Igor Linge, deputy director of Nuclear Safety Institute

– The public will support the law aimed at improving the process of radioactive waste treatment

On June 26 the Expert Council for Legislative Support of the Nuclear Industry of the Energy Committee of the State Duma considered draft law on treatment of radioactive waste.

Today, we have almost no stimuli for getting rid of radioactive waste and placing them in final isolation. The process of burial of radioactive waste is quite expensive. Besides, we have no laws for regulating this process. This legislative initiative suggests such specific regulatory measures, to be carried out by the national operator of this sector.

The bill says that the state shall undertake full responsibility (and expenses) for treatment of radioactive waste.

All the relevant standards and rules will remain the same. The law will add some important technological points such as deadlines for storage of radioactive waste onsite, storage admissibility criteria and producers’ obligation to pay for burial. For example, organizations producing little waste will be able to store them for no more than five years and then will have to submit the waste to the National Operator for burial. Thus, we will substantially reduce the number of storage sites and the greater part of radioactive waste will be sent to civilized facilities of final isolation.

The basic idea of the bill is to modernize the radioactive waste treatment system and to create modern, high-tech and secure burial sites.

The bill has already been submitted to the Public Council of Rosatom and the Expert Council of the Energy Committee of the State Duma. In the autumn it may be put for public discussions. I think that people will support the bill as it is aimed at improving the process of radioactive waste treatment.