Regulation on the Management of Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel

The Regulation on Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management was issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority and published in the Official Gazette No. 32362 on 7 November 2023; it entered into force on the date of publication (Article 31). It is based on Nuclear Regulatory Law No. 7381 (Article 3) and repealed three earlier regulations from 2004, 2009 and 2013 (Article 30). It is executed by the President of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (Article 32).

What and whom does the regulation cover?

It covers the safe management of radioactive waste and spent fuel arising during activities involving nuclear energy and ionising radiation, and matters concerning orphan radioactive material (Article 2). The obliged party is the "authorised person" who holds a licence, permit or authorisation from the Nuclear Regulatory Authority. Radioactive waste cannot be released or left in the environment (Article 5). The generation of waste is kept as low as reasonably achievable in quantity, volume and radioactivity (Article 6).

How is radioactive waste classified?

Waste is classified by its radioactivity and the half-lives of its radionuclides as very short-lived, very low level, low and intermediate level, and high level waste; the classification is made by the authorised person of the activity generating the waste (Article 20). Waste with a half-life of less than about one hundred days that will fall below clearance or discharge limits is very short-lived waste. High-level waste is disposed of only in deep disposal facilities; for low and intermediate level waste, near-surface, intermediate-depth or deep disposal is provided for depending on activity values.

What are the management steps and the authorised person's obligations?

The authorised person characterises the waste, processes it (pre-treatment, treatment, conditioning), packages it to the acceptance criteria of the receiving facility, labels, stores and transports it (Articles 19-24). Waste packages are labelled with at least the radionuclides, total radioactivity, volume and weight, dose rate measured at 1 metre from the package surface, waste class, identification number and packaging date (Article 22). Records on radioactive waste and spent fuel are kept until the facility, site or location is released from regulatory control, and for certain facilities an annual management report is submitted to the Authority (Articles 27-28). Laboratories providing characterisation and classification services, and their measurement and analysis methods, must be accredited (Article 16).

• A radioactive waste management plan is submitted to the Authority with the authorisation application (Article 11).
• Waste and spent fuel inventory information is submitted to TENMAK by the end of years ending in 4 and 9 (Article 12).
• Disused sealed sources cannot be left in the environment; they are returned to the supplier or, if that is impossible, delivered to a radioactive waste facility (Article 13).
• The cost of managing waste arising from radiation emergencies lies with the person authorised for the activity concerned (Article 15).

What applies to orphan sources and imported scrap metal?

TENMAK determines and carries out the necessary action for orphan radioactive material; damage and costs are borne by the last owner identified by the Authority. If radioactivity is detected on entry in imported scrap metal, it may be treated as orphan radioactive material, after consulting the Authority, where a document is presented showing that the scrap, checked before loading in the country of departure by a legal entity authorised by the Authority, contained no radioactivity; management and transport costs are borne by the importer (Article 14).

What does it mean for destruction and recycling?

Radioactive waste cannot be put into ordinary disposal, incineration or recycling channels; its management is carried out only by persons authorised by the Authority. Disposal facilities dispose only of solid waste or waste converted to solid form (Article 26). The Waste Incineration Regulation also excludes radioactive waste from its scope. Scrap, waste or second-hand equipment businesses should stop work and contact the competent authorities if radioactivity is suspected; this is also why the radiation measuring device requirement matters at waste facilities accepting metal.

What should companies pay attention to in practice?

Activities are subject to the Authority's inspection, and administrative sanctions apply for breaches of legislation, authorisation conditions or Authority decisions (Article 29). An authorised person's cessation of activity or revocation of authorisation does not remove its responsibility for the waste (Article 17). Persons authorised before the regulation entered into force need a transition plan; those operating a nuclear facility or radioactive waste facility submit it to the Authority within one year of publication (Provisional Article 1).