“There should be no hurry to build a nuclear power station”

Rumour is rife that countries like the USA and Japan have been trying to pursue Mongolia to store the nuclear waste of other countries. E.ODJARGAL asked J.ENKHSAIKHAN, Mongolia’s Ambassador in Austria and Resident Representative at the International Atomic Energy Authority how likely this is. Their conversation also clarifies the significance of Mongolia’s nuclear weapon free status, the problems with disposing nuclear waste, relevant international treaties, and uranium enriching plants.  

How do you see the reports in the world press that Mongolia was likely to store other countries’ spent nuclear fuel?
Our embassy never received any information about any such talks. No Mongolian official has referred to any negotiation. We provide only authorised information to the IAEA and cannot go by news from media that remains unconfirmed. I have been assured by those who should know that there is no truth in the reports, and our embassy has acted accordingly.

What kind of law is needed to regulate storage of nuclear waste?  
Few countries have a specific nuclear fuel waste law. Waste disposal is part of a much larger process in nuclear power generation and that’s why IAEA favours one comprehensive law on nuclear energy. If you have several laws, there would be overlapping and contradiction, and there may also be omissions. Responsibilities for enforcing the law may also get divided. IAEA offers all member countries help in preparing such a comprehensive law. It also has model regulations and guidelines on all aspects of nuclear energy production, including on waste management, export and import. When Mongolia joins the convention on safety management of  used fuel, it will have to adapt its national law to the convention. IAEA gave some suggestions in 2008 on this.  

Where can we get information about this convention?
The IAEA website has all the information, including guidelines. The Institute of Nuclear Waste is hosting a 2-week training in Vienna this autumn, and any nuclear professional from Mongolia who attends it will obtain more detailed knowledge of all latest developments.   

Is there any totally safe technology for storing nuclear waste?
There are three types of used nuclear fuel. The technology for long-term storage of low- and medium-grade used fuel is well-developed. However, that cannot be yet said about high enriched uranium (HEU). There are safety methods but we cannot say they are foolproof. HEU waste in a nuclear reactor has to be taken out every five years, cooled and then kept in a buffer zone for 60 to 100 years, after which its should be buried underground. Some American experts would like it to be in the buffer area for a longer time, say 300 years. No matter when it is considered  appropriate to bury HEU waste the location must be very carefully chosen, to ensure it in no way contaminates the geo-chemical and geo-physical structures, the water system, or the stability of that ground. The chosen underground area must be dry and the containers must be able to withstand corrosion. Nuclear waste contains gamma emitters that can be active for 500 years, and radioactive elements that can be active for thousands of years, posing hazards to human health and the environment.

In fast nuclear reactors, used in just a few countries like Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and India, HEU waste is reprocessed to remove the fissile material which can then be re-used as fuel. This reprocessing involves handling highly radioactive material, and the fissile products obtained from the waste are a concentrated form of high-level radioactivity. The number of such reactors is likely to increase, but their operation must be under tight international control because of these risks.

Improved reactor technology will reduce the risks from HEU waste, but I do not see it in wide use before 50-60 years. In that time, the production capacity of these fast reactors is also expected to increase manifold. That is why I think Mongolia should be in no hurry to produce uranium and build a nuclear power station. Instead, we should build a research reactor and develop appropriate professional human resources. This is of course my personal view, which have I suggested to the Prime Minister.   
Until then, Mongolia can use its other natural resources. We should also preserve our uranium until such time as its use in energy production is made safer. The uranium then would be a better export item as its price will have skyrocketed.  

Where are Russian fast reactors located?
The Mayak and Chelyabinsk plants reprocess HEU. The one in Tomsk will also do so.

What about the one in Angarsk, near our border?
No. that has only a uranium enriching reactor, not a fast nuclear reactor.

How has IAEA reacted to the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant?
The international body was shocked at what happened. After the accident in March experts of IAEA worked in Japan, assessing the situation and measuring the radiation. Yukiya Amano, director general of IAEA, himself paid a visit, and later sent a group of international experts to Japan.  Their report will be submitted at the upcoming annual ministerial conference on nuclear safety. That conference will also see the release of a 20-point IAEA guideline on how to intensify nuclear safety. It would be very good if your journal reported on the conference.

What is your personal opinion on what the Mongolian policy should be on companies that are interested in our uranium reserves?
I can merely repeat what I said before. Uranium demand will increase in the future. The next edition of the biennial red book of uranium will come out next year and will cover Mongolia’s uranium reserves. Besides this, there are a number of recommendations and handbooks for countries that are newly developing their uranium sector.

We must have clear and fair laws, rules and regulations to cooperate with uranium companies. We should also abide by the provisions of international conventions we have joined. Unfortunately, our law at present does not always accord with internationally accepted norms but our Nuclear Energy Authority is aware of this. Uranium mining is environmentally very sensitive and any agreement with any company must be preceded by a reliable study of   the proposed license area’s geo-chemical structure. Experts from IAEA were in Mongolia in 2008 and again in 2009 to advise us on the procedures to follow when entering into an agreement and the safeguards to be observed. I do not know what has happened to their suggestions.

What do you think of some prospective investors’ demand for changes in the law on nuclear energy?
Overall our law is not bad, but some clauses in it do vary, even if in small ways, from international principles. The good thing is that some in the NEA and some MPs, too, are aware of this. A good idea would be to get the law translated and then sent to the IAEA for its suggestions.     

How should we proceed in this new sector?
A good beginning was made last May when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Geopolitical Institute of Mongolia organised a conference to discuss new geopolitical developments. My presentation on safety in the energy field recommended close cooperation with the IAEA and included 11 suggestions on policy.  

How does the IAEA view Mongolia’s avowed status of a nuclear weapon free country?  
The Agency does not comment on anything other than the peaceful use of nuclear energy. But one of the bthree core concerns of the IAEA is preventing the use of uranium to produce nuclear weapons. So Mongolia has to secure guarantees from countries that want its uranium that none of it would be used in or diverted to any nuclear weapons program. But our nuclear weapons free status has gained international recognition and appreciation.