Public hearings of the “Radiation Waste Storage” project
On June 9, 2021, public hearings of the “Radiation Waste Storage” project were held in videoconference format, in which the following involved organizations and individuals participated:
1) Interested public (residents of Mayskiy district of Pavlodar region, Pavlodar and Kurchatov);
2) Representatives of public environmental organizations (public Association “Ecology and Public Opinion” (ECPO), International Anti-Nuclear Movement “Nevada-Semipalatinsk” Pavlodar branch, Laboratory-Atmosphere LLP Pavlodar branch, Environmental center-PV LLP, EurasiaEcoProject LLP, Youth Public Association of the Earth Foundation “Sustainable Development”, expert of the “Radiation Waste Safety of the Russian Social and Environmental Union” program , Public Foundation “BEREGINYA-BIO”).
3) Mass media (Newspaper “Karavan”, Pavlodar, newspapers “Kazakhstanskaya Pravda” in Pavlodar region, “Pavlodar-online”, “First Channel Eurasia”).
4) Representatives of local executive bodies (Pavlodar and East Kazakhstan regions);
5) Representatives of CAESC ME RK;
6) Employees from “Institute of Atomic Energy” and “Institute of Radiation Safety and Ecology” branches of the RSE NNC RK.
The planned construction site is also located on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk test site in Mayskiy district of Pavlodar region. “Radiation Waste Storage” will be located at the CRR “Baikal-1” site of the “Institute of Atomic Energy” branch of the RSE NNC RK, which located 70 km from Bolshoy Akzhar village in Mayskiy district of Pavlodar region and 64 km from Kurchatov. The choice of the construction site of the RW storage is not accidental and is due to the fact that:
– the territory of the industrial site has a developed infrastructure (power supply, physical protection systems, sanitary checkpoints, radiation and dosimetry control system, hot chamber, etc.);
– there are no localities near the work site;
– available qualified and certified personnel;
– RSE NNC RK has the necessary licenses to work with RW and radioactive substances;
– the optimal natural conditions of the work site were selected: the relief of the work site is smooth and calm; the aquifer is not opened by mining workings; the earth’s surface is relatively flat, covered with loam and sandy loam from the surface; no dangerous geological processes are observed, the seismicity is less than 6 points. The planned storage consists of three frameless hangar-type structures with a reinforced concrete base, with a total area of 1,800 m2. It is planned to use metal containers as the primary packaging for placing RW. The storage capacity is 1500 tons. The design service life is 50 years. The construction and operation start of the storage is scheduled for 2021.
The hearings are recognized valid, the comments made by the participants will be taken into account and amended accordingly into the design and estimate documentation.
