FEO presented a draft Concept on cooperation of the CIS member states in the field of waste management of hazard classes I and II at the international conference "The state and prospects for the development of the infrastructure for decommissioning nuclear and radiation hazardous facilities, radioactive and industrial waste management, spent nuclear fuel in the CIS members".
The organizer of the event is Rosatom Fuel Company TVEL, which is the basic organization of the CIS countries for the elimination of nuclear legacy and an industry integrator for decommissioning. Following the results of the work of the international expert group, the draft Concept and the action plan for its implementation were unanimously approved by all representatives of the Commonwealth countries.
"Today our international cooperation should turn into a practical field. And the first step is the exchange of knowledge, practices and technologies aimed at improving national infrastructures for the management of hazardous waste and the implementation of international projects," said Evgeny Sobolev, Executive Secretary of the Atom–CIS Commission.
Environmental safety is a cross–border category. One of the key factors determining the quality of the environment is the efficiency and safety of waste management of hazard classes I – II. Currently, there is no unified approach to solving the problem of hazardous waste management in the CIS countries, an insufficient number of modern technologies for their processing with the extraction and subsequent reuse of useful components leads to the emergence of objects of accumulated environmental harm.
In Russia FEO is responsible for the creation of a comprehensive waste management system of hazard classes I-II, ensuring their accounting and control from the moment of formation to deep processing. Since March 1, 2022, FEO in the status of a federal operator ensures the collection, transportation, processing, disposal and neutralization of these wastes throughout the country. To cover the shortage of processing capacities, a network of ecotechnoparks is being created to ensure the maximum involvement of secondary products in economic turnover.
"The cooperation of the CIS countries in the field of the use of atomic energy can be successfully expanded to the sphere of waste management of hazard classes I and II. We are ready to share our experience in creating an information system for accounting and control of waste management of classes I and II, plans for its further development, as well as unique technological and marketing solutions," said Inessa Fedorchuk, Head of the Department for the Implementation of Projects in the Field of Ecology of Rosatom State Corporation.
The international expert group included representatives of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Commission of the CIS Member States on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes and the CIS Executive Committee.
"The adoption of the Concept will be very useful for all CIS member countries. This is a good opportunity to find new solutions to old problems, to look at the handling of hazardous waste from different sides. Rosatom's experience is a successful example of how to create an efficient industrial waste management industry based on the best available technologies. Also, the implementation of joint projects always gives a synergistic effect," said Olga Volkova, representative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus.
"Today's Conference is an important platform for the exchange of opinions and experience. The problem of waste management, including hazardous waste, is relevant for our country. Having considered the draft Concept of Cooperation, we inform you that in general we support both the Concept itself and the corresponding plan for its implementation," said Mansur Oshurbayev, Director of the Department of State Policy in Waste Management of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The expert group outlined the following areas of cooperation within the framework of the developed Concept: improving regulatory regulation in the field of hazardous waste management, implementing joint infrastructure projects, accumulating the research potential of the CIS countries, conducting joint research to develop and implement the best available technologies, developing human resources, forming a culture of responsible production and consumption.