Kozloduy, on the Danube, (BTA)
A National Repository for Radioactive Waste was unveiled by caretaker Minister of Energy Traicho Traikov near the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant on Tuesday. He described the repository as unique and one of the most modern in Europe, allowing Bulgaria to store low- and intermediate-level waste for 60 years.
With this facility, Bulgaria ranks among the leading countries in the development of nuclear energy, the Minister also said. “In this way, we are nearly completing the cycle of safe operation and environmental stewardship. This day marks the culmination of the efforts of many people,” Traikov underscored.
As part of the ceremony, the creators of the repository left a letter to the future presenting the history of the repository and calling on the next generations to protect Earth.
The national repository comprises 66 reinforced-concrete structures with capacity for 19,000 radioactive waste containers, the Energy Ministry reported. It is expected to be filled with low- and intermediate-level waste from industry, medicine and households, waste from the decommissioning of Units 1 to 4 of Kozloduy NPP, and waste from the operation of future new nuclear capacities over 60 years. Throughout that period and for the following 300 years, it will remain under constant oversight by the competent authorities.
Construction of the National Repository for Radioactive Waste was financed with a grant of about EUR 76 million from the International Kozloduy Fund through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. National co-financing for the project totaled about BGN 34 million. The repository received an operating permit from the National Construction Control Directorate in March 2026.
The National Repository is a long-planned facility assigned to the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste in 2005, with the project proceeding through site selection, design and construction before works officially began in 2017 at the Radiana site near Kozloduy.
