On 25 March 2026, a State Acceptance Commission was held for the project “National Repository for Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste.” Based on the site inspection, the submitted documentation, the discussions, and the opinions of the twenty-three-member commission chaired by Eng. Radoslava Pasheva, a conclusion was reached confirming compliance with the issued construction permits and regulatory requirements. On this basis, the issuance of Protocol Form 16 was proposed. With this act, the National Construction Control Directorate confirms that the facility has been constructed in accordance with the approved designs and is fit for its intended use.
“We are pleased that today’s decision allows us to mark the completion of a long and challenging project of the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste,” said the Executive Director of the enterprise, Eng. Dilyan Petrov, at the end of the meeting. He emphasized that with the construction of this facility, Bulgaria joins the limited number of countries with a completed radioactive waste management cycle and underlined that the availability of a repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste is of key importance for the development of new nuclear capacities in Bulgaria.
Following the issuance of the permit for use of the facility, SE RAW is expected to obtain an operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Agency.
Also on 25 March 2026, by decision of the Council of Ministers, the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste was designated as a “nuclear operator” in the Republic of Bulgaria within the meaning of the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage. A prerequisite for the issuance of an operating license for the National Repository is the provision of a financial guarantee covering liability for nuclear damage.
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The project for the construction of the National Repository for Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste was assigned to the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste (SE RAW) by a government decision in 2005 (Council of Ministers Decision No. 683/25.07.2005). Over time, the process has been divided into three main stages: site selection, design, and construction. Following extensive regional and detailed geological, geophysical, geochemical, engineering-geological, and hydrogeological studies, a preferred site was selected for the construction of the national repository – the “Radiana” site.
On 29 August 2017, SE RAW officially launched the construction of the National Repository for Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste.
The Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund financed the project through a grant administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
