Lithuania to Be First in World to Tackle Complex Nuclear Reactor Dismantling Project

Lithuania is embarking on a groundbreaking and highly complex project to dismantle the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, which has been shut down since 2010. This ambitious endeavor involves decommissioning approximately 84,000 tons of equipment and structures, with the most critical phase being the removal of the two reactor cores.

The total budget for the project is around €4.5 billion, with the European Union providing 86% of the funding and the Lithuanian state budget covering the rest. While half of the work is complete, the most challenging part, dismantling the reactor cores, is set to begin. A tender has been announced for this process, which is expected to take about 16 years.

This undertaking is significant as Lithuania aims to be the first country in the world to dismantle reactors of this specific graphite-moderated type. "We can confidently say that we will be the first in the world to start doing this, because no one has ever dismantled reactors of this type," stated Linas Baužys, head of the "Altra" company involved in the project.

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We can confidently say that we will be the first in the world to start doing this, because no one has ever dismantled reactors of this type.

To manage the high radiation levels and complexity, specialized tools and remote-controlled robots will be developed and utilized. "This will no longer be manual labor, where saws are used and people lift with their hands. It will likely be a huge metal structure where everything is controlled remotely, certainly not from this hall, but from adjacent premises," explained Baužys.

In addition to the reactor cores, the plant will also decommission steam drum-separators, a process costing €50 million and handled by the U.S. energy company Westinghouse. The project also involves processing accumulated waste, sorting it, measuring radioactivity, and determining its fate, whether it can be recycled as secondary raw material or must be buried. "Altra" estimates that up to 75% of the approximately 180,000 tons of metal at the plant can be sold as recycled material.

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This will no longer be manual labor, where saws are used and people lift with their hands. It will likely be a huge metal structure where everything is controlled remotely, certainly not from this hall, but from adjacent premises.