During the period 14-16 September 2015, a scheduled monitoring audit took place in the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste in relation to the activities supported by Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF). Participants of the work meetings were representatives of the European Commission (EC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – on behalf of the European Union and heads of the high- and middle management of SERAW, as well as project managers of particular projects and activities.
The scope of the monitoring, which is being performed every six months, included the review of the decommissioning progress in the Turbine Hall and Controlled Area in accordance with the annual work schedule for 2015. The participants were introduced with the currents status of the main decommissioning projects financed by the KIDSF which are at various phases of development, including the erection of the National Disposal Facility for low- and intermediate level RAW. For a first time in the history of these joint meetings, a new topic was specified – implementation of radiation protection in the decommissioning process. The information obtained from the discussions will serve for preparing a database that can be compared with the other countries where EU supports the decommissioning of nuclear power units, and Bulgaria was included as the first country in this project. The agenda of the audit included also legal and regulatory questions. The EU representatives visited Units 1-4 Turbine Hall, the Free Release Measurement Facility and the facilities in the Controlled Area. During the final meeting, the EC representative – Simon Murphy expressed his satisfaction with the effective work during the three-day monitoring and stated that the projects are being managed and developed according to plan, and wherever there are issues, there is ambition for their fast and appropriate solution.
The three-day joint work of the EU and SERAW representatives is essential for the preparation for the meeting of the Nuclear Decommissioning Assistance Programme Committee planned in November. The meeting is held annually and aims to present the progress of Lithuania, Slovakia and Bulgaria on the implementation of programs related to decommissioning and funded by community.
