European Countries Manage Legacy Waste, with IAEA Support

Participants at a side event during the IAEA's 68th General Conference heard how Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have successfully managed radioactive waste and secured legacy radioactive sources from past nuclear applications, with the support of the IAEA, to help protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation. As the countries' older disposal and storage sites share commonalities, they are learning from each other's experiences to tackle their waste management challenges.

"Safety and stabilization measures implemented in recent years have provided safe storage of radioactive waste," said Kseniia Kostiuchenko from the Central Enterprise for Radioactive Waste Management of Ukraine. "The IAEA technical cooperation programme plays a vital role in supporting Ukraine's efforts to manage radioactive waste," she elaborated.

Legacy radioactive waste poses challenges as information about their origin or current storage situation may be unclear, and they are frequently stored in conditions that are no longer in line with current safety guidelines. With IAEA assistance, countries can determine the types of legacy waste they are dealing with, and the status of their storage conditions. Armed with this information, countries can then work to transfer radioactive waste to appropriate long-term storage or disposal solutions in line with IAEA Safety Standards.

In the case of the Republic of Moldova, the country has been using radioactive sources since the 1960s. With IAEA support, the country is identifying, assessing and managing its institutional legacy waste. For example, a new containment facility that meets safety standards has been constructed to facilitate the removal and safe management of the radioactive waste that was located at a former RADON-type facility. RADON-type facilities were constructed in the 1960s to store or dispose of radioactive waste and share similar designs. The IAEA provided expertise that allowed the Republic of Moldova to develop the technical documentation and necessary infrastructure to ensure safe retrieval, processing and storage. In parallel, the Republic of Moldova is beginning to establish a disposal facility for the country's radioactive waste inventory.

"We are jumping into the waste disposal field. We still do not have national expertise in this, but nevertheless we have started to address these issues," said Iulian Gisca Radioactive Waste Management Moldova. "With the help of the IAEA, we are complying with international standards, and we have access to funds and international support as well as knowledge sharing and networking to enhance our national capacity. We lack experience in decommissioning facilities and processing the waste that will be generated, therefore sharing experiences with other countries that have already performed such activities is of great importance," he explained.

Countries with legacy waste can learn a great deal from each other's experiences by sharing their own approaches to particular scenarios. At the IAEA side event, Felicia Dragolici, IAEA Radioactive Waste Management Specialist, described how working procedures have been developed based on successful approaches to similar cases already encountered in the field. In Georgia, more than 45,000 disused sealed radioactive sources were discovered, and a dedicated facility was created to safely manage them. "Now Georgia can share its expertise with the other countries in the region and help them to implement similar activities," Dragolici explained.

There are more than 30 RADON-type facilities, and attendees heard how Georgia has a facility similar to the one that is now being decommissioned in the Republic of Moldova. Ukraine also has five RADON-type facilities and is developing plans to recover the stored inventory to inform further management decisions. As the IAEA brings countries in Europe together to support each other to manage their legacy waste, Georgia will be able to both share its experience in managing disused sealed radioactive sources, and to learn from Estonia, Lithuania, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine about best practices in waste management procedures for RADON-type facilities.

Through nearly 20 ongoing technical cooperation projects, the IAEA is helping more than ten countries in Europe and Central Asia to manage legacy waste from past nuclear applications.