Plans to select three alternative sites for storing radioactive waste in Belarus

MINSK, 6 April (BelTA) – Three alternative sites for storing radioactive waste will be selected in Belarus. Head of the Radioactive Waste Management Office of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Dmitry Pavlov mentioned it in BelTA's press center on 6 April.

Dmitry Pavlov said: “Preparatory work is in progress now. Approaches and criteria for selecting the site are being worked out. Plans are in place to select three alternative sites. After an objective evaluation of pros and cons of each of them the optimal variant will be chosen from the point of view of safety.” An entire complex of factors will be taken into account – geological, economic, and social ones.

It is yet unclear exactly when the decision will be made and the construction of the radioactive waste burial facility will begin. However, according to the radioactive waste management strategy, the first stage of the facility is supposed to be commissioned by 2030.

BelTA reported earlier that the radioactive waste management strategy was approved by the Council of Ministers' resolution No.128 of 15 February 2023. It determines principles for ensuring safe management of radioactive waste, the main directions of development and perfection of the national system for managing radioactive waste of all kinds, which has been generated and is being generated in Belarus.