On the Use of Atomic Energy
Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 12, 2016 No. 442-V LRK.
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This Law defines the legal basis and principles for regulating public relations in the field of atomic energy use to protect human life and health, their property, environmental protection, and is aimed at ensuring a regime of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, nuclear, radiation, and nuclear physical safety in the use of atomic energy.
Chapter 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Basic concepts used in this Law
The following basic concepts are used in this Law:
1) exemption level – values of physical quantities defining the characteristics of nuclear materials, radioactive substances, and electrophysical installations, established by the authorized body;
1-1) special drawing rights – a unit of account defined by the International Monetary Fund and used by it for operations and transactions;
2) atomic energy – energy released in nuclear reactions and during radioactive decay, as well as the energy of generated ionizing radiation;
3) facilities for the use of atomic energy – sources of ionizing radiation, radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, nuclear, radiation, electrophysical installations, storage and disposal points, transport packaging sets, and nuclear materials;
4) operation of facilities for the use of atomic energy – administrative, economic, and engineering-technical activities carried out by an individual or legal entity in the field of atomic energy use;
5) handling of facilities for the use of atomic energy – a set of manual and/or automated operations, actions with facilities for the use of atomic energy during their construction, reconstruction, manufacturing, acquisition, transfer, supply, possession, use, operation, commissioning and decommissioning, processing, installation, repair, maintenance, charging, recharging, dismantling, disposal, conservation, transportation, import, export, decontamination, post-utilization, storage, disposal;
6) lifecycle of a facility for the use of atomic energy – siting, design, production, construction or building, commissioning, operation, reconstruction, major repair, decommissioning, transportation, handling, storage, disposal, and utilization of facilities for the use of atomic energy;
7) state control and supervision in the field of atomic energy use – activities of the authorized body in the field of atomic energy use within its competence, aimed at ensuring compliance by individuals and legal entities with the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of atomic energy use;
8) authorized body in the field of atomic energy use (hereinafter – the authorized body) – the central executive body exercising leadership in the field of atomic energy use;
9) sources of ionizing radiation – radioactive substances, apparatus or devices containing radioactive substances, as well as electrophysical apparatus or devices emitting or capable of emitting ionizing radiation;
10) register of sources of ionizing radiation – a database of sources of ionizing radiation, representing a continuously updated summary of information on their availability, movement, and location within the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including information on movement during their export and import;
11) post-utilization – a set of works on dismantling and demolition of capital structures (buildings, structures, complexes) after the termination of their operation (use, application) with simultaneous restoration and secondary use of regenerable elements (structures, materials, equipment), as well as processing of elements and waste not subject to regeneration;
12) disposal – placement of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive waste in a disposal point without the intention of their retrieval;
13) disposal point – a nuclear or radiation installation intended for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel or radioactive waste;
14) closure of a disposal point – completion of all operations after disposal, bringing the disposal point into a safe state;
15) commissioning of an installation – documented activity to bring components and systems of a nuclear or radiation, or electrophysical installation into operational condition after completion of its construction and necessary testing;
16) decommissioning of an installation – documented activity to terminate the operation of a nuclear or radiation, or electrophysical installation and its removal from state control, ensuring the final state of the installation and its siting area complies with safety requirements;
17) operating organization – a legal entity carrying out activities related to the handling of facilities for the use of atomic energy;
18) spent nuclear fuel – nuclear fuel irradiated in a nuclear reactor and finally removed from it;
19) personnel – individuals permanently or temporarily working with sources of ionizing radiation or whose working conditions place them within the scope of their exposure;
20) radiation risk – the probability of harm to human life or health, property of individuals and legal entities, the environment as a result of exposure, taking into account the severity of its consequences;
21) radiation safety – the state of properties and characteristics of a facility for the use of atomic energy, ensured by a set of measures limiting radiation exposure to personnel, the population, and the environment, in accordance with the norms established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
22) radiation hazard category – a characteristic of a facility for the use of atomic energy based on the degree of its radiation hazard to the population and/or the environment during its handling or under conditions of a possible accident;
23) radiation installation – a special, non-nuclear installation, including related premises, structures, and equipment, where handling of nuclear materials and/or radioactive substances is carried out;
24) radioactive substances – any materials of natural or man-made origin in any aggregate state containing radionuclides;
25) radioactive waste – radioactive substances, nuclear materials, or radionuclide sources with radionuclide content above the exemption level, for which further use is not envisaged;
26) radionuclide source – a source of ionizing radiation containing radioactive substances, specially created for its beneficial application or being a by-product of any type of activity;
27) storage – temporary placement in storage points of nuclear fuel, nuclear materials, radioactive substances, radionuclide sources, spent nuclear fuel, radioactive waste, implying the possibility of their retrieval for further handling;
