Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants Research Articles

Дослідження процесів озонолізу органічних компонентів модельних розчинів рідких радіоактивних відходів реакторів ВВЕР

The article highlights the problem of reprocessing of liquid radioactive waste (LRW) from the Ukrainian nuclear power plants with VVER reactors. The main method of these LRW treatment is distillation (evaporation) and ion exchange sorption. The final products of LRW processing by distillation are distillation residues, spent sorbents and sludges, and salt melt with significant radioactivity accumulated in large volumes, which do not meet the long-term storage and disposal criteria. So, it is necessary to develop a new, more efficient LRW treatment scheme that can solve the problems of large volumes of LRW and transfer waste to a state suitable for long-term storage and disposal. One of the important and challenging problems of LRW treatment is the presence of organic components (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), oxalic acid, synthetic surfactants (SPAR) in the waste, since these substances complicate removal of radionuclides from the LRW. The results of investigation of ozonolysis conditions of LRW organic components are presented on the example of a model solution with imitated solutions of disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and ethane diacid. It was established, that ozonation of organic components of LRW results in decreasing of pH value, which causes reduction of their destruction efficiency. Control of the pH values at the initial level (11−12 units) by permanent alkalifying can increase the ozonolysis efficiency of LRW organic components in 30%. EDTA is better destructed by ozone than ethane diacid. Destruction of LRW organic components progresses in two stages: the first is fast and second is low. The maximum of EDTA destruction degree, in the experimental conditions, was 86%; destruction degree of ethane diacid — 51%; maximum of LRW model solution organic components (EDTA, ethane diacid, synthetic surface-active reagent) destruction degree was 67%. Due to co-precipitation and adsorption during the solution ozonizing, decrease in Mn concentration in LRW model solution reaches 94.3%, 137Cs activity decreases by 26%, and 90Sr — 15.7%, concentration of Co decreases only by 6%.

Діагностичні ознаки закупорки порожнистих провідників та підвищеного струму в елементарних провідниках обмотки статора турбогенераторів АЕC України

Діагностичні ознаки закупорки порожнистих провідників та підвищеного струму в елементарних провідниках обмотки статора турбогенераторів АЕC України

Техноэкосистема водоема-охладителя Южно-Украинской АЭС: динамика группировок и их трансформация

Техноэкосистема водоема-охладителя Южно-Украинской АЭС: динамика группировок и их трансформация

PREDICTION OF OPERATION LIFE EXTENSION OF HEAT POWER EQUIPMENT

Based on the analysis of known researches, it is revealed that the quantity and accumulation rate of cyclic thermal and dynamic loads in the transient modes of normal operation conditions, when violating normal operation conditions and in accident conditions (except for the nuclear reactor vessel) are the key factors of prediction of operation life extension for a heat power equipment (heat exchangers, pumps, armature). The method for predictive estimation of terms of operation life extension of a heat power equipment depending on stress amplitudes in transient and accident conditions, quantity and accumulation rate of cyclic loads, strength metal parameters of a heat power equipment vessels (except for a reactor vessel) is provided. The method is implemented on the example of steam generators of WWERs and using operational data of South-Ukraine-1 (by 2010). Admissible accumulation rate of cyclic loads during operation life extension by 30, 40 and 50 years is a result. The results define insufficient substantiation of nuclear power plant operation in the “maneuverable” modes with a variable reactor power. In this case, the quantity of cyclic equipment loads increases dramatically, and terms of safe operation are limited. The developed method and the obtained results of prediction of operation life extension of heat power equipment can be used for industry programs to extend the operation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, as well as to improve the regulatory documents governing the conditions and requirements for acceptable safe extension of the operation life of heat power equipment of nuclear and thermal power enterprises. Further improvement of the method proposed in the work for predicting operation life extension of heat power equipment can be based on the development of methods for analyzing the reliability of heat power equipment and databases on operation disturbances.The materials of the presented work are used in the educational process for the training, retraining and advanced training of specialists in the energy industry.

