INPP has reached the halfway point

During the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP), special attention is paid to the safe management of various types of radioactive waste. International programmes are also contributing to the implementation of projects that are unique in the world. The project "Safety Enhancement of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant Radioactive Waste management", largely funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism for the period 2014-2021, is now halfway through its implementation, and its interim results have been positively evaluated by stakeholders.

By the spring of 2024, several important tasks are scheduled for completion, including the development of the concepts for a bituminous waste repository and a deep geological repository to store long-lived radioactive waste.

Representatives from the State Nuclear Energy Safety Inspectorate (VATESI), the Central Project Management Agency (CVPA) and the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA) as well as representatives from the Lithuanian Geological Survey and the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania participated in the meeting, together with the employees of the INPP.

During the first part of the meeting, the participants expressed their gratitude to the project's sponsors, partners and all those who have contributed to the progress of the project. Tomas Liukaitis, Director of INPP's Corporate Affairs and Administration Department, said that working with the Norwegian Financial Mechanism was a novelty for the enterprise.

"There was an opportunity to effectively benefit from the experience of the international nuclear energy community and we made the most of it. We have raised issues within the enterprise where we have faced challenges. It should be noted that the matter of the deep geological repository and bituminous waste storage is crucial for the entire process of dismantling the Ignalina NPP reactors and for ensuring a safe environment," says T. Liukaitis.

The second part of the meeting provided an opportunity for participants to find out more about the project, the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and to learn how the project partners, who initiated this funding mechanism, see themselves in the context of this project, the benefits they see from the cooperation and how they define their role as partners.

The project leader Andrius Vyšniauskas, who oversees the Radioactive Waste Management Safety Enhancement project at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, noted that more than one third of the funds allocated for this interim stage have been absorbed, more than half of the planned activities have been completed, and nearly all remaining contracts have been completed. Over one hundred workers raised their qualifications during the project through training, technical meetings, and seminars with leading nuclear energy companies.

"We can state with certainty that the project is well underway and the competence of the INPP specialists participating in it has increased significantly in less than two years. We hope that the invaluable experience gained will become the basis for new INPP environmental projects," says Mr. Vyšniauskas.

In total, more than 3.5 million euros have been allocated to the project, with contributions from the VATESI, DSA, CPVA, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other organisations. Their representatives were invited to a discussion on the interim results, where the project progress was reviewed, and the main achievements assessed.  

Radioactive waste management - a priority for the INPP decommissioning

The placement of radioactive waste in a deep geological repository is currently considered to be the only sustainable and safe way to safely isolate it without harming people and the biosphere. The site where the radioactive waste is to be placed must be tectonically and seismically stable, and the geological environment must be such as to guarantee safe containment.

However, in addition to the geological criteria, it is equally important to develop the preliminary criteria for the acceptability of radioactive waste for a deep geological repository, to identify engineering barrier materials and their safety-relevant properties, to develop solutions for the radioactive waste packaging, and to prepare a safety (assurance) description of a deep geological repository operation. It will be considered in the concept of final disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.

The bituminous radioactive waste storage facility at the Ignalina NPP was commissioned in 1987. The 5,600 square metre building contains 14,400 cubic metres of bituminous compound, or bituminous radioactive evaporated salts. The ongoing project will investigate and approve measures that will allow the isolation of these materials without relocation.