Kazakhstan Adopts New Law On Radioactive Waste Management

On 7 July 2026 the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed into law the Law “On the Management of Radioactive Waste” No. 335-VIII ZRK (the “Law”). The Law was published on 8 July 2026 and will enter into force 60 calendar days thereafter in early September 2026. The Law establishes for the first time a dedicated statutory framework for radioactive waste (“RAW”) management separate from the general Law on the Use of Atomic Energy and the Ecological Code.

While the Law is directed at RAW specific activities its implications extend well beyond waste handlers themselves. Kazakhstan's nuclear new build programme its expanding uranium mining sector and the financing and contracting structures that support them all interact with the RAW regime at multiple points. This briefing highlights what the Law means for the wider ecosystem of participants in Kazakhstan's nuclear and uranium sector.

Key features of the Law

• A national operator with exclusive disposal rights. The Law formalises a national operator vested with the exclusive right to conduct RAW disposal and manage the lifecycle of disposal facilities nationwide. Any project generating RAW will in practice need to interface with this operator.
• Tighter conditions for transferring RAW off a project's books. Ownership passes to the national operator only once compliance with acceptance criteria is confirmed and an acceptance transfer act is signed. This is a higher bar than under the earlier bill which required only a transfer document.
• Storage flexibility increased. The previous one year cap on storage in a designated facility has been removed. Permissible storage periods are now set by project documentation facility by facility.
• Technical disposal criteria pushed to secondary legislation. Prescriptive requirements from the bill covering waste form geological stability and containment are not carried into the Law itself. These are expected to be detailed in forthcoming implementing rules.
• New import permission for reprocessing returns. RAW arising from reprocessing of Kazakhstan origin spent nuclear fuel abroad may now be imported where an applicable international treaty so provides. This is relevant to any project structured around foreign reprocessing services.
• Financing simplified. RAW management is now funded by generators or their successors from their own resources. Separate provisions address national operator funding and limited budget financing in defined cases such as state owned legacy waste orphan sources and decommissioning of state owned facilities.

Implications by stakeholder

Developers and owners of nuclear facilities including NPP projects. RAW obligations attach across the full facility lifecycle from construction through decommissioning. Project structuring financial models and decommissioning funding provisions should be reviewed against the Law's financing rules and the now removed storage time limits. This may affect on site waste management planning during construction and early operation.

Fuel suppliers and fuel cycle service providers. The Law's treatment of RAW arising from reprocessing services performed abroad and the newly added permission to import such RAW under an applicable treaty is directly relevant to contractual arrangements involving foreign reprocessing of Kazakhstan origin material. Fuel supply and reprocessing agreements should be reviewed to confirm they align with the Law's ownership transfer and import provisions.

Banks and other project financiers. Lenders financing nuclear or uranium sector projects will want to revisit due diligence checklists and conditions precedent and subsequent relating to RAW management obligations and national operator arrangements. They should pay particular attention to the financing provisions of the Law which determine who bears the cost of RAW disposal and decommissioning and under what circumstances state budget financing may or may not be available as a backstop.

Contractors and EPC and engineering firms. Design construction and decommissioning contracts should be reviewed to ensure RAW handling obligations acceptance criteria compliance and interface arrangements with the national operator are correctly allocated between employer and contractor. This is particularly important given that key technical acceptance criteria are still to be issued in secondary legislation.

Uranium producers and their financing and offtake counterparties. Near surface disposal rights for very low level ISL mining waste have been relocated to a dedicated Article 30 and the ownership threshold for delegated operators has been raised from over 50% to 90% or more. This may require restructuring of subsidiary or joint venture arrangements currently below the new threshold.

Developments to watch

A suite of implementing regulations is expected to follow, addressing the acceptance criteria, disposal rules and classification procedures referenced throughout the Law. Participants across the sector will want to keep entry into force in early September 2026 in view as they assess how the Law interacts with existing and pipeline arrangements. We will continue to monitor developments and will issue further updates as implementing regulations are published..

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.