The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) has granted a nuclear installation licence to the National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute (NRWDI) for the operation of the Vaalputs radioactive waste disposal facility in the Northern Cape.
The facility, which has been operated by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation since its commissioning in 1986, will now fall under the full operational control of the NRWDI. Although the NRWDI was established in 2009, under the NRWDI Act of 2008, it has not held operational control of Vaalputs until now.
The licence follows a technical and safety review to confirm compliance with the NNR Act and the NRWDI Act. Regulatory oversight by the NNR will continue throughout the operational life cycle.
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 Koeberg and Pelindaba.
The institute will begin collecting disposal fees from waste generators, worth an estimated annual revenue of R15 million, to fund operations at Vaalputs, says the NRWDI’s CFO Justin Daniel.
