CNCAN 7 
Enhancing CNCAN's capabilities in the field of the regulation of radioactive waste management, spent nuclear fuel management and decommissioning activities

Purpose:

To establish and maintain a national legislative, regulatory and organizational framework for the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.

Background:

This sub-project is based both on the recommendations of the IAEA IRRS missions and on CNCAN's obligations under Council Directive 2011/70 EURATOM, which establishes the Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, as well as on the provisions of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.

As regards regulatory capabilities in the field of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, the following recommendations and suggestions were identified and selected for implementation under the new 2009 – 2014 financing programme: developing and implementing a complete set of procedures on the regulatory processes, providing applicants and licence holders with a complete set of information on the format and content of the documents to be submitted in support of a licence application; developing regulations on legacy waste and on abandoned radioactive materials, sources, sites or installations; identifying, completing and issuing the safety regulations that provide the basis for regulatory decisions and actions; developing the standard review plan containing a detailed description of the criteria and of the procedure for reviewing the safety documentation supporting the issue of the final siting and design licence for a radioactive waste disposal facility; developing the safety criteria and licensing requirements in the field of predisposal management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, in the field of the decommissioning of nuclear installations, and for the disposal of radioactive waste.

All the results of this sub-project are applicable to any nuclear regulatory authority and could be used by the IAEA in other Member States, within the framework of cooperation and technical assistance.

Results:

The programme will achieve the purpose described above and will lead in particular to the following results:

• A regulation on the predisposal stage of radioactive waste management, including safety criteria, criteria for safety assessments and the licensing procedure;
• A methodology for the review of safety assessments for the predisposal stage of radioactive waste management;
• A regulation on the disposal of radioactive waste, including the safety criteria, the safety assessment criteria and the licensing procedure;
• The standard review plan, describing the detailed criteria and the procedure for assessment and review by the regulatory authority;
• A regulation on the safety requirements for the decommissioning of nuclear installations and large radiological installations;
• A methodology for the assessment and review of the decommissioning plan for nuclear installations and for the main radiological installations;
• A regulation on the safety criteria for naturally occurring radioactive materials;
• A methodology for the assessment and review of the safety documents for naturally occurring radioactive materials.