KIEV, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday that his country will strengthen its radioactive waste management.
"We will continue to improve Ukrainian legislation on radioactive waste management," Poroshenko said during the commemorative event to mark the 32nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
"Our experts are working on this issue with the professionals from the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden," he said.
The efficient nuclear waste management will help revive the area near the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) and boost Ukraine's energy security, Poroshenko said.
This year, a solid radioactive waste management complex and a liquid radioactive waste processing plant will be put into operation in Ukraine, he said.
The new protective cover over the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear reactor No.4 is also set to be commissioned by the end of 2018, he added.
Currently, Ukraine is implementing several projects in the Chernobyl area aimed at improving the system of radioactive waste management.
The construction is underway for the central spent fuel storage facility, which will stockpile spent nuclear fuel from three Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Another project is the establishment of the interim spent fuel storage facility, which will store the fuel decommissioned from the Chernobyl NPP's units No.1, 2 and 3.
The Chernobyl disaster, one of the worst nuclear accidents in human history, happened on April 26, 1986, when a series of explosions ripped through the plant, which is located 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
The blasts resulted in the demolition of the No.4 reactor and the spread of radiation across Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and other European countries.
