No spent nuclear fuel left in the Unit 1 of Ignalina NPP

Today the last container with damaged spent nuclear fuel was transported from the Unit 1 of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) to the temporary storage facility.

Damaged fuel management works at Unit 1 began in September 2020, and in mid-April 2021, the last 16 damaged fuel assemblies were proccessed and placed in a special container in accordance with the planned technology. This is an event that marks the achievement of an important stage in the management of spent nuclear fuel at INPP - after the removal of this container there is no more nuclear fuel left in INPP Unit 1.

Damaged fuel is spent fuel assemblies that deformed in the reactor or have acquired shell defects (cracks, fissures, etc.) that have allowed direct contact of the fuel pellets with water. These defects occurred during transportation and technological operations with fuel assemblies (extraction from the reactor, transfer from the reactor hall to the storage pool hall, etc.) or during storage of fuel assemblies in the storage pools. In total, the damaged fuel will fill 22 containers out of 190 stored in the temporary storage facility.

“Damaged fuel management is a first-time, technologically complex and time-consuming process, so it is particularly gratifying that the professional and coordinated work of our staff allowed us to successfully complete the transportation of fuel from Unit 1 and start handling damaged fuel 2 weeks earlier at Unit 2. This is an invaluable experience and an important stage in the entire INPP radioactive waste management process,” said Audrius Kamienas, INPP Director General.

After transporting special damaged fuel management system equipment from Unit 1 to Unit 2 on 5th of May, the first 2 (out of 189) damaged fuel assemblies were already treated. All damaged fuel management works are planned to be completed in October 2022.

The safety of the damaged fuel management process in terms of nuclear and radiation safety, impact on personnel, the population and the environment, is ensured by appropriate measures.