Chernobyl gets go-ahead for solid radioactive waste processing
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has given approval for the commissioning of the Solid Waste Retrieval Facility and Solid Waste Processing Plant at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site.
The inspectorate's decision came in the form of an amendment to the site's licence, granting the right to conduct activities relating to the processing and storage of radioactive waste. The two facilities are part of the site's Industrial Complex for Solid Radioactive Waste Management (ICSRM).
The facility will be able to process solid radioactive waste accumulated during the plant's operation as well as waste generated during the plant's decommissioning and also operational radioactive waste from the shelter object - the emergency structure that was built at pace in 1986 to cover unit 4 after the accident.
The Chernobyl operators said "the commencement of ICSRM’s industrial operation marks a significant step in the safe and efficient management of radioactive waste" at the site.
The ICSRM was majority funded by the European Union and encompasses four facilities for solid radioactive waste management integrated in a single technology cycle.
'Lot 0' is temporary storage for low- and intermediate-level long-lived waste as well as high-level waste. This is within the Liquid and Solid Waste Storage Facility and was commissioned in 2010.
'Lot 1' will retrieve solid wastes from an existing solid waste storage facility. It will handle 3 cubic metres of waste per day over an operational life of 30 years.
'Lot 2' will sort solid wastes and process low- and intermediate-level wastes at the rate of 20 cubic metres per day. Some solid and liquid wastes will be incinerated, and some will be cemented. It can package 1.5 cubic metres of low- and intermediate-level long-lived waste per day, and can store 3500 cubic metres of them and high-level waste.
'Lot 3' is a near-surface storage facility for low- and intermediate-level short-lived waste with a capacity of 55,000 cubic metres. It will accept waste for 30 years and store it for 300 years.
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant lies about 130 kilometres north of Kiev and about 20 kilometres south of the border with Belarus.
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