National debate (Slovenia)

The Governmental policies in the area of the safety of spent fuel management and of the safety of radioactive waste management are set in comprehensive nuclear legislation comprising of international agreements, domestic laws and regulations. In addition the government prepared several documents pertinent to the policy in the area of radioactive waste management. The most important are: a Strategy of Energy Use and Supply of Slovenia, adopted by the Slovene Parliament in 1996; a Decommissioning Plan for the Krsko NPP, produced and approved by the Government in September 1996; a Strategy for Long-term Spent Fuel Management,adopted by the Slovenian Government in 1996. The Strategy on Low and Intermediate Level Waste Management has been prepared by the Agency for Radioactive Waste Management. The document has been submitted to the Government for approval. According to the new Act on Ionising Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (2002) the National programme for radioactive waste and spent fuel management shall be adopted by the Parliament as a part of the national programme for the protection of the environment pursuant to the regulations on environmental protection. This National programme will substitute The Strategy for Long-term Spent Fuel Management and The Strategy on Low and Intermediate Level Waste Management. The technical groundwork for the National programme for radioactive waste and spent fuel management, together with a detailed description of the measures relating to the reduction of the occurrence of radioactive waste, to the treatment thereof prior to disposal and to its disposal, and the measures relating to the treatment and disposal of spent fuel, shall be carried out and communicated to the ministry competent for the environment by the ARAO Agency. The operative programmes within the national programme of the radioactive waste and spent fuel management shall be drawn up by the ARAO Agency adopted by the Government. The operative programmes shall be adopted for a maximum of four years. Based on legislation, number of measures were implemented to protect environment and human society against harmful impact of radioactive waste and spent fuel. The most important measures were the definition of actors in the area of radioactive waste management. A clear requirement for the management of radioactive waste and spent fuel is set in new Act on Ionising Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety which provides that the holder of radioactive waste and spent fuel must ensure that the radioactive waste and spent fuel are handled in the way prescribed and that the transfer of the burden of disposing of radioactive waste and spent fuel to future generations is avoided as far as possible. The person responsible for the occurrence of radioactive waste and spent fuel must ensure that the wasted radioactive substances occur within the smallest possible quantities. The costs of radioactive waste and spent fuel management shall be paid by the person responsible for the occurrence of the radioactive waste; or by the holder of the waste if the possession of it transferred from the person responsible for the occurrence of it, or if he acquires it in any other way. If the person responsible for the occurrence of radioactive waste or spent fuel is not known, the state shall take the responsibility for its management. Liabilities are determined by legally binding instruments such as Law and subsidiary legislation. They are verified by regulators and approved annually through the report on Nuclear and Radiation Safety by the Slovenian Parliament. The Krsko NPP is also obliged to assure the funds for the decommissioning and the final disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The decommissioning of the NPP Krsko is regulated through the Act on the Fund for Financing the Decommissioning of the Krsko NPP and on Radioactive Waste Disposal from the Krsko NPP. Based on this Act, the Fund for Decommissioning of the NPP Krsko was established. The Fund is a legal entity. It has the mandate to collect financial resources. Based on the Plan the Slovenian Government decided that the Krsko NPP must contribute 0.61 SIT per every kWh of generated electricity to the decommissioning fund. The activities of the Agency RAO are funded partially through national budget, Decommissioning fund and other producers of radioactive waste. Contribution from Decommissioning fund is strictly used for financing of siting and construction of LILW repository that will be built until 2013. The current situation is perceived as satisfactory and the information is open to general public, NGO and media