Lithuania has identified 77 potential sites in 29 municipalities for further investigation for its planned deep geological disposal facility (GDF), according to the Ignalina NPP. Investigations and public consultations will continue until 2047 before a final selection is made. Some 110 sites were considered in the initial assessment, but 31 were rejected because of the presence of methane. One failed to meet planning and environmental criteria and one was rejected because the rock formation did not meet the geological or safety requirements.
In March, a public consultation was held in Vilnius, during which the project, the potential locations of the deep landfill and the installation stages were presented to the representatives of the municipalities, and the questions raised by the participants were answered.
Development of the GDF is provided for in the 2021–2030 programme approved by the government for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and radioactive waste management. The facility will store used fuel and other high-level waste from the decommissioned Ignalina NPP as well as waste from medical, scientific and industrial facilities.
Ignalina NPP is currently decommissioning two 1500 MWe RBMK reactors that provided 70% of Lithuania’s electricity before they were closed in 2009 as a condition for Lithuania’s accession to the European Union and NATO. Ignalina NPP has removed fuel from the reactors and placed it into dry casks for interim storage at the site pending construction of the GDF.
The Deep Waste Site Selection Research Programme is scheduled to be completed by 2047. It is tentatively planned that GDF will be built between 2058 and 2067, operated from 2068 to 2074, and closed in 2075–2079. The general concept for the construction GDF was developed with assistance from Finnish waste management company Posiva Solutions Oy, a subsidiary of Posiva, under a one-year contract signed in January 2022. Posiva has developed Finland’s GDF at Olkiluoto, which is expected to begin operations in the mid-2020s – the world’s first such facility.
The initial site studies were conducted by Ignalina NPP in collaboration with the Lithuanian Geological Survey, Posiva and Spain’s IDOM, a multi-national corporation which provides consulting, engineering, and architecture services.
In July 2023, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste & Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning & Remediation (ARTEMIS) concluded that Lithuania’s siting plans for the GDF were in line with international safety standards. The review identified specific areas for additional efforts including “for the government to establish intermediate milestones and assign appropriate decision-making responsibilities as it progresses with the site selection”.
The GDF will comprise an engineering building at a depth of several hundred metres. Safety will be ensured by natural and engineering barriers. The surface buildings will consist of radioactive waste reception facilities, an administrative building and an information centre.
