MINSK, 14 June (BelTA) – Belarus uses the Russian Federation's experience in the course of developing its own strategy for managing radioactive waste. Head of the Radioactive Waste Management Office of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Dmitry Pavlov mentioned it at a media briefing held in BelTA's press center to discuss new trends in the global nuclear safety regime for Belarus.
In November 2021 Belarus president decree No.427 was signed to pass a decision in favor of improving the national system of radioactive waste management. The decree delegated the authority to manage all the radioactive waste to Gosatomnadzor. It was decided that a national operator should be established within the framework of the Energy Ministry. In furtherance of the presidential decree a number of projects and discussions were launched with participation of the Russian side. In particular, the Russian state corporation Rosatom, TVEL Fuel Company, Rostechnadzor, and other organizations very actively rose to the challenge.
In his words, technical visits to Russia took place in the last six months. Apart from that, Russian colleagues came to Belarus to discuss the main questions and proposals concerning the development of the radioactive waste management system.
Gosatomnadzor's representative noted: “A national strategy of management of radioactive waste is being developed now. The basics and our vision of the matter are being incorporated in it at the current stage. An approved strategy on managing radioactive waste of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is already available. In the course of developing the overall strategy we focus on covering all the matters concerning the management of such waste in Belarus, including institutional waste generated by medical, scientific, and manufacturing activities.”
According to the source, Russian colleagues provide support in this regard and are ready to share their accumulated knowledge. “Russian institutes and organizations have prepared an expert opinion regarding a concept for creating a radioactive waste burial site in Belarus, proposals have been formulated regarding the system for burying such waste, Russia's approaches, which provide maximum results, have been analyzed, errors have been taken into account as well as possible errors in judgment, our infrastructure has been evaluated,” Dmitry Pavlov said.
This expert opinion has been used to make a number of conclusions, proposals, and work out a roadmap on developing the strategy for future management of such waste. “Assistance of Russian colleagues in this work is unprecedented. They approached the matter with maximum responsibility and care. Interaction with them continues. In the course of interacting with the Russian Federation – a country, which supplies nuclear technologies and is an expert at handling radioactive waste – we are getting colossal support and experience right now,” Dmitry Pavlov stressed.
