License for the decommissioning of Maišiagala RWSF

On 13 May, SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) received a license to decommission the Maišiagala Radioactive Waste Storage Facility (RWSF).

The State Nulear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) issued the license after examining the application for a license and the safety substantiation documents submitted in accordance with the agreed document submission schedule. After evaluating the submitted documents, VATESI ascertained that the planned decommissioning activities of Maišiagala RWSF meet the requirements of nuclear, radiation and physical safety.

The objective of the decommissioning of Maišiagala RWSF is to remove all radioactive waste, radionuclide-contaminated construction structures and soil from the Maišiagala RWSF site and transport it to the territory of INPP, to clean up the site and remove its control in terms of radiation safety. Now, after receiving the VATESI license, the decommissioning works of the storage facility will start - the entire infrastructure required for the preparation of waste removal from Maišiagala RWSF will be installed at the site.

Maišiagala RWSF is in Širvintos district, Bartkuškis forest, about 7 km northwest of Maišiagala town and about 30 km in the same direction from Vilnius. From 1963 to 1989, used sealed sources of ionizing radiation and radioactive waste from industrial enterprises, health care institutions, scientific institutions and military units were put into the Maišiagala RWSF unsorted. During that time, about 114 m³ of radioactive waste from small producers were kept in the storage facility. In 1989, it was closed and preserved.

The project is financed by the European Union Structural Funds Cohesion Fund. It started at the end of 2016 and will be completed at the end of 2023.