DEVELOPMENT OF LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO ENSURE NUCLEAR AND RADIATION SAFETY

IBRAE RAN provides expert support to federal authorities on legal regulation of nuclear industry and participates in the works on development of federal laws and regulatory documents determining the national radiation safety policy.

Jointly with State Corporation “Rosatom”, IBRAE RAN developed the Federal Laws № 190-FZ ‘On Radioactive waste Management’, № 170-FZ and № 347-FZ, and justification of a variety of national and branch-wise concepts and programs.

The basic idea of the Federal Law № 190-FZ consists in the cessation of the ‘problem-accumulation’ radwaste management approach due to establishment of the Integrated State System for Radioactive Waste Management in the Russian Federation that provides for transition to the practice of compulsory disposal of radwaste, both previously accumulated and newly generated. The law was developed in accordance with the international commitments of the Russian Federation (note that Russia ratified ‘The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management’ in 2006) and the current legislation in the field of nuclear energy and related areas including protection of the environment and environmental safety.

Preparation for publication of a three-volume monograph ‘Problems of Nuclear Legacy and the Ways of Their Solution’ (the first two volumes were issued in 2012 and 2013) has become a significant contribution of IBRAE RAN to the development of methodology and scientific-information base for ensuring nuclear and radiation safety. The monograph addresses general problems of nuclear legacy and also urgent tasks and concepts of radwaste management.

By tradition, the Institute pays attention to the problems of nuclear, radiation and environmental safety caused by decommissioning of retired nuclear fleet and environmental remediation of their supporting infrastructure including legal and regulatory sides of these problems.

In 2008—2011, the specialists of IBRAE RAN developed ‘Strategic Plan for Radiation Safety Enhancement at Facilities of the Russian Academy of Sciences’, and headed the works on its implementation.