Background
2005
By a Council of Ministers’ Decree No. 992 of 14 December 2004, the assets of the Facility for Treatment and Conditioning of RAW generated from the operation of Kozloduy NPP and Interim Storage Facility were transferred to SERAW.
On 29 April 2005, SERAW was granted a License Series E, Reg. No. 01740, for operation of a nuclear facility for RAW management through Specialised Division Radioactive Waste – Kozloduy.
By a Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 683 dated 25 July 2005, SERAW was entrusted with the construction of a National Disposal Facility for Low- and Intermediate Level RAW (NDF).
2006
On 14 July 2006, SERAW was granted a License Series E, No. 02088, for operation of a radioactive waste management facility at the Novi Han Site – through Specialised Division Permanent Storage Facility for Radioactive Waste – Novi Han. In compliance with the license, only RAW generated outside Kozloduy NPP (RAW from applications of sources of ionizing radiation in the areas of medicine, industry and research) are subject to management in the facility.
2007
The Information Centre of SERAW in Kozloduy was established in October 2007. The Information Centre is aimed at providing the public with systematic and comprehensible information about the scope of operations of the Enterprise.
2008
On 20 December 2008, a Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 839 was taken regarding declaring Kozloduy NPP’s Units 1 and 2 RAW management facilities and transfer thereof to SERAW for the purpose of management.
2010
On 18 October 2010, SERAW was granted Licenses Series E, No. 03492/03493, for operation of Units 1 and 2 as RAW management facilities subject to decommissioning through Specialised Division Decommissioning – Kozloduy.
2011
In 2011, meetings were held for public discussion of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) for the National Disposal Facility for Low- and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste.
2012
On 1 November 2012, the fourth Specialised Division National Disposal Facility was officially established within SERAW’s organizational structure.
By Decision No. 1038 of 19 December 2012, the Council of Ministers declared the shutdown Units 3 and 4 of Kozloduy NPP radioactive waste management facilities and these were transferred to SERAW for the purpose of management.
2013
On 26 February 2013, SERAW was granted Licenses Series E, No. 04152/04153, for operation of Units 3 and 4 as RAW management facilities subject to decommissioning through Specialised Division Radioactive Waste – Kozloduy.
2014
On 14 November 2014, SERAW was granted Licenses Series E, No. 4650/4651, for decommissioning of Units 1 and 2 through Specialised Division Units 1-4 Decommissioning.
2015
In the period 16 to 30 April 2015, State Enterprise Radioactive Waste held a series of public consultation meetings on the updated Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIA Report) for the National Disposal Facility.
On the 1st June 2015, SERAW was granted a Licence for operation of a radioactive waste management facility through Specialized Division RAW-Kozloduy. The document was issued on the 28th April 2015 and renewed the previous licence for these activities from 2008. The validity period of the new licence is 10 years.
2016
On 28 July 2016, SERAW was granted Licenses Series IE No. 5099/5100 for decommissioning of Units 3 and 4 through Specialised Division Units 1-4 Decommissioning.
On 23 December 2016, the Ministry of Environment and Water issued an EIA Decision No. 7-7/2016 approving the implementation of an investment proposal Construction of a National Disposal Facility for Low- and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste.
2017
On 5 May 2017, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Agency issued a Permit for construction of the National Disposal Facility.
On 9 June 2017, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works issued a Permit to SERAW for construction of the National Disposal Facility for Low- and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste on Radiana site (Construction Permit No. РС-21/25.05.2017). The Construction Permit became effective on 26 June 2017.
On 29 August 2017, SERAW officially started construction of the National Disposal Facility for Low- and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste. At an official groundbreaking ceremony on Radiana site, the Minister of Energy, Temenuzhka Petkova, and the Executive Director of SERAW, Dilyan Petrov, symbolically broke ground of the future National Disposal Facility.
2018
On the 2nd February 2018, the Executive Agency “Bulgarian Accreditation Service” officially accredited Specialized Division – Inspection Body Type C “RELEASE FROM REGULATORY CONTROL” within the structure of State Enterprise Radioactive Waste.
On the 6th March 2018, a Size Reduction and Decontamination Workshop (SRDW) for materials from decommissioning was commissioned. In the SRDW are installed facilities for mechanical, chemical and electrochemical decontamination of materials from equipment dismantled from Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4.
On the 12th November 2018 started the first 20-week operational campaign of the newly built Plasma Melting Facility (PMF). The facility is intended for treatment of low- and intermediate-level RAW with a high-volume reduction factor. The annual throughput of the PMF is 250 t.
2019
On the 12th July 2019 was renewed the Licence for operation of a radioactive waste management facility through Specialized Division Permanent Repository for Radioactive Waste – Novi han, with SERAW being a Licensee. The licence validity period is until 31 December 2025.