Main Approaches to Cable Aging Management at Nuclear Power Plants in Ukraine

The mechanisms of cable ageing at nuclear power plants (NPPs) mainly depending on the insulation material, as well as the damaging factors affecting cables that are determined by the operating conditions are considered in the paper. The main and additional mechanisms of aging resulting from the effects of damaging factors are provided. The paper presents the main methods of cable aging management: determining the actual service life and testing using field methods and other means. The basic principles for the arrangement of cable aging management at Ukrainian NPPs, as well as the methods used to investigate the technical condition of cables, are presented. A list of mandatory lists has been defined when performing activities on cable aging management. A methodology is described for lifetime extension of cables, and conditions for extending the service life of cables that are in service are provided. A number of methods of testing cables for aging management are considered: visual inspection of insulation and measurement of crack size, discoloration, etc.; insulation hardness test; insulation chemical analysis; electrical insulation tests; tensile strength measurement; measurement of elongation at break; measurements of dielectric loss at low frequency or sweep frequency; testing by dynamic reflectometry method; AC and DC current impedance measurements. The paper presents results of separate laboratory studies for selected 1 kV representative power cables with PVC insulation of SUNPP-1, ZNPP-1 and KhNPP-2 conducted within Ukrainian NPP long-term operation, which included a stage of laboratory examination and examination of cable samples in operating conditions. The following results were obtained: dependence of VVGng 4x6 cable lifetime on operating temperature; dependence of AVVG cable lifetime on operating temperature; dependence of AVVG (a) cable lifetime on operating temperature. There are possibilities and conditions under which the use of cables within long-term operation is permissible.

Approaches to Safety Justification for Loading of VSC-VVER Containers in ZNPP DSFSF

The introduction of new fuel for nuclear power plants in Ukraine is related to obtaining a relevant license from the regulatory authority for nuclear and radiation safety of Ukraine. The same approach is used for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) management system. The dry spent fuel storage facility (DSFSF) is the first nuclear facility created for intermediate dry storage of SNF in Ukraine. According to the design based on dry ventilated container storage technology by Sierra Nuclear Corporation and Duke Engineering and Services, ventilated storage containers (VSC-VVER) filled with SNF of VVER-1000 are used, which are located on a special open concrete site. Containers VSC-VVER are modernized VSC-24 containers customized for hexagonal VVER-1000 spent fuel assemblies.
 The storage safety assessment methodology was created and improved directly during the licensing process. In addition, in accordance with the Energy Strategy of Ukraine up to 2035, one of the key task is the further diversification of nuclear fuel suppliers. Within the framework of the Executive Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the U.S. Government, activities have been underway since 2000 on the introduction of Westinghouse fuel. The purpose of this project is to develop, supply and qualify alternative nuclear fuel compatible with fuel produced in Russia for Ukrainian NPPs. In addition, a supplementary approach to safety analysis report is being developed to justify feasibility of loading new fuel into the DSFSF containers. The stated results should demonstrate the fulfillment of design criteria under normal operating conditions, abnormal conditions and design-basis accidents of DSFSF components. Thus, the paper highlights both the main problems of DSFSF licensing and obtaining permission for placing new fuel types in DSFSF.

Some Aspects of Practical Application of Regulatory Requirements Related to Operating and Seismic Load Combinations for Thermomechanical Equipment and Piping

New state-of-the-art regulatory document has been developed and implemented in Ukraine to present requirements for seismic hazard assessment of nuclear power plant (NPP) sites and seismic resistance of nuclear power units taking into account lessons learnt from the accident at Fukushima-1 NPP. One of the new important regulatory requirements in this document is the extension of the list of mandatory load combinations, which should be considered in assessing seismic resistance of unit components.
 Advantages and disadvantages of the algorithm proposed by the operating organization to determine the necessity to consider some load combinations in assessing the seismic resistance of pipelines and thermomechanical equipment based on previously performed seismic strength calculations have been analyzed in the paper. The pipelines as well as the thermomechanical equipment of Zaporizhzhya NPP Unit 3, for which seismic strength evaluation was calculated, have been considered.
 The results of expert seismic calculations of YP13S02 valve of ZNPP-1 and ZNPP-3 have been provided. The paper presents the comparative analysis of the floor response spectra for the lower, middle and high elevations of ZNPP-3 containment with the corresponding floor response spectra of other Ukrainian NPPs and conclusions.
 The possibility for disseminating results obtained by the operating organization for ZNPP-3 to other units of the Ukrainian NPPs has been analyzed.

