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Today, November 1, 2013, State Enterprise Radioactive Waste (SE RAW) – in its capacity of Assignor, received officially a Decision on Environmental Impact Assessment № 8-6/2013 for decommissioning of Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4. The document was issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water (MEW) and was published on the Ministry’s website in the section EIA Decisions for 2013.

On October 16, 2013, at a meeting, the Supreme Expert Environmental Council of MEW approved the implementation of SE RAW’s investment proposal for Decommissioning of Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4.

The decision was taken on the grounds of Art. 99, par. 2 of the Environmental Protection Act, Art. 19, par. 1 of the Ordinance on the terms and procedures for performance of environmental impact assessment (Ordinance on EIA) and in conjunction with Art. 31 of the Biological Diversity Act and Art. 39, par. 12 and 13 of the Ordinance on the terms and procedures for assessing the compatibility of plans, programmes, projects, and investment proposals with the subject and objectives of the preservation of protected areas (Ordinance on Environment).

The investment proposal provides for decommissioning of Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4 with WWER-440/230 reactors. They were put into operation in the period from 1974 (Unit 1) to 1982 (Unit 4). The territory intended for the needs of the decommissioning of the units is at the site of the nuclear power plant.

In the course of analysis and assessment of the decommissioning strategy, in view of all technical, economic, and social aspects and on the basis of international experience, the continuous dismantling strategy was chosen. The main features of this alternative are the continuous dismantling of equipment and facilities and the constant process of waste management, as well as controlling (monitoring) of the Safe Storage Area, which meets all requirements for environmental and radiation protection.

The approach adopted aims at achieving smooth transition between the individual stages. The updated strategy for continuous dismantling concerning the decommissioning of Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4 comprises two main stages:

Stage 1: Preparation and management of the safe storage of reactor buildings 1 and 2 and dismantling of the equipment outside the Safe Storage Area;

Stage 2: Deferred dismantling of the equipment within the Safe Storage Area and completion of the regulatory control over the buildings.

The conclusive stage of the decommissioning process comprises closing down and recultivation.

The investment proposal does not affect protected areas under the meaning of the Protected Areas Act and does not fall within the borders of protected areas under the meaning of the Biological Diversity Act.

The decommissioning of Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4 is an engagement undertaken by the Bulgarian government before the European Commission. The decommissioning  is financed with means from Kozloduy International Fund, administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The decommissioning process comprises all administrative and technical activities undertaken for the purposes of completion of the regulation of the nuclear facility, including its closing down for burial of radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel.

The process of decommissioning of Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4 is a priority of SE RAW as per the Strategy for Management of Spent Nuclear Fuel and Radioactive Waste until 2030. This includes also shortening as much as possible the deadlines for initiation of intensive dismantling activity in the turbine hall of units 1-4 (dismantling of equipment and systems of category III) prior to obtaining decommissioning license.

According to Art. 39 of the Safe Use of Nuclear Energy Act, one of the conditions for granting of a license for decommissioning of the nuclear facility is the existence of a decision on the environmental impact assessment. The favourable opinion of MEW about the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and of the Compatibility Assessment Report enables the State Enterprise to proceed with the application procedure at the Nuclear Regulatory Agency about the issuance of License for decommissioning of the nuclearfacility with regard to Kozloduy NPP Units 1-4.

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