The Director of the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy at BAS (INRNE-BAS), Prof. Dimitar Tonev, PhD, attended the official opening ceremony of the National Radioactive Waste Repository (NRWR). The facility was opened on April 14, 2026, by Caretaker Minister of Energy Traicho Traikov in the presence of experts from the nuclear sector, international partners, and representatives of academia and the government. Minister Traikov described the repository as “the most modern industrial building in Bulgaria” and a strategic facility that completes the cycle of safe management of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste in the country.
The Executive Director of the State Enterprise for Radioactive Waste (SE “RAW”), Eng. Dilyan Petrov, emphasized that the facility was designed in accordance with the strictest international requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency and that its primary function was to ensure the reliable and permanent isolation of radioactive waste from humans and the environment.
During the ceremony, a congratulatory message was read on behalf of Prof. Tonev to the Executive Director of SE “RAW”. In it, the director of INRNE-BAS described that day’s event as “a well-deserved success and a result of the high professionalism” of the SE “RAW” team and expressed his pride in the continuity within the sector:
“At the heart of the first and oldest facility of this type in our country – the Permanent Repository near the village of Novi Han – stands precisely the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy. Today, with the opening of the National Repository, we see how the knowledge and experience accumulated over the decades have been successfully built upon in a large-scale project of strategic national importance.”
The SE “RAW” is a state-of-the-art multi-barrier engineering facility located at the Radiana site within the 2-kilometer zone for preventive safety measures at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant. The facility’s total capacity is 66 cells (nearly 19,000 containers), designed for 60 years of operation and 300 years of post-closure monitoring. The first phase, now completed, has a capacity of 22 cells capable of storing 6,336 containers. These will be filled exclusively with waste from the decommissioning of Units 1–4 of the “Kozloduy” NPP. The unique infrastructure includes two 650-ton movable steel roofs and 30-ton overhead cranes for remote container placement. A 3D model has been implemented to optimize operations, along with real-time remote control systems. High-tech methods are used to reduce the volume of radioactive waste- plasma incineration, super-compaction, and decontamination.
The project was implemented with funding from the “Kozloduy” International Fund through the EBRD (€76 million) and national co-financing (BGN 34 million). The repository will accept waste from the energy sector, medicine, and industry, including waste from the decommissioning of Units 1–4 of the “Kozloduy” NPP.
With putting in operation the National “RAW” Repository, Bulgaria ranks among the countries with the most modern and sustainable radioactive waste management system, ensuring long-term protection of the environment and the population.
As a leading scientific organization, INRNE-BAS continues to maintain close cooperation with SE “RAW” ensuring a high level of expert knowledge exchange in the field of radioactive waste management and radiation protection.
