Belarus sets up commission to select radioactive waste storage facility

MINSK, 13 March (BelTA) - The Council of Ministers decided to set up a state commission to select a site for a radioactive waste storage facility. The decision  is stipulated in government decree No.158 of 7 March 2024, which has been officially published on the national legal internet portal.

According to the document, the state commission will be headed by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Parkhomchik. The commission will comprise representatives of the Emergencies Ministry, Energy Ministry, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Architecture and Construction Ministry, Defense Ministry, Healthcare Ministry, STROYTEKHNORM, BelRAO, Belnipienergoprom.

The state commission has been instructed to work out proposals on the selection of a site for a radioactive waste storage facility and submit them to the Council of Ministers within ten working days.

The state commission has been tasked with studying the materials collecting as part of research and survey work on the selection of alternative sites for a storage facility; considering proposals on possible storage facility sites and selecting a priority site for its construction; submitting proposals to the government on a site for a storage facility.

In order to implement the main tasks, the commission, if necessary, involves representatives of the government bodies and other organizations subordinate to the Council of Ministers.

Organizational and technical support for the activities of the state commission shall be provided by the Emergencies Ministry.

The decree entered into force on the date of its adoption.