US-based nuclear engineering company Amentum has been selected as consultant for the first-of-a-kind dismantling of steam drum separators at units 1&2 of Lithuania’s Ignalina NPP (INPP), now undergoing decommissioning.
Ignalina comprised two water-cooled graphite-moderated channel-type RBMK-1500 reactors. Unit 1 came online in 1983 and unit 2 in 1987. Following the Chornobyl accident, both units were de-rated to 1360 MWe. Lithuania agreed to close the plant as part of its accession agreement to the European Union (EU). Ignalina 1 closed in 2004 and Ignalina 2 in 2009. Lithuania subsequently became an energy importer. The past few years has seen INPP focusing on defuelling the reactors, which are expected to be fully decommissioned by 2038. The work is mostly funded by the EU through the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and other funds.
Amentum’s seven-year contract is estimated by INPP to be worth €5.5m ($6m) in revenue and will be implemented under International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Yellow Book Conditions. It will be administered by the EBRD and funded by European Commission grants.
Amentum will provide consultancy services to support INPP’s Project Management Unit (PMU) and carry out the duties of FIDIC Engineer for the dismantling contract. “We will deploy our extensive nuclear decommissioning and waste management experience from the UK, France, Czechia and Slovakia to this ground-breaking project,” said Andy White, head of Amentum Energy & Environment International.
Amentum will help INPP to manage the removal of the Steam Drum Separators – large drums installed over the graphite core to divert steam to the turbines. The PMU will oversee the design and safety justification for dismantling and fragmentation of the drums and associated equipment, which are located in the plant’s radiologically contaminated primary circuit. The Amentum team will also be available to support further stages of decommissioning at INPP.
“The FIDIC service provider, Amentum, is a significant contributor to the dismantling of the steam drum separators,” said Linas Baužys, Director General of INPP. “Their large international experience both as a FIDIC engineer and while working in various similar nuclear power projects will be a contributory factor to the success of the project’s joint implementation.”
