The work of the Belarusian delegation at the 8th Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention continues

On March 20 at the IAEA HQ in Vienna, Ms. Olga Lugovskaya, Head of Gosatomnadzor, presented the 8th National Report of the Republic of Belarus on Implementing the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management (SFM) and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) for the period from 2021 to 2023.

The Report indicates that the current spent fuel management policy is based on the provisions of national legislation and international treaties to which the Republic of Belarus is a party.

State policy in the field of RW management is implemented in accordance with the Strategy of Radioactive Waste Management, which defines the main directions and approaches for decision-making based on safe, technologically efficient and cost-effective RWM.

In her speech Ms. Olga Lugovskaya emphasized the events that had taken place since the previous Report. Among other things, it was noted that in accordance with the decision of the referendum of February 27, 2022, the provision on the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes by the Republic of Belarus was enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus for the first time. The Law “On Safety Regulation in the Use of Atomic Energy” was adopted, which legally established the status of Gosatomnadzor as a state regulatory body in the field of safety in atomic energy use. Also, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus “On Improving the Radioactive Waste Management System” determines the Ministry for Emergency Situations as the state management body in the field of RW management.

Practical issues of RW management in the Republic of Belarus, as well as near-term objectives in identifying appropriate technologies for RW management, site selection, design and construction of a RWDF were also mentioned in the Report.