Chernobyl: de desierto nuclear a laboratorio evolutivo

The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused the worst human-caused release of radioactive material in history. Initial forecasts considered that the area affected by radioactive contamination would be devoid of life for millennia. Three decades later, the biodiversity of the area has completely recovered and all the large mammals of Eastern Europe, as well as over 200 bird species, now live in Chernobyl. The mechanisms that allow organisms to live in this area are still the subject of study and controversy. There is currently no scientific consensus on the medium- and long-term impact of radiation on the nature of the area. Thus, basic research is required in Chernobyl to understand the effects that radioactive contamination had on biodiversity there. The area is also an excellent natural laboratory for studying eco-evolutionary processes in response to human activity.

Operating Experience for Valves at the Nuclear Power Plants of Ukraine and the European Union

The paper presents information on the results of analyzing operational events at nuclear power plants (NPP) of Ukraine and the European Union that were caused or related to the failures of valves. The first part of the paper provides a brief overview of the European Clearinghouse on Operational Feedback for Nuclear Power Plants study on operational events with failure of the valves important to NPP safety. The abovementioned study considered events for the period from 1997 to 2016, which were taken from the IAEA database, databases of technical support organizations of France and Germany, as well as those provided by the Swiss and Spanish regulatory authorities. The main results of the study were presented in the paper, and the main causes of operational events caused by valve failures were observed. In addition, technical areas that required the development of recommendations were indicated. The paper includes a statistical assessment and a detailed analysis of the root causes of operational events at Ukrainian NPPs caused by or related to the failure of valves of all types, regardless of the effect on safety, for the period from 1998 to 2018. The approach for the analysis of operational events at Ukrainian NPPs is similar to that used in the above-mentioned study. Within the framework of the statistical analysis, the distribution of operational events at Ukrainian NPPs related to the failure of valves by years, nuclear power plants and systems was presented. The results of the analysis of the root causes of valve failures was presented within three groups referring to equipment, documentation, personnel and management system. In the final part of the paper, a comparative analysis of the contribution of the root causes obtained from the results of both studies was carried out, and the general lessons and specific recommendations for further consideration during the oversight activity are presented.

Analysis of experience, safety and prospects of diversification of nuclear fuel at nuclear power plants

The object of research is the design fuel assemblies (FA-A) at nuclear power plants with water-cooled water reactors located in Ukraine. The analysis of the experience and prospects of diversification of design fuel assemblies of pressurized water reactors with alternative heat generating assemblies of Westinghouse Electric Company is carried out. The analysis is carried out on the basis of measures and results of diversification of fuel assemblies at the Temelin nuclear power plant (Czech Republic), as well as the South Ukrainian and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants (Ukraine). As a result of the analysis, it is shown that the diversification of design fuel assemblies by alternative heat assemblies by Westinghouse Electric Company provides the necessary nuclear safety conditions for the maximum allowable temperature of the gratings of fuel rods and the temperature of nuclear fuel.The work determines the need for additional analysis of nuclear safety and reliability of the reactor loop equipment in relation to the conditions of critical hydrodynamic shock during the diversification of fuel assemblies. It is revealed that the known results of nuclear safety analysis during diversification of fuel assemblies by traditional accident modeling approaches are not sufficiently substantiated. And they also significantly depend on the negative effects of «differences in the results of accident modeling by different users of the same codes» and «differences in the results of accident modeling by different codes». In addition, well-known deterministic codes do not simulate the conditions and consequences of hydrodynamic shock and various types of thermohydrodynamic instability in the reactor loop. It is shown that it is necessary to develop alternative methods for analyzing nuclear safety and equipment reliability of systems important to safety in diversifying fuel assemblies that are independent of the above negative effects. A calculation analysis of the influence of the coolant speed on the external heat transfer coefficients determined that the safety conditions for the permissible temperature of the Westinghouse Electric Company fuel rods are provided up to a maximum design temperature of 90 °C in safety heat exchangers.

