From 2017 November, after entry into force of the amendment to the Law on Nuclear Safety, which implements Council Directive 2014/87/Euratom of 8 July 2014 establishing a Community framework for the nuclear safety of nuclear installations (Amendment of the Nuclear Safety Directive) and the Nuclear Safety Requirements BSR-1.1.5-2017 "Rules of Procedure for Public Participation in Decision-making in the Area of Nuclear Energy", public can participate in the adoption of major decisions - on the harmonization of the assessment report on the site of construction and the issue of certain licences (all decisions are referred to Article 39¹ part 1 of the Law on Nuclear Safety).

More information about how the public can participate in decision-making is available here.

1. Application of State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant for issuing a licence for decommissioning of nuclear facility

(14 September 2018)

Application of State Enterprise Ignalina nuclear power plant for issuing a licence for decommissioning of nuclear facility

The State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) on 14 September 2018 received an application from the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant to issue a licence for a type specified in subsection 4 of Paragraph 1 of Article 22 of the Law on Nuclear Safety of the Republic of Lithuania for decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

Information about the nuclear facility

Two reactors of RBMK-1500 were constructed at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (Ignalina NPP). The Unit 1 was put into operation in late December 1983, the Unit 2 was put into operation on 31 August 1987. in accordance with the protocol of Lithuania's accession to the European Union Ignalina NPP Unit 1 was shut down at the end of December of 2004 and Unit 2 was closed on 31 December 2009.

According to the requested license, the Ignalina NPP plans to carry on decommissioning of the Unit 1 and Unit 2, located in the Village Druksiai, Municipality of Visaginas District, solid radioactive waste storage facilities (155, 155/1, 157, 157/1) and radioactive waste management facilities of those storage facilities, liquid radioactive waste management facilities (bituminization and cementation facilities of building No.150).

Applicant information
 
State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, company code 255450080, registered address Elektrinės str. 4, K47 Drūkšinių vil., 31152 Visaginas mun., Republic of Lithuania, Tel. No.: (8 386) 28 985, Fax. No. (8 386) 24 396, e-mail: iae(at)iae.lt

Decision making term

VATESI will take a decision on the issue of a license to the State Enterprise Ignalina NPP not later than within 24 months from the date of receipt of all documents necessary for obtaining a duly licensed license, as provided for in Article 25, Paragraph 16 of the Law on Nuclear Safety of the Republic of Lithuania.

It is important to note that the license for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities will be issued only after spent nuclear fuel is taken to the spent nuclear fuel storage facility (PBKS-2) from both Units of the Ignalina NPP. It is planned to be completed by the end of 2022.

The State Enterprise Ignalina NPP submitted the schedule of application documents together with the application. VATESI provided an agreement to the schedule of application documents on 29 November 2018.

Contact person for public participation in decision-making: Birutė Kuklytė-Jonutienė, Chief Specialist for public communication, email: info(at)vatesi.lt, tel. +370 5 266 58 98.

Schedule of application documents

The State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) on 6 January 2020 received a request to evaluate the site report and other documents for planned bituminised radioactive waste disposal facility.

SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is planning to reconstruct and transform bituminised radioactive waste storage facility to disposal facility.

On this stage, SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant requests to evaluate the planned disposal site assessment report, which is one of the documents in the decision making procedure and will be the basis for the decision if the reconstruction of storage facility is an optimal way to manage such kind of radioactive waste.

After VATESI specialists will agree to presented documents, SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant will start to prepare environmental impact assessment report, technical design project and safety assessment report for the planned disposal facility. If the site will not meet the acceptance criteria for disposal facility, SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant would have to propose other alternative ways to manage bituminised radioactive waste (retrieve, treat and dispose).

SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is planning bituminised radioactive waste storage facility reconstruction, which is tasked to strengthen building constructions, to install additional engineering barriers and to cover current storage facility with various size hydro-isolated and protected ground layers also to install additional organisational and technical measures, which apply to disposal facility safety requirements.

Information about the nuclear facility

Bituminised radioactive waste storage facility is in the SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant north-west part of the territory and dedicated to store bituminised short-lived low level radioactive waste, which should be disposed in the near surface disposal facility.

Currently in the facility are stored 14422 kubic metres of radioactive waste.

