Ukrainian Project

Mobile Laboratory for the Ukraine

The National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory (NAREL) and the Radiation and Indoor Environments National Laboratory (RIENL) designed and managed the construction of a mobile laboratory for the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety (MEPNS) of the Republic of Ukraine. The project was a cooperative effort among EPA's Office of International Activities and Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Agency for International Development with assistance from the United Nations Office for Project Services  and Tuskegee University.

The mobile lab is housed in an "eighteen wheeler" trailer and tractor rig built to European standards. Radioanalysis equipment in the lab includes gamma and alpha spectrometers, alpha and beta counters, and a liquid scintillation counter. A spectrophotometer, water analyzer, atomic absorption spectrometer, and pH meters provide capability for chemical analyses.

Two training sessions were conducted for the Ukrainian officials. The first session, in July 1996 at Tuskegee University, was for senior environmental managers and scientists from the Ukraine to develop plans for a demonstration project and a two-year use plan for the laboratory. At the second session, at NAREL in November 1996, lab operators were trained to use the mobile instruments and equipment. The mobile laboratory has been delivered to Kiev.