On 29 June 2011, the State Representative Assembly of the Russian Federa­tion passed a law called ‘On the Management of Radioactive Waste’. This federal law deals with crossover issues such as interim storage, the final isolation of RAW, and the financing of the measures required in RAW management. Crucially, it also lays out the responsibilities of the different authorities, including the Russian government, Rosatom, federal bodies, state and local government authorities, the national RAW management operator, and RAW suppliers. The law establishes the legal organizational basis for all forms of RAW management, as well as government control of RAW rates and costs and financial schemes. The requirements for RAW disposal, and the state’s role in accounting, storage, control and registration are all determined by this law, along with the establishment of radiological controls and radiation monitoring. It further states that RAW containing nuclear materials is exclusively federal property. The system of state accounting and control of RAW and RAM is responsible for all RAW found on Russian territory, including registering RAW and its storage loca­tions. Responsibility for newly generated RAW lies with the organization in which the RAW is produced: the same operations also take responsibility for the safe handling of RAW treatment up to the point of transfer to the national operator.

378 Radioactive waste management and contaminated site clean-up