Press release, 24 February 2014
Lithuania has made real progress in decommissioning Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (PP), ensuring process safety and organising spent nuclear fuel storage. This was stated during the meeting of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs where an independent study titled Nuclear decommissioning: Management of costs and risks ordered by the Budgetary Control Committee of the European Parliament was presented to its members.
Representatives of the European Commission and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have given a positive evaluation to Lithuania’s progress at the Assembly of Donors held on 14 June 2013. They acknowledged that all the requirements related to the suspension of project funding in January 2013 had been fulfilled and, consequently, the EBRD renewed financing in July 2013.
Gediminas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chair of the Committee highlighted that “the Committee on European Affairs will continue to take interest in the activities of safe decommissioning of Ignalina NPP and carry out consistent parliamentary control of the process. Even though it still remains a big challenge for Lithuania, I believe we will manage to cope with it.”
Both Ignalina NPP reactors have been shut and are currently in safe management phase. The spent fuel has been fully defueled from the first reactor to storage pools. On 1 February 2011, defueling of spent nuclear fuel from the second power plant reactor and its transfer to the pools was started.
Construction of the new temporary spent nuclear fuel storage is due to be finished by 2017. The work carried out before 1 February 2014 accounted for 64 per cent of the total project activities. The solid radioactive waste management and storage complex should be completed by 2018 respectively.
The goal is to implement the decommissioning projects effectively and in a transparent manner while retaining key personnel; to perform the work by using local resources and making the most of the knowledge and skills of employees, at the same time providing them with an opportunity to acquire fresh unique experience.
In the meanwhile, the abovementioned study of management of costs and risks, which offers a comparison of nuclear power plant decommissioning projects in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania with the corresponding practise in France, the United Kingdom and Germany, gives a critical assessment to the situation in the three post-communist countries.
On the other hand, the study itself is viewed as inaccurate, outdated and not corresponding to reality. This is the opinion expressed by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EBRD. The EC representatives have noted that neither the specific context of the three countries has been taken into account by the authors nor the fact that decommissioning of the nuclear power plants was merely a political decision. The EBRD also pointed to the prevalence of numerous factual mistakes and indicated that at some points the study may be seen as insulting to the member states.
Danutė Budreikaitė, Adviser to the Committee on European Affairs, tel. +370 5 239 6727, e-mail: Danute.Budreikaite@lrs.lt
Morta Vidūnaitė, Adviser to Gediminas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, tel: +370 5 239 6278, mob. +370 612 01121, e-mail: Morta.Vidunaite@lrs.lt
