Ukraine Approves Expansion of Buryakivka Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility

The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) has approved the construction of a new disposal facility at the Buryakivka radioactive waste disposal site for the disposal of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste generated during the cleanup of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

The Buryakivka radioactive waste disposal facility is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and is one of Ukraine's key facilities for managing radioactive waste associated with the Chernobyl accident. Built as part of priority emergency measures following the accident, the facility was commissioned in 1987 and primarily receives low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the Chernobyl region. Currently, the facility is operated by the Central Enterprise for Radioactive Waste Management (CERWM) of Ukraine.

To date, 31 near-surface trench-type disposal units at the Buryakivka facility have been filled. Each disposal unit measures 150 meters × 50 meters, with the main engineered barrier being a 1-meter-thick specialized clay shielding layer. The last disposal unit to be commissioned, No. 21A, began operation in 2018 and was completely filled by the end of 2023. Since the facility began operations, approximately 635,918 cubic meters of Chernobyl-related radioactive waste have been disposed of.

In addition to routine waste, radioactively contaminated vehicles used during the Chernobyl accident response are also stored at the Buryakivka facility. CERWM has been dismantling and volume-reducing these vehicles since 2012.

To expand disposal capacity, CERWM plans to construct a new trench-type disposal unit, No. 11A. The enterprise has completed and validated the construction design for the disposal unit, incorporating comments from a comprehensive state expert review of the project. Earlier this year, CERWM submitted a license application to the regulator for activities related to the construction phase of the new disposal unit.

With the participation of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SSTC NRS), SNRIU conducted a state review of the safety analysis report for the construction phase of disposal unit No. 11A in terms of nuclear and radiation safety, with a focus on assessing the project's compliance with relevant laws, standards, and regulatory requirements.

At a meeting held this Tuesday, the SNRIU Board reviewed and approved the conclusions of the state expert review. The review results confirmed that the design decisions adopted in the project are justified, that the proposed disposal unit meets safety requirements, and that CERWM has the capability to carry out construction-phase activities in accordance with established nuclear and radiation safety standards and regulations.

The regulator also recommended that CERWM continue updating the safety justification during the construction phase of the disposal unit, incorporating content related to the actual implementation of the design solutions, changes in facility characteristics, and radioactive waste streams into the safety analysis report for the operational phase and other operational documents, in order to subsequently apply for a license for the operational phase of the disposal unit.

SNRIU stated that once the new near-surface disposal facility is constructed and commissioned, it will facilitate the continued disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated during the decommissioning of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, as well as low-level radioactive waste from other nuclear energy-related organizations in Ukraine.