SÚRAO - RAWRA's responsibilities

RAWRA is involved in the following activities:

the preparation, construction, commissioning, operation and closure of radioactive waste repositories and the monitoring of their impact on the environment;

Conditions of taking over of waste for disposal and payment conditions including sanctions, are settled in contract, which are concluded between RAWRA and the generator. Acceptance criteria are determined by the State Office for Nuclear Safety as part of license for individual repositories on the basis of assessment of safety analyses submitted by RAWRA from the point of view of nuclear safety, radiation protection, physical protection and emergency preparedness.
RAWRA is obliged to take over radioactive waste or to manage this waste subject to a decision of State Office for Nuclear Safety according article 3 paragraph 2 item d) even in case where it does not meet the acceptance criteria. In this case RAWRA makes a provision at the generators expense treatment of this waste into the form meeting acceptance criteria of repository or safe storage of this waste till conditions for final solution are created.
Radioactive waste is passed on the date of its acceptance by RAWRA into the ownership of the state. The generator and RAWRA confirm in written form the acceptance of the radioactive waste.

radioactive waste management;

The term management covers collection, sorting, processing, conditioning, storage and disposal of radioactive waste. It is important to distinguish between storage and disposal of radioactive waste: Storage of radioactive waste and of spent nuclear fuel is temporary placing of emplacement of radioactive waste or spent or irradiated nuclear fuel for a period restricted in advance into areas, facilities or installations designed for this purpose. On the contrary radioactive waste disposal means a permanent emplacement of radioactive waste into areas, facilities or installations without the intention of its retrieval.
keeping records of radioactive waste receipts and their generators;
The licensee is obliged to prepare and submit to RAWRA data on short-term and long-term production of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel together with other background information to determine the amount and method of transfer of payments to the nuclear account.
The person, who applies at the State Office for Nuclear Safety for a licence for activities according to the Atomic Act, during which radioactive waste is generated, is simultaneously obliged to get registered at RAWRA as future radioactive waste generator.

drafting of proposals for determination of levies to the nuclear account;

The generators are obliged to allocate to their own debit financial provisions to cover expenses for disposal of radioactive waste which have been arising or will arise and for associated activities of RAWRA. These financial resources shall be accumulated in the nuclear account in the form of payments.
The amount of payments shall be determined on the basis of the estimated costs of activities provided by RAWRA and of the proportion of the total amount of waste attributable to the individual radioactive waste generators in respect of specific activities of RAWRA.
The amount and arrangement of payments to nuclear account, basis for the payment, payment period, term of payment, filing of payment and instalment return and regime of their administration including the method of keeping records on payers a details of nuclear account means management are given in the government resolution No. 416/2002 Coll.

monitoring of reserves of licensees for decommissioning of their installations;

A licensee is obliged to create a sufficient financial reserve for decommissioning of nuclear installations or workplaces with a significant or very significant ionising radiation source so that financial resources are available for the needs of preparation and implementation of decommissioning, at the required time and in the required amount, in line with the decommissioning method proposal approved by State Office for Nuclear Safety. The reserve shall be an expenditure for generating, ensuring and maintaining revenues. Assets forming part of the created reserve may not be included in bankruptcy assets.
Cost estimate for decommissioning, which is included in Proposed method of decommissioning is verified by RAWRA.

Any person who manages radioactive waste shall take into consideration all of its physical, chemical and biological properties that might have a bearing on its safe management.
Generator of radioactive waste bears all costs associated with its management, from its time of origin to its disposal, including monitoring of radioactive waste repositories after their closure, and including the necessary research and development activities.
A contractual transfer of rights to manage radioactive waste or of its ownership must be stipulated in writing.
Radioactive waste management shall not be not subject to the Act on Waste.
Under the terms of the Atomic Act, the state guarantees safe disposal of all radioactive waste, including monitoring and supervision of repositories after their closure.
To provide for activities associated with radioactive waste disposal, the Ministry of Industry and Trade set up a Radioactive Waste Repositories Authority as a state organisation.
It is prohibited for persons other than Radioactive Waste Repositories Authority to dispose of radioactive waste on the territory of the Czech Republic.
An importation of radioactive waste into the territory of the Czech Republic is prohibited, except for the re-importation of ionising radiation sources produced in the Czech Republic or radioactive waste originated from materials exported from the Czech Republic, for the purpose of their processing or reprocessing, that has been approved by the State Office for Nuclear Safety.

Mining regulations

Physical or legal persons are allowed to dispose waste in the underground only on the basis of authorisation and licence issued by approval of the competent office of the state administration. The prerequisite for license issue is previous stipulation of protected area according to special regulations (No. 99/1992 Coll.).
The repository operator is obliged particularly:
a) to handle waste according operation procedure, which was approved by the the competent office of the state administration,
b) to keep records on amount, type and origin of the waste taken over for disposal, to label the disposal site in the required map documentation,
c) to prepare emergency plan for important operation accidents and emergencies,
d) in case that the waste to be disposed can be used as potential source of secondary raw material or energy to ensure such disposal method which would make possible its future usage,
e) to carry out regular sampling of air and water and to control by means of results of their analyses if there is any undesirable change of waste properties and of its environmental seriousness,
f) to take measures for removal and remedy of found insufficiencies and to create conditions necessary from the point of view of heath care and the environment,
g) to admit to control authorities access into buildings, areas, facilities and to submit documentation when required and to provide with true and complete information on facts related to underground waste repository operation,
h) to carry out activities, related to underground waste repository operation by employees, whose professional competence was verified
i) to continuously inform all employees with legal and other regulations related to waste repository operation including safety and health protection at work, to verify regularly their knowledge of these regulation and to ask and control their observation.
During mining activities and activities carried out by mining method principles of protection and utilisation of mineral resources, requirement of economic utilisation of mineral deposits, safety and heath protection at work and operation safety, principles of mining technology and requirements of workplace protection have to be observed