site.btaNational Repository for Low-, Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste Declared Fit for Commissioning

State Enterprise Radioactive Waste (SERAW) reported on Friday that on Wednesday, a state acceptance commission was convened for the national repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. Based on an inspection of the construction site, the submitted documents, the discussions, and the opinions of the participants, the 23-member commission concluded that the project complies with the issued construction permits and the requirements for construction. On this basis, a certificate confirming that the work is fit for commissioning was issued. With this act, the Directorate for National Construction Control confirms that the facility has been constructed in accordance with the approved designs and is fit for its intended use.

SERAW Executive Director Dilyan Petrov, cited in the organization's press release, said: "We are pleased that today’s decision marks the completion of a long and challenging project by SERAW." He said that with the construction of the facility, Bulgaria joins the small number of countries with a complete radioactive waste management cycle and emphasized that the availability of a repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste is crucial for the construction of new nuclear power plants in Bulgaria. It is expected that after receiving a permit to use the facility, SERAW will also receive a commissioning permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Agency.

The project to construct a national repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste was assigned to SERAW by a government decision in 2005. Over time, this process was broadly divided into three main stages: site selection, design, and construction. Following regional and detailed geological, geophysical, geochemical, engineering-geological, and hydrogeological studies, the Radina site was selected for the construction. On August 29, 2017, SERAW officially launched the construction of the repository. The Kozloduy International Fund provided grant funding for the project through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.