The National Repository is a surface environmental infrastructure where radioactive waste can be safely disposed of. Its fulfillment will allow to complete the decommissioning of Italian nuclear plants and to manage all radioactive waste, including that produced by industrial, research and nuclear medicine activities.
Together with the National Repository, will be created the Technology Park: a research centre, open to international cooperation, where activities in the field of decommissioning, radioactive waste management and sustainable development can be carried out in agreement with the concerned territory.
Siting, design, construction and operation of the infrastructure are entrusted to Sogin, as provided by Legislative Decree no. 31/2010 and the amendments introduced by Decree Law No. 181/2023 (known as the “Energy Decree”).
The Repository is a structure with engineering and natural barriers placed in series, designed following the best international practices and according to the most recent IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) standards. This will allow the disposal of approximately 78 thousand cubic metres of VLLW (very low level waste) and LLW (low level waste) and the long-term interim storage of approximately 17 thousand cubic metres of ILW (intermediate level waste) and HLW (high level waste).
The transfer of radioactive waste in a single structure will ensure safety for both population and the environment, and will comply with European Directives, aligning Italy with countries that have similar repositories in operation, many of them for a long time.
Of the approximately 95 thousand cubic metres of radioactive waste that will be disposed of in the repository, 60% will be originating from the operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants, while the remaining 40% from nuclear medicine, industrial and research activities.
SITING
The Legislative Decree n. 31/2010 punctually describes step by step the siting process of the National Repository and Technology Park.
"Potentially suitable areas" are intended for areas that have favorable characteristics for identifying the suitable site for the location of the National Repository, and which later on will be subjected to detailed investigations for the qualification of the site. In drawing up the CNAPI Sogin applied the location criteria established in the Technical Guide no. 29 of ISPRA (now ISIN) and indicated by the IAEA with the Safety Guide no. 29.
Once validated, ISIN sent the map proposal to the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea (now the Ministry of Ecological Transition) for clearance for publication. Having obtained the authorisation, on 5 January 2021 Sogin published the CNAPI, the preliminary project for the National Repository and Technology Park and related documents on its website depositonazionale.it.
Therefore, a public consultation phase has started, with a duration established by Law, in which Regions, local authorities and all stakeholders can formulate and transmit to Sogin comments and technical proposals on both the CNAPI and the preliminary project.