The Problem of Biological Obstacles in the Operation of Nuclear Power Plants (Illustrated by the Operation of Zaporizhzhya NPP Techno-Ecosystem)

The article shows the research results on biological obstacles of the Zaporizhzhya NPP cooling pond, which may be harmful for the technological cycles of the plant or even cause emergency in the NPP.
 This problem is particular importance for cooling water reservoir of energy objects, since the increased temperature regime in such reservoirs creates favorable conditions for the mass development of certain types of hydrobionts, which hinder the operation of hydraulic structures.
 It was established that for the studied cooling water reservoir of Zaporizhzhya NPP all types of biological barriers that are found in technical reservoirs of nuclear power plants of Ukraine are characteristic.
 It has been established that all types of biological obstacles found in technical reservoirs of nuclear power plants of Ukraine are common for the researched reservoir.
 The most common are biological obstacles of bacterial, plant and animal origin. Plant biological obstacles are represented by the excessive growth of blue-green algae, which in the summer cause the "water blooming" of the cooling pond, and the filamentous algae that form thickets on the surfaces of concrete slabs and hydraulic structures. Animal biomarkers include the rapid spread of the mollusks of the Thiaridae family, which were accidentally inhabited into the water reservoir and caused massive fouling of the water development facilities of the NPP.
 One of the areas of biological control of biological barriers in a Zaporizhzhya NPP cooling water reservoir is ichthyomelioration – biomeliorative release the fish into the reservoir As fish occupy higher trophic levels in aquatic ecosystems, they accumulate organic matter from other trophic units and can inhibit the massive development of hydrobionts.
 The presented scientific results formed the basis of "Technological substantiation of the biological method of reducing the amount of phytoplankton and mollusks in the hydraulic engineering system of the ZNPP and conducting biomeliorative works using biomeliorative fish for the period2018-2022", the observance of which allows partial resolution of the problems of biological barriers caused by the mass development of certain species.

Analysis of Operational Events Caused by Faults of NPP Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems

The paper presents the analysis of operational events at nuclear power plants (NPPs) of Ukraine caused by failures and defects of the instrumentation and control systems (I&C systems). The effort contains statistical information about the number and the share of operational events at Ukrainian NPPs due to incorrect performance of analog and digital I&C systems in the general amount of events. The categories of these events according to the international and national classifications have been considered. The paper provides for the brief overview of the recently published EC Joint Research Center Technical Report on digital I&C systems at NPPs of foreign countries based on the information from IAEA and U.S. NRC databases. There are causes of operational events due to defects of the specified systems and main recommendations on their prevention. Using the approach similar to the one in the Technical Report, the paper presents the detailed analysis of direct and root causes, as well as correction measures for the operational events at Ukrainian NPPs from 2013 to 2018 caused by digital I&C systems. The experts considered separately four groups of events due to defects of components in the peripheral part of the digital I&C systems (sensors, actuators), central part of digital I&C systems (software and hardware), cable lines and electronic components of analog I&C systems (built-in components). There is an additional analysis of root causes of events related to digital I&C systems by the types of systems and lifecycle stages (design, mounting, operation) and main sources of occurrences within the systems (software, hardware, cables, etc.).

Improving the system of radiation and hygienic monitoring of environmental objects in the areas of observation of Ukrainian nuclear power plants as a fundamental of radiation safety.

