The time to roll out Russia’s integrated radioactive waste management system (RAWMS) can be extended by 4 years till 2025 due to construction times of certain facilities. The new plan has been drafted by Rosatom and filed with the Russian government for approval. The RAWMS is being established to ensure safe and cost efficient management and disposal of nuclear waste in Russia. The system will integrate a number of facilities involved in radioactive waste management and operating in strict compliance with relevant regulations.

The RAWMS establishment process is divided in three stages. At the first stage, a regulatory framework and administrative procedures were developed for the system, including the procedures for registration of radioactive waste and its location. At the second stage (ending in 2018), a low and medium level waste disposal system is being established. The third stage was expected to end in 2021 when a high level (the most hazardous) waste disposal system was planned to be completed.

High level waste is often left over after the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing. The plans for the third stage are to commission an underground laboratory in the Nizhnekansky granitoid massif (Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia) by 1 January 2021. The laboratory will perform on-site surveys to confirm that the area is safe to build a high level radioactive waste repository scheduled to start operation in 2024. It is for this reason that the Government is proposed to extend the project’s third stage till 1 January 2025.

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The underground laboratory is a unique research project. Its primary task is to study properties of the rock bed at a depth of 450–525 meters and, based on the study results, confirm that medium and high level long-lasting radioactive waste can be ultimately disposed deep under the Nizhnekansky massif. The final results will be used to prepare a feasibility study of the repository and its commercial operation. The search for an ultimate disposal site for medium and high level radioactive waste has been conducted for the last 20 years. The facility is second to none in Russia as it establishes perfect conditions for radioactive waste disposal and provides for high reliability of safety estimates. The rock massif will be surveyed without radioactive materials throughout the laboratory construction period and for at least 5 years until the final decision is made.