National Operator for Radioactive Waste Management "NO RWM" is authorized by the Government of the Russian Federation to act as a single organization responsible to carry-out final disposal of radioactive waste (RAW), and perform other related functions.
The widespread use of atomic energy in science, industry and everyday human life is accompanied by the formation of radioactive waste. The bulk of accumulated radioactive waste was formed as a result of the implementation of the military nuclear weapons programs of the USSR. In addition, the need for the final isolation of radioactive waste resulting from the production activities of enterprises and the decommissioning of nuclear energy facilities is becoming a serious task.
Total volumes of radioactive waste accumulated on the territory of the Russian Federation amount to about 500 million cubic meters.
Until recently, long-term storage of nuclear waste and postponed decision on its final disposal was a general practice. That is why solution to the problem of nuclear legacy as well as provision of nuclear and radiation safety for people and environment is becoming a serious technical, economic and social task.
A lot of work has been done in Russia over the past decade to solve the accumulated issues, introduce uniform principles, technologies and a system for monitoring the treatment of radioactive waste (including the stage of final disposal).
In 2011, one of the key laws for the nuclear industry was adopted - the Federal Law "On Treatment of the Radioactive Waste " (190-FZ). The law envisages mandatory isolation of entire volume of accumulated and produced radioactive waste located in the country. The framework that was set by the law to achieve these goals include development of a unified state system for the treatment of radioactive waste (EGS) as well as establishment of the national operator for radioactive waste management - "NO RWM".
In accordance to the law, "NO RWM" is a state-owned industrial and ecological enterprise, established to carry-out final disposal of RAW with a due account of any potential environmental and radiological risks.