In 2021, Ignalina NPP (INPP) dismantled 3429 tons of equipment and 4200 tons of concrete waste of which 7000 tons of radioactive waste have already been processed, removed as non-radioactive waste and will be sold at auctions.
Since decommissioning of the two RBMK reactors began in 2010, about 71,000 tons of equipment and concrete waste have been dismantled. By the end of decommissioning in 2038, a further 105,000 tons of equipment will have to be processed.
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 Chernobyl accident, both units were de-rated to 1360MWe. 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.
The total estimated cost of the Ignalina decommissioning project is over €2.5bn, with the EU pledging €1.4bn towards these costs, funded largely through the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund (IIDSF) administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and two other funds administered by EBRD.
In October 2021, Ignalina NPP received permission from the State Nuclear Energy Safety Inspectorate (Vatesi) for dismantling and decontamination of structures of the turbine hall boxes at unit 1 (turbine foundations, floor structures, drainage systems, heat exchangers and turbine metal structures). INPP plans to dismantle the reinforced concrete and metal structures and equip areas for temporary storage of newly generated waste in the vacated part of the turbine hall. This waste will later be transferred to a surface repository for short lived, very low level waste.
Photo: Ignalina NPP
