Lithuania’s Ignalina nuclear power station has signed an agreement to cooperate with national nuclear power safety inspectorate Vatesi and the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority on a project to improve the safety of radioactive waste management at the shutdown two-unit station.
Ignalina said the project will have a budget of €3.5m provided by European partners and Norway in particular.
The project will include the development of a concept for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in Lithuania, and improvements to radwaste management and decommissioning processes.
Ignalina said the project will have a budget of €3.5m provided by European partners and Norway in particular.
The project will include the development of a concept for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in Lithuania, and improvements to radwaste management and decommissioning processes.
It will be carried out in phases starting with a geophysical research programme, followed by socio-economic assessment and geophysical surveys of areas that could potentially host a final disposal facility.
The aim is to produce a concept for a deep geological repository, which Ignalina said “is the only sustainable and safe way” for the final disposal of radioactive waste.
Ignalina’s two Soviet-era RBMK units were shut down permanently in 2004 and 2009 in line with requirements for Lithuania’s membership of the EU.
