National Legislation and Regulations in the Uranium Legacy Radiation Safety of the Former USSR

There are many uranium legacy sites in Russia and ex-Soviet republics in the Central Asia, which are decommissioned now. In Russia, there is a number of operating uranium mines and ore milling facilities to be decommissioned after termination of their life cycle. Today, the list of Russian subsoil areas of the federal significance includes 135 uranium deposits. The uranium legacy management is accompanied with the environmental impact. The intensity of such impact depends on the amount of generated waste, degree of its confining and dispersion in the environment. The whole question reduces itself to the following: to what extent this impact is harmful to the environment and human health. The proper regulation of this problem is a criterion for the safe work. Today, the advanced guidance document is under development 'Health-care requirements for design and operation of facilities for uranium ore mining and milling'. In order to enhance the regulatory framework, the following tasks are urgent: introduction of the existing exposure situation in the national laws and regulations in compliance with the ICRP statutory system; development criteria for remediation of sites and their gradual return to uncontrolled use. The similar criteria have been developed within the Russian-Norwegian cooperation for the purpose of remediation of the sites for temporary SNF and Radioactive Wastes storage; review of possibilities and methods for optimization of the remediation strategies under development; identification of the special category - R W originated from the uranium ore mining and milling. Some regulatory problems assume to be solved under the Eurasian Economic Community inter-state target programme 'Reclamation of areas of the Eurasian Economic Community member-states affected by the uranium mines'. Within this programme, by examples of the uranium legacy facilities in Kyrgyzstan and in Tajikistan, posed to trans-border disasters and required urgent remediation, the experience will be gained to be applied in other Eurasian Economic Community member states. Harmonization of national legislation and regulations in radiation safety is provided for.