Functions to be fulfilled

The disposal of solid and liquid, LILW produced during the operation of the nuclear power plant. These wastes are ad-interim stored in the power plant site, up to their transfer into disposal facility. Most part of the solid wastes is loaded, in compacted form, into 200 l drums. The liquid wastes are collected in tanks. The wastes can be disposed in solid form only; therefore, the liquid wastes are solidified in the power plant prior to their transfer into disposal facility. Such type wastes will also be generated during the dismantling of the nuclear power plant and will need to be disposed after processing, in solid state, together with the operational wastes.

The receipt, transport and storage of wastes

During the initial phase of the operation of NRWR, only solid wastes packaged into 200 l metal drums are accepted from the nuclear power plant. One important element of guaranteeing the safety is that waste packages satisfying the acceptance criteria approved by the regulator can only be loaded into the disposal facility. To this end, the strict control begins as early as during take-over on the site of the nuclear power plant. Every drum is subject to check for damage, gamma-dose rate measurement at a distance of 1 m, and surface contamination test by smear sampling. In addition, a software tool, developed for this purpose, is used to check whether the activities in the drum are within the limits specified for the disposal site. 16 drums loaded into 4 transport frames are transported at a time.

The waste packages are transported on Paks – Bonyhád – Bátaapáti route by a special purpose vehicle with a special regulatory license. The transport operations shall be subject to the provisions of the European Convention on the International Transport of Hazardous Materials (ADR).

The vehicle used for the transport of the waste is received in the central building of the disposal site. Following an inspection, the vehicle moves on to the process hall in the controlled zone where, after the completion of an additional inspection, the transport frames are lifted off and placed by a crane into the storage room.

Control tests and the preparation of the waste for underground storage are carried out in the process hall, which is capable of accommodating 3000 drums.

A radiation protection system is provided for monitoring the plant site. The data generated by the measuring devices are supplied to the Health Physics Control Room, from where a part of the data, along with the alarm signals, are forwarded and displayed in the Central Control Room.