Nuclear Waste Experts Turn Shared Experience Into Safer Solutions

Workshops, technical exercises and visits to operational sites allowed participants to examine how other countries have handled problems similar to their own.

Managing radioactive waste safely can take decades, demanding skilled professionals, reliable facilities and careful planning at every stage. During the past two years, the International Atomic Energy Agency has trained more than 200 experts from Europe and Central Asia, giving them practical knowledge that can help their countries create waste management systems suited to local laws, infrastructure and technical needs.

Radioactive waste comes from nuclear power, medicine, research, industry and other applications involving radioactive materials. Each country is responsible for controlling this waste from the moment it is generated through characterization, treatment, conditioning and storage, followed by disposal in a licensed facility. Ageing infrastructure, historical waste and limited disposal capacity can make this work especially difficult, which is why shared regional experience has become so valuable.

Lithuania Turns Decommissioning Experience Into Practical Lessons

Workshops, technical exercises and visits to operational sites allowed participants to examine how other countries have handled problems similar to their own. Lithuania offered an important example through the decommissioning of the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility, a former RADON-type site whose waste was removed successfully in 2026.

RADON-type facilities were constructed in several parts of Europe between the 1960s and the 1980s, often using comparable designs. Many countries must now retrieve legacy waste from these ageing sites, assess its condition, sort it, package it and transfer it to safer storage or disposal facilities.

Regional experts visited Maišiagala and the Ignalina nuclear power plant, where the recovered material was transferred. Lithuanian specialists explained the technical decisions, safety procedures and practical difficulties involved in the operation, giving visiting professionals knowledge they could adapt to their national situations.

The Republic of Moldova is preparing similar work at its own RADON facility. IAEA assistance has supported staff training, infrastructure preparation and technical documentation covering waste retrieval, characterization, sorting, packaging and storage. Moldovan specialists said seeing Lithuania's completed operation helped them understand how each stage could be planned and carried out in line with international safety practices.

Georgia Grows From Training Recipient to Regional Partner

Georgia shows how sustained investment in people can strengthen an entire region. After developing its waste management infrastructure and expertise with IAEA assistance, the country is now helping neighbouring states manage legacy materials and disused sealed radioactive sources.

Between 2024 and 2026, Georgia hosted scientific visitors from Azerbaijan, Romania, Serbia and Tajikistan. These specialists received practical exposure to methods used for controlling radioactive sources that are no longer needed but may still pose serious safety and security risks if they are lost, damaged or handled incorrectly.

Georgian experts also travelled to Serbia in 2025 to support cold and hot trial runs at the Public Company Nuclear Facilities of Serbia. The trials formed part of the licensing process for the country's radioactive waste processing facility. Vladimer Tvaliashvili of the Georgian Agency of Nuclear and Radiation Safety described the exchange as proof that knowledge gained through earlier IAEA fellowships can remain within a country, grow through practical use and eventually benefit others.

Professional Networks Keep Knowledge Moving Across Borders

The programme has created more than technical skills. Workshops, scientific visits and expert missions have helped waste management professionals build relationships that continue after formal activities end. Experts from Lithuania, Moldova and Ukraine have remained in contact, exchanging ideas about legacy waste, ageing storage sites and possible solutions to shared problems.

IAEA-led networks such as LABONET and DISPONET provide structured spaces where specialists can discuss waste characterisation, treatment and disposal in line with international safety standards. These connections give countries access to tested approaches while allowing them to design programmes around their own regulatory systems, resources and waste inventories.

Radioactive waste cannot be managed through short-term action. Facilities must remain safe, records must be maintained, and professional knowledge must pass from one generation of specialists to the next. By combining hands-on training with peer learning, the IAEA is helping countries build the expertise needed to protect workers, communities and the environment for decades to come.