ANALYSIS OF OPTIONS FOR FURTHER MANAGEMENT OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL FROM THE BN-350 REACTOR FACILITY

The paper analyzes the options for further management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the BN-350 reactor facility, which was in operation from 1973 to 1999. Based on the established international experience, recommendations of international organizations and requirements of national legislation, as well as the technologies currently available, possible scenarios for the management of the spent nuclear fuel from the BN-350 reactor facility, including the long-term storage, processing and direct disposal, have been considered. The paper is oriented at forming the recommendations for developing a further strategy for the SNF management in the Republic of Kazakhstan, taking into account long-term safety.

1. IAEA. Fundamental Safety Principles. (Safety Fundamentals Series; No. SF-1) – Vienna : IAEA, 2006..

2. IAEA. Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste. (Safety Standards Series; No. GSR Part 5). – Vienna : IAEA, 2009.

3. IAEA. Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel. (Safety Standards Series; No. SSG-15 (Rev.1)) – Vienna : IAEA, 2020.

4. IAEA. The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. – Vienna : IAEA, 1997.

5. Rukovodstvo po variantam i sistemam khraneniya otrabotavshego topliva / MAGATE. – Vena : MAGATE, 2025.] (In Russ.) – (STI/DOC/010/240/3). – ISBN 978-92-0-436124-7.

6. Obzor yadernykh tekhnologiy / IAEA. – Vienna : IAEA, 2025.] – (GC(69)/INF/9).

7. CNNC Overseas. – URL: https://en.cnnc.com.cn/ru/2022-07/22/c_791592.htm (дата обращения: 12.01.2026).

8. Ed W.W. Science and Technology of Tributyl Phosphate / W.W. Ed, J.D. // CRC Press. – Florida : CRC Press, 1990. – Vol. 3, No. 2. – P. 11.

9. Birkett J., Carrott M.J., Fox O.D. [et al.]. Recent developments in the Purex process for nuclear fuel reprocessing: Complexant based stripping for uranium/plutonium separation // Chimia. – 2005. – Vol. 59, No. 12. – P. 898.

10. Choice of method – evaluation of strategies and systems for disposal of spent nuclear fuel / Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB. – October 2010. – (SKB P-10-47). – ISSN 1651-4416.

11. Balikhin A.V. O sostoyanii i perspektivakh razvitiya metodov pererabotki otrabotavshego yadernogo topliva. Obzor // Kompleksnoe ispol'zovanie mineral'nogo syr'ya. – 2018. – No. 1.] (In Russ.)

12. Finlyandiya zapustit khranilishche yadernogo topliva v 2026 godu.] (In Russ.) – URL: https://realnoevremya.ru/news/384626-finlyandiya-zapustit-hranilische-yadernogo-topliva-v-2026-godu (дата обращения: 12.01.2026).

13. Development of Multinational Repository concept: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Financing Multinational Repository / International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation (IFNEC) // Международная конференция по обращению с отработавшим топливом ядерных энергетических реакторов (24-28 июня 2019 г., Вена, Австрия). – Vienna : IAEA, 2019. – URL: https://www.ifnec.org/ifnec/jcms/g_12434/iaea-cn272-id120-zagar-ppt (дата обращения: 12.01.2026).

14. The La Hague reprocessing plant: expansion and continued operation until at least 2100. – Gesellschaft für Anlagenund Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH. – URL: https://www.grs.de/en/news/la-hague-reprocessing-plant-expansion-and-continued-operation-until-least-2100 (дата обращения: 12.01.2026).

15. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. The Economics of the Back End of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle. Nuclear Development, – Paris : OECD Publishing, 2014. – URL: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264208520-en (дата обращения: 12.01.2026).

16. Bunn M. [et al.]. The Economics of Reprocessing vs Direct Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel. – Cambridge, MA : Project on Managing the Atom, Harvard University, 2003. – URL: https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/economics-reprocessing-vs-direct-disposal-spent-nuclear-fuel (дата обращения: 12.01.2026).

17. Proizvodstvo MOKS-topliva vo Frantsii v 2024 godu ostalos' na urovne 2023 goda.] (In Russ.) – URL: https://www.atomic-energy.ru/news/2025/02/11/153360 (дата обращения: 14.01.2026).

18. Finlyandiya postroit samoe dorogostoyashchee khranilishche dlya otrabotannogo yadernogo topliva.] (In Russ.)– URL: https://elektrovesti.net/46809_finlyandiya-postroit-samoe-dorogostoyashchee-khranilishche-dlya-otrabotannogo-yadernogo-topliva (дата обращения: 10.01.2026).

19. Pestov E.Yu., Toreev V.Yu., Velikanov A.E. [i dr.]. Razvitie geologo-geofizicheskikh metodov izucheniya i otsenki kristallicheskikh gornykh porod SIP dlya ekologicheski bezopasnoy izolyatsii RAO : otchet o NIR (okonchatel'nyy po teme 04.02.H za 2009-2011 gg.) / DGP IGI NYaTs RK. – Kurchatov, 2011. – 81 s. – (№ GR 0109RK00472 ; Inv. № 0211RK00528). – Fondy NTs NTI. (In Russ.)

20. Pestov E.Yu., Bakhtin L.V., Rusinova L.A. [i dr.]. Razvitie geologo-geofizicheskikh metodov izucheniya i otsenki kristallicheskikh gornykh porod SIP dlya ekologicheski bezopasnoy izolyatsii RAO : promezhutochnyy otchet po teme 04.02.N za 2012 g. / RGP IGI ARKAE. – Kurchatov, 2013. – 74 s. – (№ GR 0112RK00760 ; Inv. № 0213RK00351). – Fondy KazGosINTI. (In Russ.)

21. Glubokie skvazhiny: al'ternativa dlya okonchatel'nogo zakhoroneniya OYaT / Shvedskiy Sovet po yadernym otkhodam. – 2007. – (KASAM 2007). (In Russ.)