ArmInfo. S strategy for managing radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel is submitted to Armenian Government, Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Hayk Harutyunyan stated at a press conference in Yerevan on July 26.
According to him, after confirming the document by executive body, the strategy will be submitted to the public court.
Meanwhile, the press service of the ministry reported earlier that a working group with participation of representatives various departments. The group includes experts from the Ministry of Energy Infrastructure and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Nature Protection, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the National Security Service, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, and the State Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee. The whole process of strategy development was completed by May 20, 2017.
Earlier, General Director of Armenian Nuclear Power Plant Movses Vardanyan informed ArmInfo that all the nuclear fuel spent at the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant is more than safely stored in four compartments of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility, and can stay there for 50 years. However, as noted by the director of Rosatom on state policy in the field of radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel and the decommissioning of nuclear and radiation hazardous wastes, Oleg Kryukov, the GC is ready to deposit and process spent nuclear fuel from the nuclear power plant. According to him, the negotiations are underway, they do not yet have specific outlines. Now the fuel is in Armenia," Oleg Kryukov stressed. First unit of Armenian nuclear power plant was put into operation in December 1976. In 1988, after a strong Spitak earthquake, he, like the second block, was stopped. In 1995, the second power unit was re- commissioned, and the first was left in the "frozen state". Moreover, part of the equipment of the first power unit was used at the second power unit during its re-commissioning.