Applicant information
 
State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, company code 255450080, registered address Elektrinės str. 4, K47 Drūkšinių vil., 31152 Visaginas mun., Republic of Lithuania, Tel. No.: (8 386) 28 985, Fax. No. (8 386) 24 396, e-mail: iae(at)iae.lt

Decision making term

According to the Law of Nuclear Safety 32 and 39¹ paragraphs, VATESI will make a decision on sight assessment report after 12 month from obtaining all safety case documents that are required and present a decision project for public comments no later than 3 month before time the decision should be made.

Contact person for public participation in decision-making: Birutė Kuklytė-Jonutienė, Chief Specialist for public communication, email: info(at)vatesi.lt, tel. +370 5 266 58 98, for bituminised radioactive waste disposal site evaluation Žybartas Patašius, Chief Inspector, tel. +370 5 2661574.

The VATESI decision to issue a licence for decommissioning of Maišiagala Radioactive Waste Storage Facility

The State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) reviewed an application submitted by the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste Management Agency (RATA) on 15 January 2018, a revised application submitted by the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant on 12 February 2019 (after RATA was reorganised by way of merger to the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant) and on May 13, 2021, was made a final decision to issue a licence for decommissioning of Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility (RWSF) to SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP).

• The order of the head of VATESI regarding the decision to issue a licence for decommissioning of Maišiagala Radioactive Waste Storage Facility;
• The VATESI licence to Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant for decommissioning of Maišiagala Radioactive Waste Storage Facility.

After the assessment of SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) submitted documents, VATESI came to conclusion that the planned decommissioning activities of the Maišiagala RWSF comply with the nuclear, radiation and physical security requirements and employees, public and environment will be protected against radiation risks.

Summary information on the planned decommissioning activities of Maišiagala Radioactive Waste Storage Facility and the safety assessment performed by VATESI is provided in the summary of the safety review and assessment of the documents justifying the safe decommissioning of Maišiagala Radioactive Waste Storage Facility.

Stakeholders were invited to review the draft decision and licence application documents and submit their proposals as well.  No proposals were received from the stakeholders within the term of familiarization and submission of proposals established in the Law on Nuclear Safety.

Information about the nuclear facility

Maišiagala Radioactive Waste Storage Facility (hereinafter - Maišiagala RW storage facility) is a 200 m³ capacity monolithic reinforced concrete basement, located at a depth of 3 metres in Bartkuškis Forest, Municipality of Širvintai District. This “Radon”- type waste storage facility was closed in and preserved in 1989. It stores radioactive waste collected from industrial enterprises, medical and scientific institutions and military units during the 1963-1989 period. The facility is located about 7 km from the town of Maišiagala and about 30 km away from Vilnius. The entire storage facility area covers an area of 2.7 ha.

During the entire operation period of the storage facility, it was accumulated about 114 m³ of unsorted long-lived and short-lived radioactive waste of various activities. The waste was inter-layered with concrete. When the facility was closed, the remaining cavity was filled with concrete and sand.

According to the latest requirements for radioactive waste management, each type of waste must be managed separately, therefore it is necessary to remove it, sort and pack it in special packaging and place it in the waste disposal facilities for each type of waste.

The licence enables SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant to remove radioactive waste and radionuclide-contaminated structures and soil from the Maišiagala RW storage facility. The removed waste will be sorted and shipped to the Ignalina NPP radioactive waste management facilities (Visaginas municipality, Drūkšinių village), where it will be treated and stored in suitable storage facilities near the Ignalina NPP and later placed in repositories. After decommissioning of Maišiagala RW storage facility, it will be possible to use a site for other activities without any restrictions.

Applicant information
 
State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, company code 255450080, registered address Elektrinės str. 4, K47 Drūkšinių vil., 31152 Visaginas mun., Republic of Lithuania, Tel. No.: (8 386) 28 985, Fax. No. (8 386) 24 396, e-mail: iae(at)iae.lt

The State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) reviewed an application submitted by the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant on 15 January 2020 and on 1 April 2022 was issued a permit for transportation of radioactive waste to the Very low level radioactive waste repository constructed in accordance with technical project No. 7930/1 (Very Low Radioactive Waste Repository) and for the first testing of nuclear fuel cycle materials in this repository:

  •  The order of the head of VATESI regarding the decision to issue a permit for transportation of radioactive waste to the Very low level radioactive waste repository constructed in accordance with technical project No. 7930/1 (Very Low Radioactive Waste Repository) and for the first testing of the nuclear fuel cycle materials in this repository;

  •  The VATESI permit transportation of radioactive waste to the Very low level radioactive waste repository constructed in accordance with technical project No. 7930/1 (Very Low Radioactive Waste Repository) and for the first testing of the nuclear fuel cycle materials in this repository.

