Bulgaria has carried out only preliminary research into the development of deep geological disposal for nuclear waste in the country, although there are suggestions that good geological conditions for a facility exist in the north of the country, caretaker energy minister Vladimir Malinov told parliament.

Malinov was quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA as saying that there has not been a decision by Bulgarian authorities to build a deep geological repository for nuclear waste at this stage.

He told the parliamentary hearing that early research indicated there are good geological conditions in northern Bulgaria, but no field research of specific sites has been carried out.

For many years Sofia had a contract with Moscow for the reprocessing and storage of spent nuclear fuel in Russia. Malinov said the war in Ukraine made this practice “impossible”, so a new strategy from 2024 foresees the deployment of a final geological repository by 2050.