The Detailed Development Plan – the Plan for the Regulation and Construction (DDP-PRC) of the National Disposal Facility was finally approved by order of Mr Dobromir Simidchiev, Deputy Minister for Regional Development and Public Works. Mr Dilyan Petrov, Executive Director of State Enterprise Radioactive Waste was officially informed about the finalisation of the procedure.
The legal procedure for the approval of DDP-PRC is complex, time-consuming and requires communication with many institutions. The process took more than 2 years. More than 15 various state institutions, agencies, municipal authorities and utility organisations gave their recommendations for DSP-PRC. In April 2012 a public discussion in Kozloduy Municipality was also organised pursuant to the legal requirements.
The DDP-PRC approval is a key step in the construction of the NDF. According to the National Strategy for Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management and the decision of the Council of Ministers on 25 July 2005, the NDF must start operation in 2015. The successfully completed procedure is a precondition for SERAW to acquire a construction permit for the NDF. At this stage, SERAW meets the deadlines set in the schedule for NDF construction.
In parallel with the legal procedures of DDP-PRC approval, cleaning of the Radiana site commenced in August 2012. Also, access was outlined along the longitudinal axis of the disposal modules of the future facility, and research was conducted for precise justification of Pliocene sediments at the upper surface elevation. The scheduled activities for predisposal monitoring are in progress as well.
The commissioning of the NDF will finalise the cycle of radioactive waste management in Bulgaria, providing their safe and permanent insulation from the environment and people. The National Disposal Facility is also a key factor in the successful completion of the decommissioning activities at the closed nuclear facilities in Kozloduy NPP.