After the assessment of SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant submitted documents, VATESI came to conclusion that the planned activities – transportation of radioactive waste to the repository and conduction tests of the repository systems – comply with the nuclear, radiation and physical security requirements and employees, public and environment will be protected against radiation risks.

Summary information on the planned activities in the Very Low Radioactive Waste Repository (hereinafter - the Repository) and the review of safety assessment performed by VATESI is provided in the Summary of the Safety Review and Assessment of the Documents Justifying the Safety of the Repository.

Stakeholders were invited to review the draft decision and licence application documents and submit their proposals as well. One proposal was received within the term of familiarization and submission of proposals established in the Law on Nuclear Safety. Reply to the proposal was presented (See The Summary of the Safety Review and Assessment of the Documents Justifying the Safety of the Repository).

Information about the nuclear facility

Radioactive waste repository is a radioactive waste management facility for emplacement of waste with no intention of retrieving it in the future. Very low radioactive waste repository can hold up to 60,000 m³ of waste.

SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant plans to place waste in the repository until 2038, then repository will be closed. After the closure of the repository, it will be maintained for 100 years: 30 years of active repository surveillance (radiological and environmental monitoring, physical security) and for next 70 years will remain restriction on land use near repository (passive maintenance).

The permit will enable SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant to verify under real conditions that all equipment and repository systems comply with the technical design and nuclear safety requirements, that proper instructions and procedures are in place and staff are trained to operate the repository safely. For this purpose, SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant plans to place the waste accumulated in the radioactive waste buffer storage facility at the site of the Ignalina NPP – it will be transported to the site of the repository and disposed off in the repository. Transportation of radioactive waste and first testing of the nuclear fuel cycle materials are necessary before the industrial operation of the repository and it will be carried out in accordance with the VATESI approved repository commissioning program.

Applicant information

State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, company code 255450080, registered address Elektrinės str. 4, K47 Drūkšinių vil., 31152 Visaginas mun., Republic of Lithuania, Tel. No.: (8 386) 28 985, Fax. No. (8 386) 24 396, email: iae(at)iae.lt

State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) completed to review request of the State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant to approve the site safety evaluation report for planned Bituminous radioactive waste disposal site and made final decision to approve it:

• The order of the head of VATESI regarding the decision to approve site evaluation report for upgrading of Bituminous radioactive waste storage facility

After the assessment of SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant submitted Report, VATESI came to conclusion that the characteristics of the construction site of the planned landfill comply with the nuclear, radiation and physical security requirements and employees, public and environment will be protected against radiation risks.

Summarized information about the planned upgrade of the storage facility and reconstruction into a waste disposal site, as well as the the safety assessment of this planned activity carried out by VATESI is provided in the Summary of the safety review and assessment of the evaluation report of the bituminous radioactive waste disposal site of the Ignalina nuclear power plant.

Puplic and other stakeholders were invited to review the draft decision and related documents and submit their proposals as well. No proposals were received from the stakeholders within the three months term of familiarization and submission of proposals established in the Law on Nuclear Safety.

Information about the planned reconstruction of Bituminous radioactive waste storage

Bituminised radioactive waste storage facility is in the SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant north-west part of the territory and dedicated to store bituminised short-lived low level radioactive waste, which should be disposed in the near surface disposal facility. Currently in the facility are stored 14422 cubic metres of radioactive waste.

SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is planning bituminised radioactive waste storage facility reconstruction, which is tasked to strengthen building constructions, to install additional engineering barriers and to cover current storage facility with various size hydro-isolated and protected ground layers also to install additional organisational and technical measures, which apply to disposal facility safety requirements.

Applicant information

State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, company code 255450080, registered address Elektrinės str. 4, K47 Drūkšinių vil., 31152 Visaginas mun., Republic of Lithuania, Tel. No.: (8 386) 28 985, Fax. No. (8 386) 24 396, email: iae(at)iae.lt.

Updated 11-04-2023