be marked with appropriate signs that indicate that hazardous materials are being transported alongside their homes?”

According to Bondarenko, Ukraine’s parliament was quick to ratify the international environmental Aarhus Convention (which boasts 35 other signatories) but has not been very diligent in complying with it, especially in terms of informing the public.

During the July 27 parliamentary session, when lawmakers ratified the trilateral agreement, the State Committee for Nuclear Regulation’s Mykolaychuk played down any risks from the nuclear transits.

"Honestly, in more than 15 years of these kinds of transport, which began when Ukraine was not yet independent, there has been not one accident," she said.

"In the event of an accident, according to Statute 8 of the Vienna Convention, the Russian or Bulgarian operator, with guarantees from their respective governments, will pay Ukraine for measures, clean-up efforts and environmental damages,” she added.

Moreover, Mykolaychuk said, Ukraine stands to receive badly needed revenues from the transits.

“According to information that I have, [Ukrainian state railway company] Ukrzalyznytsya made Hr 5.95 million [around $1.2 million] from transporting nuclear materials across Ukraine last year, and not just between Bulgaria and Russia. Moreover, Ukrzaliznytsya made Hr 2.7 million [over $500,000] from eight transports of nuclear material between Russia and Bulgaria, which were carried out at the request of the Russian and Bulgarian governments, while we finalized this trilateral agreement," she told lawmakers on July 27.

Kozloduy is Bulgaria’s only nuclear power plant, with four operational reactors that generate around 40 percent of the country’s power output. Kozloduy has two additional reactors, but they were shut down in 2002 as part of Bulgaria’s negotiations to accede to the European Union. Brussels wants Bulgaria to close two more reactors at Kozloduy, arguing that the plant’s two kilometer proximity to the Danube River poses serious environmental risks, despite decades of safety improvements made by the Bulgarian government.

TVEL Corporation, Russia’s largest producer of nuclear fuel, announced in a March 9 statement published on its web site that it will supply nuclear fuel to Bulgaria’s Soviet-designed power station until 2020.

EU membership entails exporting fissile materials only to countries with the legal, regulatory and technical capability to process and manage the spent fuel safely, but EU officials have signaled that there are serious doubts about Russia’s capacity to manage its own radioactive waste, much less fissile materials imported from abroad.According to the European Commission’s website, Bulgaria is committed to closing two more of its four remaining operational reactors this year. However reports citing anonymous Bulgarian officials have suggested that Sofia will try to export as much spent nuclear fuel to Moscow as it can before completing accession negotiations with the EU.