Conventions, agreements and other documents

In addition to national regulatory authorities, nuclear safety holders (operators) are, of course, responsible for nuclear safety. The Glossary Terms of Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection from 2012 defines a nuclear facility as a facility for the reprocessing and enrichment of nuclear materials or the production of nuclear fuel, a nuclear reactor in critical or subcritical composition, a research reactor, a nuclear power plant, a storage, reprocessing, treatment or disposal facility. fuel or high-level radioactive waste, and a facility for the storage, treatment or disposal of low- or intermediate-level radioactive waste. We have three nuclear facilities in Slovenia: the Krško Nuclear Power Plant, the Hot Cell Research Reactor in Podgorica and the Central Radioactive Waste Storage Facility in Brinje. In the Glossary, we also find special definitions for radiation facilities and less important radiation facilities. The radiation facility in Slovenia includes the hydrometallurgical tailings dump in Borš, while the less important radiation facilities include the Steris business production and storage facility and the linear accelerator in the Port of Koper.
 
Radioactive waste is a special type of hazardous waste, it is substances, objects and equipment that are not intended for further use, and their main feature is ionizing radiation, exceeding the legally prescribed limit. Radioactive waste differs depending on the type and concentration of contained radioactive elements, physical state, level of radioactivity (low, medium, high), half-life of contained elements, amount of heat emitted and other possible properties. Radioactive waste is generated:
 
- in nuclear power plants in the production of electricity,
- in the medical profession,
- in industry,
- in research.
 
Slovenia is a member of the European consortium for the development of fusion energy EUROfusion. EUROfusion supports and funds fusion research activities on behalf of the European Commission or the Euratom Program.
 
The International Atomic Energy Agency is responsible for nuclear safety at the international level.
 
The situation of nuclear power plants in Europe in 2002 is shown in the picture below.


     Source: https://arhiv.djs.si/mmg/pdf/atlas/Atlas27.pdf 


Data from 2020 show that we have as many as 176 nuclear power plants in Europe
 
                               Source: https://www.euronuclear.org/glossary/nuclear-power-plants-in-europe/ 
 


The most important international conventions governing the field of nuclear affairs are:
 
- The Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS),
- Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident,
- Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency,
- Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management,
- Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT),
- Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities,
- Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy,
- Paris Convention with Protocols and Brussels Complementary Convention.