INTEGRATED REVIEW SERVICE FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT, DECOMMISSIONING AND REMEDIATION (ARTEMIS) MISSION TO ESTONIA TALLINN, ESTONIA 24 March to 1 April 2019 DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR SAFETY AND SECURITY DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY REPORT OF THE INTEGRATED REVIEW SERVICE FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT, DECOMMISSIONING AND REMEDIATION (ARTEMIS) MISSION TO ESTONIA ii REPORT OF THE INTEGRATED REVIEW SERVICE FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT, DECOMMISSIONING AND REMEDIATION (ARTEMIS) MISSION TO ESTONIA Mission dates: 24 March to 1 April 2019 Location: Tallinn, Estonia Organized by: IAEA ARTEMIS REVIEW TEAM Ms Cherry TWEED ARTEMIS Team Leader (UK) Ms Maria Isabel F. PAIVA Reviewer (Portugal) Mr István LÁZÁR Reviewer (Hungary) Mr Stefan THEIS Reviewer (Switzerland) Mr Andrey GUSKOV IAEA Team Coordinator Mr Jiri FALTEJSEK IAEA Deputy Team Coordinator Ms Kristina NUSSBAUM IAEA Admin. Assistant IAEA-2019 iii The number of recommendations, suggestions and good practices is in no way a measure of the status of the national infrastructure for nuclear and radiation safety. Comparisons of such numbers between ARTEMIS reports from different countries should not be attempted. iv CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... 1 I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................ 3 II. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE ............................................................................................................. 4 III. BASIS FOR THE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 5 1. NATIONAL POLICY AND FRAMEWORK FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................... 7 1.1. NATIONAL POLICY ................................................................................................................... 7 1.2. LEGAL, REGULATORY AND ORGANISATIONAL FRAMEWORK (PARTLY REFERRING TO IRRS) .............................................................................................................. 9 1.3. TRANSPARENCY ........................................................................................................................ 1 2. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................................. 3 2.1. SCOPE ........................................................................................................................................... 3 2.2. MILESTONES AND TIMEFRAMES ........................................................................................ 5 2.3. PROGRESS INDICATORS ......................................................................................................... 5 3. INVENTORY OF SPENT FUEL AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE ............................................ 9 4. CONCEPTS, PLANS AND TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS FOR SPENT FUEL AND RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT .............................................................................. 12 5. SAFETY CASE AND SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES AND FACILITIES ........................................ 15 6. COST ESTIMATES AND FINANCING OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................ 18 7. CAPACITY BUILDING FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT – EXPERTISE, TRAINING AND SKILLS ................................................. 20 APPENDIX A: TERMS OF REFERENCE ......................................................................................... 23 APPENDIX B: MISSION PROGRAMME .......................................................................................... 26 APPENDIX C: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ...................................................... 30 APPENDIX D: IAEA REFERENCE MATERIAL USED FOR THE REVIEW ............................. 33 v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On 29 September 2017, the Resident Representative of Estonia to the International Atomic Energy Agency invited the IAEA to conduct an Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation (ARTEMIS) Mission in the volume that is correspondent to the national context, together with the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) Follow-up Mission during the 1st quarter of 2019 in Tallinn, Estonia, in order to fulfil the obligation for peer review on all EU Member States in Article 14.3 of the European Council Directive 2011/70/EURATOM of 19 July 2011, establishing a Community Framework for the Responsible and Safe Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste. Later it was agreed to divide the ARTEMIS and the follow-up IRRS Missions. The ARTEMIS Mission took place from March 25 to April 1, 2019 in Tallinn in the premises of the Ministry of Environment. The purpose of the ARTEMIS review mission was to provide an independent international evaluation of the National Programme for Radioactive Waste Management in Estonia (hereinafter referred to as the National Programme), requested in line with the obligations of the Waste Directive. The ARTEMIS review assessed, as requested by the Waste Directive, the overall programme for the management of all types of radioactive waste in Estonia against the relevant IAEA Safety Standards and proven international practice and experiences. The team comprised four senior international experts in the field of radioactive waste management and decommissioning from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Swiss Confederation, the Portuguese Republic and Hungary as well as three IAEA staff members. The method of work included review of all documentation submitted by National Counterpart for the considered scope of the review, including clarifications presented in presentations and discussions during the mission, with a focus on the National Programme, as well as the results of self-assessment, based on the provided questionnaire. Observations and interviews during the technical visit to Paldiski site demonstrated adequacy of the information presented an advance reference material and during the mission to the real situation in waste management. Advance reference material included: Radiation Act, the National Programme for Radioactive Waste Management, Draft National Radiation Safety Development Plan 2018-2027, -5th Estonian National Report as referred to in Article 32 of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Report of the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) Mission to Estonia (full list of the documentation is presented in the Section III). During the mission representatives held discussions with the Ministry of Environment, Environmental Board, Environment Inspectorate, and the state-owned Radioactive Waste Management Organisation A.L.A.R.A. the following additional documentation was presented to address the experts’ questions: - Preliminary Studies for the Decommissioning of the Reactor Compartments of the Former Paldiski Military Nuclear Site and for the Establishment of a Radioactive Waste Repository. Task 4 Interim Report. Determining the Possibilities of the Disposal of Radioactive Waste; - Preliminary Studies for the Decommissioning of the Reactor Compartments of the Former Paldiski Military Nuclear Site and for the Establishment of a Radioactive Waste Repository. Task 5 Interim Report. Radioactive Waste Management Cost and Planning. The ARTEMIS team acknowledged the particular challenges associated with the significant legacy waste inventory in Estonia as the country does not have any nuclear reactors. They commended the strong commitment of the Representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and ALARA to ensure safe 1 management of radioactive waste. They also were particularly encouraged by the very open and constructive manner in which the counterparts engaged throughout. The ARTEMIS team concluded that many aspects relevant to the safe management of radioactive waste in Estonia are in place. However, they noted some important omissions which should be addressed. They made a number of recommendations and suggestions, of which the most significant were to ensure that: • all responsible governmental bodies take an active role to ensure effective delivery of their responsibilities in the area of radioactive waste management; • the National Programme addresses safe management of radioactive waste up to the time of closure of the disposal facilities and any necessary post-closure activities; • the selection of the proposed disposal concepts is underpinned by appropriate safety cases supported by safety assessments, including consideration of long-term safety after the facilities have been closed; • preliminary WAC for all planned disposal concepts are established as soon as possible; • the necessary human technical and financial resources to deliver all aspects of the National Programme are provided. The ARTEMIS team considers that by adequately implementing the outcomes of the present review Estonia will be in a good position to meet high standards of safety for radioactive waste management in the country. In this regard, the