Slovakia defended its national report at the 8th Review Meeting under the Joint Convention

On 17–28 March 2025, the 8th Review Meeting of the Parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (Joint Convention) took place at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The Slovak Republic has been a party to the Joint Convention since its entry into force in 2001.

The Slovak delegation at the 8th Review Meeting was led by the Chairperson of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic (ÚJD SR), Marta Žiaková. The 8th review meeting saw the defence of the national report prepared under the Joint Convention, which contained information on the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste in the territory of Slovakia for the last review period (2020–2024). The Slovak delegation consisted of representatives of the ÚJD SR, the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic, the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, the National Nuclear Fund, JAVYS, a. s. and Slovenské elektrárne, a. s.

During the 8th review meeting, Slovakia, together with Chile, China, Jordan, Cuba, Lesotho, Lithuania, Hungary, Niger, Serbia and Zimbabwe, was a member of the Group of Contracting Parties No. 3, within which the relevant national reports were reviewed and discussed in detail. The members of the Slovak delegation answered in detail the questions asked about the national report and the national presentation, while the representatives of the Contracting Parties in the group highly appreciated its quality and the content of the information provided.

The Contracting Parties identified an example of good practice in the Slovak Republic – Immediate dismantling and subsequent processing of radioactive waste and its disposal and exchange of related experiences at the international level. The partner states perceive as a challenge, respectively the task for the future, which the Slovak Republic will inform about in the next assessment cycle, Milestones and overall planning for the implementation of the deep geological repository.

The results of the 8th Review Meeting confirmed the high level of safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste management in Slovakia, as well as the high level of state supervision over nuclear safety, state supervision over health protection from the adverse effects of ionizing radiation and state supervision over occupational safety and health protection and safety of technical equipment in the Slovakia.