Ensuring Radiation Safety at Nuclear Fuel Cycle Closing Enterprises Based on Safety Culture Principles

The entry into the new millennium was marked by a new stage in the development of nuclear energy. The revival of global nuclear energy is directly related to the solution of such problems as: - increase in energy consumption by the population of the planet; - problems of ecology and climate change. It is obvious that the above problems require more environmentally friendly energy sources, the most significant of which is nuclear power. The closure of the nuclear fuel cycle is recognized as a strategic direction for the development of nuclear energy in Russia. The main purpose of closing the nuclear fuel cycle is to maximize the use of the energy potential of nuclear fuel through the reuse of nuclear materials and to minimize the amount of radioactive waste subject to final isolation. One of the leading positions in the development of a closed nuclear fuel cycle in Russia is occupied by a Mining and chemical Combine (MCC). The following technological facilities that form the basis of a closed nuclear fuel cycle are concentrated at the MCC: spent fuel storage, MOX fuel production, and a radioactive waste management complex. The presence of such radiation-hazardous facilities obliges the company to pursue a policy that shows that ensuring safety has the highest priority over other activities of the enterprise.