RAW Disposal Facilities
Radioactive waste disposal facility means an area, facility or installations at the surface or underground used for the disposal of radioactive waste.
RAW disposal facility Dukovany has been developed in the site of NPP Dukovany. The disposal facility is used to dispose low-level waste from both nuclear power plants in the Czech territory, and (since 2005) limited amount of institutional RAW. A potential release of radionuclides into the biosphere is prevented by a system of barriers with a long service lifetime. The disposal facility has been in operation since 1995. The total volume for waste disposal is 55 000 m3 (ca. 180 000 200-liter drums) is sufficient to accommodate all RAW from NPP Dukovany and NPP Temelín, provided the waste meets acceptance conditions for disposal, even in case the operation time of the plants is extended to 60 years. Safety of the operating disposal facility is checked by a monitoring system in agreement with a monitoring program approved by SÚJB. The method of the disposal facility closing has been assessed by safety analyses. The disposal facility is operated based on a license for operation issued SÚJB.
RAW disposal facility Richard has been developed in a complex of former limestone mine Richard II (inside Bídnice hill - 70 m under the ground level). Since 1964 the disposal facility has been used to dispose institutional waste (RAW from utilization of radioisotopes in medical care, industry and research). The total volume of adapted underground premises exceeds 18 900 m3, while the capacity for waste disposal is about 10 200 m3 and the rest are service galleries. In mid-2019, work began on the first stage of the reconstruction of underground premises. The existing premises originally filled with aggregates were adapted to disposal and storage chambers with a volume of approx. 1 100 m3. Separately from disposed RAW, there are also RAW that cannot be currently disposed and wait to be disposed in a respective disposal facility. They mainly include sealed radionuclide sources, collected radionuclide sources from fire detectors and nuclear materials. Safety of the operating disposal facility is checked by a monitoring system in agreement with a monitoring program approved by SÚJB. The method of the disposal facility closing has been assessed by safety analyses. The disposal facility has been operated based on a license issued by SÚJB.
RAW disposal facility Bratrství was developed by adaptation of a gallery in a former uranium mine, while five chambers were adapted for waste disposal with the total volume of nearly 1 200 m3. The disposal facility started operating in 1974. The Bratrství disposal facility in Jáchymov is designed to dispose RAW consisting of or contaminated with natural radionuclides of the radium and thorium series. The disposal facility was developed particularly to dispose leaking and disused radioactive sources from healthcare facilities. The removed water is monitored. The disposal facility has been operated based on a license issued by SÚJB.
RAW disposal facility Hostím was built in 1959 in limestone mine Alkazar nearby the village of Hostím by adaptation of two galleries driven in 1942 -1944. The total volume of the two galleries was about 1 690 m3. The operation of the disposal facility was terminated in 1965. The disposal facility has been closed since 1997.
In accordance with the national Policy of RAW and SF management from 2002 (last review in 2019) it is expected that a deep geological repository (DGR) will be build in the Czech Republic. The program of DGR development already started back in 1992. The disposal facility is expected to accommodate all RAW that cannot be disposed in operating disposal facilities and SF once declared as RAW. The opration of DGR will start in about 2065.