site.btaEnergy and Mining Forum Objects to BNT's "Biased Presentation" of Plans to Build Storage Facility for High-level Radioactive Waste

The Bulgarian Energy & Mining Forum (BEMF) came up with a letter of protest on Sunday against what it sees as "biased and tendentious presentation" of preparations for building a national storage facility for high-level radioactive waste in Bulgaria, as described in a Bulgarian National Television (BNT) documentary.

On its show "Sledite Ostavat" ("The Traces Remain"), aired on September 18, BNT raised the question of whether Bulgaria faces the prospect of becoming "the nuclear dumpster of Europe". The public broadcaster said that the planned building of a storage facility for high-level radioactive waste is referred to in an updated strategy for the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, pending approval by the National Assembly. A shortlist allegedly names three possible sites for the future facility, which, however, are not publicly known. Based on rumours, some communities have threatened protests. Footage used in the documentary shows caretaker Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov confirming the plan to build such a facility by 2050. The documentary discusses the feasibility of such an undertaking, the need for it, and potential risks associated with its implementation.
    
In its letter on Sunday, signed by its Chairman Ivan Hinovski, BEMF argues that the BNT documentary inspires fears and insinuates covert moves by the authorities. The organization wonders why the producers "did not bring a single nuclear expert on the show, and most importantly, not even one representative of Bulgaria's only competent authority in this field, the Nuclear Regulatory Agency." Instead, the show gave the floor to "clearly incompetent former governance factors and a few ecologists who have gained notoriety for their retrograde 'anti' opinions about everything."

"The shallow knowledge which all interviewees in the documentary have on the topic creates the completely erroneous impression that the building of this sensitive facility has been left to anonymous specialists, that the site has been chosen and even construction has begun, and that all of this has been done in total secrecy!" the letter says.

"Who stands to gain from such disinformation and from stirring negative public sentiment with unpredictable consequences?" BEMF asks.

The organization stresses that contemporary nuclear waste management technology has reached an advanced level which ensures that the necessary degree of safety and security of such facilities will be reached. "Last but not least, we should note that Bulgaria is lagging behind in one more domain, with Europe already having four such storage facilities which have moved far ahead in the licensing process," the letter says.

The letter is addressed to Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov, the Council for Electronic Media and BNT Director General Emil Koshlukov.