The main construction work for the solid radioactive waste treatment and storage facility being built at the Ignalina NPP in Lithuania has been completed, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on 23 May.

The two Soviet RBMK units at Ignalina were shut down in line with requirements for Lithuania’s membership of the EU and are undergoing decommissioning. Ignalina 1 was shut down in December 2004 and Ignalina 2 in December 2009.

Cold testing of the equipment for the facility has also been completed, with hot equipment testing scheduled for June, a statement said. The storage is scheduled for commercial operation in November 2018, subject to a licensing process by Lithuanian authorities, Rosatom said.

The new facility, which was developed by Germany-based Nukem Technologies, a subsidiary of Rosatom’s international export wing, Atomstroyexport, will treat solid radioactive waste that was produced before the final shutdown of unit 2.

In October 2016, an interim spent fuel storage facility was opened at Ignalina to support the ongoing decommissioning and dismantling efforts onsite. Rosatom said the newly built facility will receive radioactive waste from the existing temporary storage facilities. According to Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, the new storage facility project is currently valued at €187m ($210m).

Photo: Ignalina NPP