A draft law on radioactive waste management was presented in the Majilis today. During the discussion, Sergazin shared the latest figures.
"Currently, there are about 293 million cubic meters of radioactive waste in Kazakhstan, of which the lion's share - 290 - is low-level radioactive waste. 237 cubes are "laid down" at the Semipalatinsk test site. This is because the contaminated soil has been removed from the landfill. The rest of the radioactive waste is medium-sized, highly active, and comes from enterprises.: National Nuclear Center, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Ulba Metallurgical Plant, Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Combine. Aktau has both a Koshkar Ata (tailings storage facility) and a Chemical and hydrometallurgical Plant," Gumar Sergazin said.
Reference. Radioactive waste (RW) is waste containing radioactive isotopes that are not subject to further use and pose a danger to health and the environment. They are formed as a result of the operation of nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel reprocessing, as well as for scientific, medical and industrial purposes. RW management requires strict safety measures to prevent radionuclides from entering nature.
According to the deputy chairman of the Agency, in order to handle radioactive waste, the company needs to obtain a license, including for their storage. And in the case of waste transportation, licensing is required. The Atomic Supervision and Control Committee is responsible for this issue.
"The bill will create a national operator that will regulate all relations related to radioactive waste. Today, we see that even in the world the practice is very weak in terms of burial sites. There are burial sites in several countries. The bill also provides for the creation of burial sites. They will be determined by a government decree. The national operator will be responsible for their construction and radiation safety, including, in the future, for monitoring all radioactive waste, reporting, and maintaining a registry," Sergazin added.
According to the developers, the main purpose of the bill is to create a unified legal system for radioactive waste management, to ensure the protection of the population and the environment from radiation exposure, as well as to establish a procedure for the safe storage and disposal of waste.
"One of the important provisions (of the draft law) is a ban on the import, as well as the placement and burial of imported (foreign) radioactive waste on the territory of Kazakhstan. The norm is aimed at protecting Kazakhstan's environmental sovereignty and national security," said Majilis deputy Edil Janbyrshin.
Let us remind you that in the summer, the Atomic Energy Agency announced plans for the storage and processing of radioactive waste from the first Kazakh nuclear power plant. According to the agency, during the operation of nuclear power plants, up to 60 cubic meters of radioactive waste are generated per year for a 1,200 megawatt power unit. The existing technologies for processing radioactive waste make it possible to ensure their complete safety during storage and subsequent burial. tengrinews.kz.
