THE DISPOSAL PROGRAMS OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN HUNGARY

Dr. Ferenc Kereki Managing Director

07. 07. 2014.

Public Limited Company for Radioactive Waste

Management

Püspökszilágy

Bátaapáti

Boda

Paks

Operating repository of the non-

nuclear low and intermediate level

wastes (RWTDF)

Operating Interim Spent

Fuel Storage Facility

(ISFS)

Operating repository for

the nuclear low- and

intermediate level wastes

(NRWR)

Investigational location for

the high level waste

repository

PURAM sites and projects

Costs and financing

The payment of waste producers into the Central Nuclear Financial Fund ensure financing of the basic tasks of the company.

The Fund was established on 1st January 1998 by the Act on Atomic Energy, with the purpose of financing the disposal of radioactive wastes, the interim storage, and final disposal of spent nuclear fuels and the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities.

PURAM’s responsibility is to make an annual proposal on the sufficient amount of payments. The proposal is approved by the Ministry of National Development, then it is included in the budget act to be submitted for Parliamentary approval.

So far the amount accumulated in the Fund was more than

730 million € (1 billion $).

Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility

The storage facility has been established for LILW disposal from non-nuclear facilities.

Near-surface final repository.

Operates from 1977.

Capacity: 5040 m3

The annual volume of intake is 15 to 25 m3 LILW and 2000 to 3000

pieces of used radiation sources.

The solid waste packages are in concrete vaults, the sealed sources are in vertical storage tubes.

Now the facility is under re-construction (retrieval, repackaging and compacting), which is planned to be completed in 2024.

National Radioactive Waste Repository

Underground final repository.

For low and intermediate level wastes from the NPP.

The surface facilities were put in operation in 2008.

The final disposal started at the end of 2012.

The final disposal of the high-level radioactive wastes and spent fuel assemblies

Site selection researches took place in the 1990’s and in 2003-2005 in an area used for uranium mining.

There is a promising clay stone formation near Boda village.

A new program of exploration drillings started in 2014 and its aim is to narrow the possible territory.

In the 2020’s the location of the URL will be determined, after which the construction is to be started.

The planned opening of the facility would take place in the 2060’s.

Mecsek Environmental and Research Station (MERS)

This site is located in Kővágószőlős

Main tasks: the recultivation of the environment

Remediation of the environmetal demages that were caused by the mining uranium and mill process

Protection of water

Mecsek Environmental and Research Station (MERS)

Mine closures and landscaping

Landscaping of waste rock piles

Landscaping of heap leaching sites

Landscaping tailing ponds

Landscaping of underground mine workings

Water treatment

Monitoring: radiological, geodynamical monitoring system -Water samples are collected every 3 or 6 month

Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility

Reasons of Establishment

Between 1989 and 1998, 2331 SF assemblies were shipped back to the SU, and later to Russia.

By the time these shipments became more and more expensive, for this reason the management of NPP decided to establish an interim storage facility.

After a wide-range research and evaluation work, the NPP commissioned the English company GEC Alsthom to build a dry storage facility.

The project was started in 1992 and the first three storage vaults and the reception building were completed in 1997.

Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility Nowdays

The facility provides interim storage for the SNF from the Paks NPP.

It was put in operation in 1997.

PURAM took over the construction and operation of the ISFS in 1998.

It is a modular vault type dry storage facility.

The facility is capable of storing spent fuel assemblies for a period of minimum 50 years.

Up to now the ISFS has 20 storage vaults for 9300 spent fuel assemblies. These chambers have been built in 5 phases.

Outlet air with 3-4°C

increased

temperature Fuel Handling

Mashine

Charge Face

Storage Tubes

Shielding Wall

Inlet Air

Capacity of ISFS

So far there are 20 storage vaults. The first 16 vaults have 450 fuel storage capacity each and the last four were extended to 527 capacity each.

The regulatory body (HAEA) has permitted storage of 500 fuel assemblies per year.

At this time there are 8077 spent fuel assemblies in the facility.

The fuel assemblies are transported from the NPP in a water-filled C-30 type transfer container.

In 2014 210 fuel assemblies in 7 containers were transported.

Future Plans

We intend to extend the capacity up to 33 vaults.

We evaluate the options of the capacity extention of the new vaults up to 750 fuel assemblies per vault.

The next stage of extension of ISFS started.

Soil stabilisation work is in progress.

Public relations

Our company has a supportive social environment

to its all 4 projects:

4 social information associations,

34 settlements,

almost 83.000 people.

International relationships

PURAM has a Memorandum of Understanding with:

US DOE, concerned on MVDS interim storage facilities.

ANDRA of France mostly concerned on the HLW disposal and linked exploration activities.

KORAD of South-Korea, which is just recently prepared. It concerns all 4 project of our company.

We are participating in EPRI-Extended Storage Collaboration Program.

We regularly attend meetings which are aiming to deepen the overall understanding of degradation mechanisms associated with storage and transportation systems for extended storage periods, such as 300 years.

We have an inter-governmental agreement with Belgium, in which we have a company level contact with Tractabel Engineering on subjects varying annually.

We take part in numerous workshops in frames of the IAEA and OECD.

Thank you for your attention!