Year
2011
Abstract
The George Kuzmycz Training Center (GKTC) for Physical Protection, Control and Accounting of Nuclear Materials was established in 1998 at the Kyiv Institute of Nuclear Research of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences through the collaborative efforts of the United States and Ukraine. Later the European Commission (EC) joined the US in assisting with the Material Control and Accounting (MC&A) part of the GKTC training program. The Government of Ukraine designated the GKTC as the National Center responsible for providing training and methodological support for nuclear facilities and nuclear specialists in the Material Protection, Control and Accounting (MPC&A) area. To increase the efficiency of the State MC&A system an essential number of new regulations, norms and rules have been developed; some of them mandate regular and more intensive training of MC&A specialists in the industry – from those working at the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Ukraine to the personnel of nuclear facilities. To meet such regulations GKTC plans to develop a number of training courses under the EC contract next year. These courses will reflect both the specifics of Ukrainian nuclear facilities and the level of expertise of the facilities’ personnel. The Non-Destructive Assay (NDA) training laboratory, established in 2003 with United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) financial support and technical and methodological assistance considerably expanded the GKTC’s training capabilities for MC&A programs. Next year that lab will be supplemented with a new Nuclear Material (NM) Surveillance and Containment laboratory as current plans call for under the EC contract. The U.S. DOE is also providing funding to support that project. Under the EC contract the laboratory will be equipped with state-of-the-art, advanced surveillance and containment equipment, which will strengthen and expand even further the GKTC’s training capabilities and potential