Republic of Hungary National Report, Fourth Report, prepared within the Framework on the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management

The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (hereafter Convention) was promulgated by Act LXXVI of 2001 [I.11]. (Hereafter the references to legal instruments listed in Annex 4 are used by numbering in brackets.) In order to fulfill the obligations of Article 32 of the Convention the present National Report has been prepared and submitted. Apart from this Introduction (Section A), this National Report contains ten more sections and eight annexes in accordance with the Guidelines regarding the Form and Structure of National Reports (INFCIRC/604/Rev.1). Section B describes the general policies and practices in Hungary. Generation of radioactive waste started simultaneously with the introduction of isotope technology in Hungary in the early 1960s. First, a low and intermediate level waste (LLW/ILW) storage was built. As the site proved to be inadequate for long-term disposal, it was closed and cleaned up, and a new site, which is still in operation, was commissioned in 1976. After the commissioning of the four units of Paks Nuclear Power Plant between 1982 and 1987, spent fuel and an increased amount of waste have been generated. A major part of the spent fuel of Paks Nuclear Power Plant was shipped back to the Soviet Union (later Russia) between 1989 and 1998. At present, a modular type interim spent fuel storage is in use and is being enlarged as necessary. The disposal of high level waste (HLW) is a long-term programme. In 1993, Hungary launched a national programme to solve the problems of radioactive waste management. A suitable site was identified in granite host rock in the vicinity of Bátaapáti where a below-surface repository would be able to accommodate the LLW/ILW waste of Paks Nuclear Power Plant. The surface facilities of the repository have been completed; the establishment of the first two underground chambers is in progress.