The legal definition of “radioactive waste” in EU law and the legislation of the Russian Federation

Introduction: the adoption of the legal definition of “radioactive waste” in the Russian legislation and EU law was a significant event, as it reflected the importance of understanding the dangers to humans and the environment that humanity faced when dealing with radiation. The purpose of the study was to adopt one of the main legal concepts in atomic law - “radioactive waste”. Methods: the methodological framework for the research is a set of methods of scientific knowledge, among which the main ones are the general scientific philosophical methods of dialectical and historical materialism, the methods of comparative law, consistency, the methods of logical and structural and functional analysis. Results: the author’s well-founded position is based on the Russian legislation, EU law, and the opinions of the competent Soviet, Russian, and foreign scientific community on the issue of adopting a legal definition of “radioactive waste”. Based on the comparative legal analysis of the norms of the Federal laws of the Russian Federation and EU Directives, the differentiation of characteristic features of the legal definition of “radioactive waste” in EU law and the Russian legislation is carried out. Its features in Russian law are revealed. Conclusions: the study revealed the role of a unified legal approach to the legal definition of “radioactive waste” in order to explore the possibility of starting negotiations between the EU and Russia to develop an agreement in the field of scientific research of processing and new ways of disposal of radioactive waste.