Training of personnel in the field of radioactive waste management

The state higher educational institution of postgraduate education - Ukrainian Radiological Training Center - was established by a joint order of the former Ministry of Ukraine for Protection of the Population from the Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident and the State Committee of Ukraine for Nuclear and Radiation Safety No. 170/7/188 dated 9.11.1993. The purpose of the URTC was to improve the qualifications of specialists working in the field of overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, as well as in the field of radioecology, radiometry, nuclear and radiation safety, management of ionizing radiation sources, as well as radioactive waste management.

In 2011, the URTC was transferred to the management of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management [1.15], in 2012 - it was incorporated into the State Corporation “Ukrainian State Association “Radon” as a legal entity. URTC is a state organization with a state budget and is considered a basic training center that provides advanced training of specialists in the field of radioactive waste management.

Since the URTC became a part of USC “Radon”, its main activity has been the advanced training of specialists of this company, who work in the field of RAW management.

In the direction of training licensed specialists, about 2,300 specialists from various enterprises and organizations of Ukraine improved their qualifications and passed the knowledge test at the URTC.

Throughout its activities, the Ukrainian Radiological Training Center has been conducting educational and methodological work - developing curricula and programs, study guides, etc.

In 1992, the URTC introduced a computerized certification system “RAD”, which is designed for training and testing specialists in various fields of knowledge. The scope of the system is set by the specific filling of the testing system database with control questions.

For the computer system, the URTC teachers developed a database of questions for testing radiologists, specialists in radioactive waste management, as well as licensed specialists working in the field of management of ionizing radiation sources. The system is differentiated into 3 levels depending on the category and position: manager, manager-specialist, specialist.

The database of questions for specialists in the field of radioactive waste management and licensed specialists consists of 8 disciplines of basic knowledge:

- fundamentals of nuclear physics;
- ionizing radiation sources;
- interaction of ionizing radiation with matter and registration of ionizing radiation;
- biological effects of ionizing radiation;
- dosimetry;
- radiation protection;
- regulation of radiation safety;
- radioecology.

In addition to questions on general basic knowledge, questions from special knowledge are provided, depending on the specific specialization of students. For specialists in the field of RW management, a special discipline is the topic: “Radioactive waste management”.

Recently, employees of specialized enterprises belonging to the sphere of management of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management have improved their professional qualifications in the field of radioactive waste management.

The training was carried out according to the 72-hour program “Radiation Safety of Radioactive Waste Management” for managers and engineering and technical personnel of specialized enterprises.

During the training, the lecturers of the center widely used educational and methodological materials developed during the implementation of the international assistance project “Improvement of the national training system in the field of RAW management, decommissioning and remediation”.

At the same time, it should be noted that since Ukraine is increasingly raising the issue of remediation of contaminated areas, including areas affected by the Chernobyl accident, or the so-called “historical” storage facilities, the mission of the URTC can be the training of specialists in the remediation of radioactively contaminated lands.