The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team this week concluded a 10-day mission to review the regulatory safety framework in Latvia.
The team said the government should include all IAEA safety fundamentals in a national policy and strategy for safety that covers all facilities and activities. It should also develop a national policy to define long-term goals for the safe management of all classes of existing and future radioactive waste streams.
“The Latvian infrastructure for nuclear safety and radiation protection was created only after independence in 1990. Considering this relatively short history, the legal and regulatory system and controls are very well-developed,” said team leader Ilmar Puskar, head of the radiation safety department at the Estonian environmental board.
Latvia does not have any commercial nuclear plants, but uses radiation sources in medical, scientific and industrial applications and in science and research. The country’s research reactor has been permanently closed since 1998 and is in the early stage of decommissioning.
The IAEA said all spent highly enriched uranium fuel from the plant was sent back to the country of origin.
Latvia operates a disposal site for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, 30 km from the capital, Riga.
