Year
2025
Abstract
For over five decades the Republic of Armenia has been using the nuclear energy and technology for peaceful purposes, generating radioactive waste (RAW) from both nuclear and non-nuclear activities. Non-nuclear institutional type RAW, primarily disused sealed radioactive sources (DSRS), is managed by the institutional RAW management facility (RADON), initially designed as a disposal facility in 1980s to replace the older one from the 1950s at Sovetashen. However, from 2009 the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ANRA) granted a license solely for storage of solid short-lived low and intermediate-level RAW. The facility has legacy RAW both types - cemented in vaults (brought from Sovetashen site) and stored in the vaults without proper characterization and treatment. Archival records at RADON, up to now maintained in 4 handwritten logbooks, are incomplete and inconsistent, creating regulatory, safety, and security challenges.
This article presents the result of a comprehensive analysis of archived data and inventory records of RAW and DSRS performed by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center (NRSC) at the RADON facility, addressing critical gaps in record-keeping and inventory management. Key findings reveal incomplete documentation, the absence of accurate tracking systems for radioactive sources, improper segregation of RAW/DSRS, and the presence of uncharacterized radioactive materials. These deficiencies hinder regulatory compliance, emergency preparedness, and could lead also security issues, increasing the risk of illicit trafficking and inadequate safeguarding of radioactive sources. The analysis highlights the urgent need for advanced inventory and characterization processes at the RADON facility, robust institutional frameworks, and a national RAW record keeping system with enhanced security protocols.