Interim Storage Facility at Ignalina NPP in Lithuania Licensed for Operation

On 20 September 2016, the Nuclear Safety Inspectorate of Lithuania (VATESI) granted an operating license for the interim storage facility for spent fuel (ISFSF) at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. This operating licence is a major step towards the decommissioning of Ignalina NPP.

The interim storage facility, including equipment components and CONSTOR RBMK 1500/M2 casks, was designed and constructed on a turn-key basis specially for the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant by a consortium consisting of GNS Gesellschaft f?r Nuklear-Service mbH and NUKEM Technologies GmbH. The interim storage facility is located in the immediate vicinity of the plant. This facility will provide for a safe storage of the spent fuel rods from both of the RBMK reactors for next 50 years.

The operating license secured as a result of the successful performance of GNS – NUKEM consortium marks an important milestone in the decommissioning process and lays a solid foundation for subsequent dismantling activities at the Ignalina NPP. The Project is financially supported by the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund, which is managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).