Under the Notification on Improving Nuclear and Radiation Regulation Capability Building issued by MEE, a joint multiple-agency supervisory action was organized by MEE/NECNROS on 19-22 August 2018, with a purpose of facilitating the escalation of security defense systems of urban radioactive waste repositories in three provinces in Northeast China and improving management quality and staff or personnel’s working ability with respect to radioactive waste repository operation. Participants are the experts from MEE/NSC and the Forth Research and Design Engineering Corporation of CNNC (FRDECoCNNC) in collaboration with the radioactive waste repository operators and management staff from Liaoning Provincial Nuclear Safety Agency (LNSA), Jilin Provincial Radiation Environmental Monitoring Station (JREMS) and Heilongjiang Provincial Radiation Environmental Monitoring Station (HREMS).

This action was carried out using a unique way that one province’s repository was inspected by a team composed of the operators and management staff from other two provinces, and vice versa, together with inviting the experts from standard-developing departments relevant to updating the design, construction and security system of waste repositories concerned. Careful examinations were made of the urban waste repositories used in these three provinces with respect to facility construction, security defense system, emergency plan and material preparation, and personnel training and management. Valuable suggestions were made for the unsolved problems. Finally, topic lectures were addressed by the experts from FRDECoCNNC on the matters of design, construction and security system escalation of urban radioactive waste repository, and the present situations of radioactive waste repository in each province were compared on a case-by-case basis.

All participants agreed that this inspection action has resulted in an increased awareness of radiation safety and anti-terrorism by the major leaders and management staff and an enhanced understanding of great importance of speeding up the escalation of repository security system. This action enhanced the professional exchange between operators and management staff of these three provinces, providing a solid foundation for rapid completion, reconstruction, escalation and steady operation of repositories concerned.