On the 3rd September 2019, the completion of dismantling activities in the Turbine Hall of Units 1-4 – the conventional island of the shutdown nuclear facilities, was reported.
In November, SERAW marked the 15th anniversary of its establishment with a scientific seminar, which followed the progress of activities across the entire range of activities of the National Operator for Radioactive Waste Management by highlighting the Programme for Decommissioning of the shutdown nuclear facilities of Kozloduy NPP and construction of the National Disposal Facility.
2020
On 31st January, a delegation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) undertook an official three-day visit to SERAW in relation to our country’s application for membership in the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).
The implementation of the Decommissioning Programme continued; operations related to the dismantling activities in the Controlled Area – Reactor Building of Kozloduy NPP Unit 1 started in May.
2021
On 20th January, a day after the official ceremony of Bulgaria’s accession to the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the first working meeting took place between management representatives and experts of State Enterprise Radioactive Waste and the Agency.
2022
In response to the need of the public for comprehensive up-to-date information on safe radioactive waste management processes, an Information Centre for Decommissioning was put into operation – a new state-of-the-art building of extended functionalities to enhance information policy related activities.
As part of the Decommissioning Project, radioactive contamination in the Primary Circuits of the Kozloduy NPP shutdown reactor units was significantly reduced by chemical decontamination in mid-2022. As a result of the operations, the activity in the four nuclear facilities was reduced as follows:
- Unit 1 – 98,47%
- Unit 2 – 98,63%
- Unit 3 – 97,53%
- Unit 4 – 99,63%
In October, the new Information Centre for Decommissioning hosted an annual Technical Meeting of the IAEA International Low Level Waste Disposal Network (DISPONET), which was attended by radioactive waste disposal experts from 18 countries around the world. The event was chaired by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On 9th December, the Plasma Melting Facility (PMF) entered the sixth operational campaign. Since the first one (end of year 2018) up until then, more than 3,800 cubic metres of RAW have been treated, with a waste volume reduction of more than 90 times achieved over the course of the last campaign.
2023
Installation of the bridge crane begins by which NDF personnel will be carrying out operations on receiving and handling Reinforced Concrete Containers (RCC) with RAW in the building for receiving and buffer storage of RAW packages.
Installation of both mobile roofs of the National Disposal Facility begins – one on each of the two rows of disposal cells for disposal of Reinforced Concrete Containers with radioactive waste. They are intended to protect the RAW packages against environmental conditions, employees carrying out disposal operations, as well as the plant and control equipment.
In the period 25-29 September 2023, the 67th IAEA General Conference of the organisation takes place at Vienna International Centre, Vienna. Focus of the Bulgarian presentation being one of the most significant projects implemented through support by the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF) –Construction of a Facility for Treatment and Conditioning of Solid Radioactive Waste (RAW) with a high volume reduction factor.
State Enterprise Radioactive Waste is implementing a dedicated software for management, traceability and reporting of information and activities carried out by the structural units of the Enterprise. The development of a Three-dimensional model (3D model) and a Unified Information Model (UIM) of Reactor Building of Units 1 to 4 and Auxiliary Buildings 1&2 is carried out within the framework of the implementation of a contract financed by the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF) for Elaboration of a Design for Dismantling of Equipment in the Controlled Areas of KNPP Units 1-4.
Over two consecutive days, on 21 and 22 December 2023, State Enterprise Radioactive Waste successfully implemented a complex pilot operation on removal from Unit 3 Steam Generator Compartment and transfer of the first out of a total of 24 Steam Generators from the 440-megawatt nuclear power units of the Nuclear Power Plant, currently under decommissioning.
2024
In July, State Enterprise Radioactive Waste celebrates 20 years of experience as a national radioactive waste management operator.
After being reconstructed and equipped for decommissioning purposes, the building of the former Diesel Generator Station (DGS-1) on the industrial site of Kozloduy NPP was put into operation as a Workshop for Production of Reinforced Concrete Containers (RCC) for Radioactive Waste, with real work activities commencing on 1 August.
In November 2024, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency issues a common Decommissioning Licence for decommissioning of Kozloduy NPP Units 1&2.
2025
At the end of April 2025, an Operating Licence was issued for the Plasma Melting Facility, the operation of which allows to significantly reduce the volume of Category 2a radioactive waste at the Kozloduy NPP site.
The licence issued to State Enterprise Radioactive Waste for Operation of a Radioactive Waste Management Facility through SD RAW-Kozloduy, which plays a key role in the management of wastes from the decommissioning of the small nuclear power units, as well as the ones generated during Kozloduy NPP operations, was also renewed.
In compliance with the National Strategy for Human Resources Development in the Nuclear Sector, the first-ever School on Radioactive Waste Management was held in May for students enrolled in relevant academic programmes from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski and Technical University, Sofia, as a joint initiative of State Enterprise Radioactive Waste and the Centre of Nuclear Competences.