The relevance of the work is determined by the absence of documents on the problems of observation zones of nuclear power plants, including the organization and monitoring of environmental objects in Ukraine. The purpose of the study was to assess the state of radioactive contamination of the environmental objects of the observation zone of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. To accomplish the tasks, we analyzed the data of the laboratory control performed by the external radiation monitoring laboratory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the data of the State Institution «Zaporizhzhia Regional Laboratory Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine». The obtained results allow us to draw the conclusions that in the environmental objects (water of the Kakhovsky reservoir, atmospheric air, soil, drinking water) of the observation zone of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the main dose-forming radionuclides were identified. It is established that their levels are not uniform, and the identified instability indicates the need for continuous laboratory monitoring of the content of cesium and strontium and the need to monitor the impact on health of the residents of the observation area. It is necessary to improve radiation monitoring through the development and implementation of new methodological documents and regulations on the organization of laboratory control, justification of its frequency and the required amount of laboratory research, which will allow to establish the true impact on public health in these areas.

Thyroid doses due to Iodine-131 inhalation among Chernobyl cleanup workers.

Several hundred thousand individuals, called 'cleanup workers' or 'liquidators', who took part in decontamination and recovery activities between 1986 and 1990 within the 30-km zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, were mainly exposed to external irradiation. However, those who were involved in cleanup activities during the 10-day period of atmospheric releases also received doses to the thyroid gland due to internal irradiation resulting essentially from inhalation of 131I. The paper presents the methodology and results of the calculation of individual thyroid doses for cleanup workers. The model that was used considers several factors, including the ground-level outdoor air concentrations of 131I at the locations of residence and work of the cleanup workers, the reduction of 131I activity in inhaled air associated with indoor occupancy, the time spent indoors, the breathing rate, which depends on the type of physical activity, and the possible intake of potassium iodine (KI) for iodine prophylaxis. Thyroid doses were calculated for a group of 594 cleanup workers with individual measurements of exposure rate against the neck, called 'direct thyroid measurements', that were performed from 30 April to 5 May 1986. The measured values of exposure rate were corrected to subtract the contribution of short-lived radioiodine isotopes in the thyroid to the detector response. The average thyroid dose due to 131I inhalation by the cleanup workers was estimated to be 180mGy, while the median was 110mGy. Most of the cleanup workers (73%) received thyroid doses ranging from 50 to 500mGy. The highest individual dose from 131I inhalation among the cleanup workers with direct thyroid measurements was 4.5Gy. To validate the model, the 131I activities in the thyroids that were calculated using the model were compared with those derived from the direct thyroid measurements. The mean of the ratios of measured-to-calculated activities of 131I in the thyroid was found to be 1.6 while the median of those ratios was 0.8. For 60 cleanup workers with direct thyroid measurements, a detailed description of hour-by-hour whereabouts and work history was available. For these cleanup workers the mean of the ratios of measured-to-calculated activities was found to be 1.2 and the median of those ratios was 1.0. These encouraging results suggest that the thyroid dose due to 131I inhalation could be estimated for Chernobyl cleanup workers with a reasonable degree of reliability even in the absence of direct thyroid measurements. However, this conclusion assumes that detailed information on whereabouts and work history could be obtained for those cleanup workers who were not measured.

Effect of neutron irradiation hardening of the base metal on the results of WWER-1000 reactor pressure vessel residual lifetime assessment

This paper discusses the assessment of the WWER-1000 reactor pressure vessel integrity and the analyses performed to protect the irradiated vessel against brittle failure. The paper focuses on studies assessing the effects of base metal hardening on fast fracture evaluation results. It is shown that the results depend significantly on the material model used (elastic or elastic–plastic) as well as on the base metal mechanical properties (including or not the hardening produced by irradiation). Considering the change in tensile properties of the base material under irradiation may change the identification of the limiting combination of the pressurised thermal shock scenario, the limiting crack front point, and the crack aspect ratio. To demonstrate these effects, the results of the calculations performed for the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 reactor pressure vessel residual lifetime are presented.

