Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Czech Republic National Report, Revision 2.3

. On 25 March 1999 the Government of the Czech Republic approved the Joint Convention which came into effect in the Czech Republic on 18 June 2001. In agreement with the obligations resulting from its accession to the Joint Convention the Czech Republic has already drawn the second National Report for the purposes of Review Meetings of the Contracting Parties, which describes the system of spent fuel and radioactive waste management in the scope required by selected articles of the Joint Convention. The information contained in this report were gathered and updated as at 31 December 2004, unless stated otherwise. Meanwhile, at the national level the National Report serves as a source of up-to-date publicly available information (http://www.sujb.cz) on methods of spent fuel and radioactive waste management in all facilities subject to the Joint Convention. Results from the First Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention in 2003 and the existing practices make it possible to conclude that spent fuel and radioactive waste management in the Czech Republic fully complies with the Joint Convention articles. The Atomic Act and its implementing decrees form a legislative base for all activities in spent fuel and radioactive waste management and clearly define responsibilities of license holders for the achieved level of nuclear safety, radiation protection, emergency preparedness and physical protection. Specific activities were completed and started before the end of 2004, which: • have ensured and will ensure that long-term storage of spent fuel from all operated nuclear power plants on the Czech Republic’s territory is performed, in agreement with the approved governmental Policy, in type-approved casks placed in dry spent fuel stores at the NPP Dukovany and NPP Temelín sites, • will significantly improve nuclear safety and radiation protection in management of spent fuel from research reactors and in connection with these activities the spent fuel will be transported in 2006 or later to the Russian Federation under the international project “Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return” which is a part of the “Global Threat Reduction Initiative” supported by IAEA and by the US Government, • are related to the ongoing safe storage and disposal of selected categories of operating and institutional low-level and intermediate-level radioactive wastes in near-surface repositories operated by the state organization SÚRAO, established by MPO to provide for activities associated with disposal of radioactive wastes. The following activities, which have been planned for 2005 – 2010 to improve the safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management, should be mentioned: • application of new technologies for immobilization of operating radioactive sludge and ion exchangers so that the resulting form of radioactive waste can be safely disposed of in the Dukovany repository. The technologies will ensure safe disposal of all categories of operating low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes which meet waste acceptance criteria for the Dukovany repository, • continuation of the rehabilitation of environmental contamination at the site of ÚJV _e_ a. s., including transport of spent fuel from research reactors to the Russian Federation, • projects of closing of selected disposal chambers in the Richard and Bratrství repositories. In the long-term prospective the key activity foreseen in spent fuel and radioactive waste management will be development of a national deep geological repository which should start its operation after 2065. In conclusion, SÚJB as a state administration body responsible for elaboration of this report, would like to express its thanks for the support provided in the process of report development by the following organizations dealing with spent fuel and radioactive waste management in the Czech Republic: ČEZ, a. s., ÚJV Řež a. s., SÚRAO a s. p. DIAMO.