Vaalputs licence transfer

South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) has granted a Nuclear Licence to the National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute (NRWDI) for the management and operation of the Vaalputs National Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility, in the Northern Cape Province. Vaalputs had been operated by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) since its commissioning in 1986 for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated by the nuclear, industrial, medical and agricultural sectors.

NRWDI was established as a state-owned entity to manage South African radioactive waste disposal under the 2008 National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute Act, with a mandate including the management, operation and monitoring of operational radioactive waste disposal facilities. The institute was formally launched in 2014, and submitted an application for the Vaalputs licence to be reissued to it in 2019.

NNR said the regulatory decision followed “a comprehensive and systematic review of the licence application submitted by NRWDI”. Thiagan Pather, NNR’s Designate Executive for Nuclear Technology & Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material, noted: “Following a robust review process, the NNR review team concluded that NRWDI application satisfied the applicable regulatory requirements.”

The licensed activities permitted under the scope of the NNR authorisation is limited to:

• Receipt of low-level radioactive waste in approved waste packages;
• Temporary storage of waste packages in shielded areas within the facility reception hall;
• Transfer of radioactive materials and contaminated equipment to other authorised facilities; and
• Disposal of low-level waste packages in engineered near-surface trenches.

NNR will continue to maintain regulatory control over activities at the Vaalputs site, including inspections, audits and safety reviews to ensure ongoing compliance with all health, safety and environmental protection regulatory requirements.

According to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, the licence authorises the NRWDI to manage temporary storage, packaging and disposal of low and intermediate-level radioactive waste from facilities including the Eskom’s Koeberg NPP and Necsa’s Pelindaba site. The institute will begin collecting disposal fees from waste generators, worth an estimated annual revenue of ZAR15m ($837,070) to fund operations at Vaalputs, said NRWDI CFO Justin Daniel.

NRWDI has also indicated that it is also moving ahead with preliminary designs for a so-called Centralised Interim Storage Facility (CISF) at the Vaalputs site to store high-level radioactive waste in the form of used fuel from the Koeberg NPP from 2030 onwards.

The development of a CISF at Vaalputs could involve capital expenditure of ZAR1.9bn, but remains subject to the receipt of environmental authorisations, community consultation and NNR’s regulatory approval.

Some community and agricultural groups have expressed concern that the creation of the facility could undermine community safety and food security and have argued that there has been insufficient public consultation and transparency.