Fundamentals of Nuclear Safety State Management in Ukraine

The object of the research is the relationships ensuring nuclear safety in Ukraine. The methodological basis of this study is modern general scientific methods and techniques of cognition, scientific theories about the state and law, the organization of public administration, development in the field of philosophy of law, public administration, administrative law and process, sociology. The work uses dialectical, structural-functional, historical, comparative-legal, system-structural and other methods. The purpose of this research is to characterize the measures provided by the national legislation of Ukraine for ensuring nuclear safety, which are carried out by authorized state bodies and officials. To achieve this purpose, the following tasks are set: to define the content of the concepts of ‘national security’ and ‘nuclear safety’, elements of the mechanism of management in the nuclear sphere; to allocate legal bases for ensuring nuclear safety and authorized entities; to carry out an analysis of the control system for nuclear safety in Ukraine; to characterize the research activity and international cooperation of Ukraine in the nuclear sphere; to characterize administrative services in the nuclear sphere; to investigate the activities of the governing body on the management of nuclear power plants in Ukraine – the State Enterprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company ‘Energoatom’

Electricity generation in the world and Ukraine: Current status and future developments

Electricity generation is the key factor for advances in industry, agriculture, technology and the level of living. Also, strong power industry with diverse energy sources is very important for country independence. In general, electricity can be generated from: 1) non-renewable energy sources such as coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear; and 2) renewable energy sources such as hydro, biomass, wind, geothermal, solar, and wave power. However, the major energy sources for electricity generation in the world are: 1) thermal power – primarily using coal (~40%) and secondarily natural gas (~23%); 2) “large” hydro power plants (~17%) and 3) nuclear power from various reactor designs (~11%). The rest of the energy sources for electricity generation is from using oil (~4%) and renewable sources such as biomass, wind, geothermal and solar (~5%), which have just visible impact in selected countries. In addition, energy sources, such as wind and solar, and some others, like tidal and wave-power, are intermittent from depending on Mother Nature. And cannot be used alone for industrial electricity generation. Nuclear power in Ukraine is the most important source of electricity generation in the country. Currently, Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) generate about 45.5% of the total electricity followed with coal generation ‒ 38%, gas generation 9.6% and the rest is based on renewable sources, mainly on hydro power plants – 5.9%. Nuclear-power industry is based on four NPPs (15 Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) including the largest one in Europe ‒ Zaporizhzhya NPP with about 6,000 MWel gross installed capacity. Two of these 15 reactors have been built and put into operation in 70-s, ten in 80-s, one in 90-s and just two in 2004. Therefore, based on an analysis of the world power reactors in terms of their maximum years of operation (currently, the oldest reactors are ~45-year old) several projections have been made for future of the nuclear-power industry in the world and Ukraine. Unfortunately, all these projections are quite pessimistic. There is a possibility that around 2030‒2040 the vast majority of the world reactors and Ukrainian reactors will be shut down, and, in particular, Ukraine can be left without the basic and vital source of electricity generation.

CITIES AND THEIR RESIDENTS AFTER A RADIATION ACCIDENT (KYIV AND FUKUSHIMA CASES)

The article is an attempt to summarize the experience of coping with urban problems caused by major human-made disasters. Based on the analysis of archival materials and other sources, the authors reproduce the situation in particular in Kyiv after the accident at the 4th Unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986. It is proved that the official claim that radioactive emissions from the destroyed reactor bypassed the city was false. Data on the actual situation of radioactive contamination of the territory of Kyiv was published in Kyiv newspapers only in the beginning of 1991. However, both the central and local authorities have made some efforts to overcome the harmful effects of the accident. Among its main activities are work on the study of pollution of the hydrosphere, elaboration of methods of water purification and practical steps to ensure its population in the contaminated territories; organization of active radiation control of food, agricultural products, markets, dairies, meat-packing plants, as well as the territory of the city, motor transport, etc .; improvement and improvement of the sanitary condition of the urban space, resolving the issue of bio-waste disposal, decontamination of wildlife objects, residential, public and technical premises. The city authorities have taken many steps to protect the population of Kyiv from the possible effects of radiation contamination - for example, trying to regulate outdoor recreation. However, the authors claim, when the radiation background in Kyiv began to rise, no special measures for the protection of children were taken, and only in the second half of May, some children were sent away from the city. Already during independent development of Ukraine, work was being done to streamline the status of children affected by the Chernobyl disaster and, accordingly, to provide them with certain privileges defined by the legislation. It is noted that similar processes took place in 2011 and the Japanese city of Fukushima. Authors conclude, that the incompleteness of the process of dealing with the consequences of accidents at nuclear power plants in Ukraine and Japan, the likelihood of recurrence of such events, make the long experience of Kyiv significant for the residents of Fukushima and the human community as a whole.
 

Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility disclosure: evidence from Saudi Arabia

1. INTRODUCTIONThe is culture has been prevalent for centuries. 1924, Sheldon (1924) introduced the concept of Social (CSR) for the first time in the business environment. Since that time, awareness across the globe of the impact of businesses on society has increased significantly and firms have come under greater pressure from society, governments, and other stakeholders to behave responsibly. One driver for the increase in pressure of businesses is the greed of firms in consuming scarce resources in order to realize profits, regardless of the negative implications for society. The negative implications of firms' operations have been apparent in several social and environmental disasters. For example, a toxic gas release tragedy occurred on 3 December 1984 in India and leaving around 16,000 dead in a few days. Furthermore, on 26 April 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine exploded causing several deaths, in addition to creating dangerous social and environmental conditions. Accordingly, firms face a greater pressure to act socially and operate responsibly than ever before.International concerns in relation to the business-society relationship have resulted in the establishment of organizations and standards that aim to monitor and help firms behave socially and responsibly. Examples of these organizations include AccountAbility which is based in London, the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC), Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) in the USA, and Business in the Community (BiTC) in UK. Furthermore, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) issued ISO 26000 as an international standard that provides guidelines on social responsibility for all public and private firms. This standard aims to help firms undertake and manage their social responsibility strategies and activities that affect society and the environment.The rising pressure on firms to behave socially entails measuring and demonstrating how their activities affect different stakeholders including societies and the environment. This extends the accountability of managers to incorporate social and environmental dimensions in their accounting measurements and disclosures. This is based on the assumption that CSR disclosure can play an important role in communicating whether or not firms behave socially and to what extent firms respect society and the environment. Moreover, CSR disclosure can be argued to be one of the most important voluntary disclosure types, since it highlights the influence of firms' operations on world resources and human life and welfare. Accordingly, rising global awareness of the social responsibility of firms has increased the need for high quality CSR disclosure.Concurrent with the increased concern for CSR disclosure, Corporate Governance (CG) objectives have evolved to accommodate new relationships never previously been deemed necessary, i.e. business-environment and business-society relations. For example, Claessens (2003, p. 7) states, In its broadest sense, CG is concerned with holding a balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. Furthermore, CG has developed to incorporate ethics, accountability, disclosure, and reporting (Gill, 2008). Accordingly, the different CG mechanisms, such as boards of directors, audit committees, and auditors are responsible for monitoring and controlling managers' decisions and firms' activities that affect all stakeholders including society. This may reveal a correlation between effectiveness of CG systems and quality of CSR disclosure. An effective CG system is likely to be concerned with disclosure and transparency in general, and with disclosure of material activities that affect society and environment in particular. Empirically, Said et al. (2009) find a positive significant correlation between government ownership and audit committee and CSR disclosure. …

Chernobyl: assessing the health effects, 30 years later

Earlier this year, Ukraine marked 30 years since the Chernobyl disaster. Sanjeet Bagcchi reports. Radiation and risk of thyroid cancer: Fukushima and Chernobyl30 years have passed since the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and 5 years have passed since the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. After the Chernobyl disaster, a significant increase in thyroid cancer was reported among children and adolescents exposed to radioactive iodine released at the time of the accident in Belarus, Russia, and the Ukraine.1 On the basis of the experience of Chernobyl, thyroid ultrasound examination is being done within the framework of the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Full-Text PDF