28) storage point – a nuclear or radiation installation intended for the storage of nuclear fuel, nuclear materials, radioactive substances, radionuclide sources, spent nuclear fuel, radioactive waste;
29) transport packaging set – a set of elements necessary for complete placement and retention of radioactive contents during transportation;
30) physical protection – a unified system of organizational and technical measures to prevent unauthorized access to a facility for the use of atomic energy;
31) electrophysical installation – a special, non-nuclear or non-radiation installation generating or capable of generating ionizing radiation, including related premises, structures, and equipment;
32) nuclear safety – the state of properties and characteristics of a facility for the use of atomic energy, in which the impossibility of a nuclear accident is ensured with a certain probability;
33) nuclear installation – an installation, including premises, structures, and equipment, where one or more of the listed types of activities are carried out: production, processing, use, transportation, storage, disposal of nuclear material, except for installations for the extraction and/or processing of natural uranium or thorium;
33-1) single operator of nuclear installations – an operator of a nuclear installation, owning directly and/or indirectly more than fifty percent of the voting shares (participation interests in the charter capital) of other operators of nuclear installations located within one siting area;
33-2) operator of a nuclear installation – a legal entity of the Republic of Kazakhstan operating one or more nuclear installations;
34) nuclear materials – materials containing or capable of reproducing fissile (splitting) radionuclides;
34-1) nuclear damage – damage, including harm to human life or health, the environment, as well as losses of individuals and legal entities, caused as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation due to handling of a nuclear installation or nuclear material coming from a nuclear installation, produced in it, or directed to a nuclear installation, as well as costs for preventive measures;
34-2) nuclear incident – an occurrence or series of occurrences that cause nuclear damage or create a risk of causing nuclear damage;
35) nuclear physical safety – the state of a unified system of organizational and technical measures aimed at preventing, detecting, and/or responding to facts of theft, sabotage, unauthorized access, illegal transfer, handling, or other unlawful actions regarding facilities for the use of atomic energy and/or the operating organization.
Footnote. Article 1 as amended by the Laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 24.05.2018 No. 156-VI (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication); dated 14.05.2020 No. 329-VI (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication); dated 25.02.2021 No. 12-VII (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication).
Article 2. Legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of atomic energy use
Chapter 2. STATE REGULATION IN THE FIELD OF ATOMIC ENERGY USE
Article 3. State regulation in the field of atomic energy use
State regulation in the field of atomic energy use applies to:
1) activities of individuals and legal entities in the field of atomic energy use;
2) activities of individuals and legal entities in performing work related to the lifecycle of facilities for the use of atomic energy;
3) monitoring of nuclear tests;
4) activities on the territories of former nuclear test sites and other territories contaminated as a result of conducted nuclear tests;
5) expertise of nuclear safety and/or radiation safety, and/or nuclear physical safety;
6) training and certification of personnel employed at facilities for the use of atomic energy.
Footnote. Article 3 as amended by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 25.02.2021 No. 12-VII (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication).
Article 4. Tasks and principles of state regulation in the field of atomic energy use
1) ensuring the safety of human life and health, environmental protection in the use of atomic energy;
2) priority of ensuring safety over other aspects of atomic energy use;
3) mandatory and continuous state control over ensuring the safety of a facility for the use of atomic energy;
4) accessibility, objectivity, and timeliness of information on the safety status and impact of facilities for the use of atomic energy on the population and the environment;
5) mandatory compensation for harm caused by radiation exposure from facilities for the use of atomic energy to human life and health, property of individuals and legal entities, as well as the environment;
6) inadmissibility of above-normative radioactive contamination of the environment;
7) inadmissibility of import and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from other states on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, except for the re-import of own radioactive waste;
8) mandatory state regulation of safety in the field of atomic energy use.
Article 5. Competence of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan
1) develops the main directions of state policy in the field of atomic energy use;
2) makes decisions on the siting area, construction, and cancellation of construction of nuclear installations and disposal points;
3) makes decisions on the early decommissioning of a nuclear installation or closure of a disposal point;
4) excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 19.04.2023 No. 223-VII (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication).
5) excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 19.04.2023 No. 223-VII (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication).
6) approves the rules for selecting siting areas for nuclear installations and disposal points;
7) approves the national plan for response to nuclear and radiation accidents;
8) excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 19.04.2023 No. 223-VII (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication).
8-1) ensures the payment of funds to compensate for caused nuclear damage to the extent that the caused nuclear damage exceeds the limit of civil liability of the operator of a nuclear installation or the single operator of nuclear installations, established by Article 26-2 of this Law, by providing the necessary amount until full compensation of the caused nuclear damage, as well as in cases provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
8-2) determines the limit of civil liability of the operator of a nuclear installation of the first radiation hazard category in the cases and procedure provided for by paragraph 2 of Article 26-2 of this Law;
9) excluded by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 19.04.2023 No. 223-VII (comes into force ten calendar days after the day of its first official publication).