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In Lithuania: how to dismantle an atomic reactor |
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Closing a nuclear power plant is not as simple as turning off the reactor, locking the building and throwing away the key. In effect, it is an operation almost as complex as starting the generation of nuclear power. In Lithuania, the EBRD’s nuclear safety department is helping the national government and international donors both with decommissioning the huge Ignalina reactor complex and with boosting alternate sources of energy supply. Ignalina is not in Ignalina. From the town of 7,000 people in the far north-east of Lithuania it is another 45 minutes drive to get to one of Europe's best-known nuclear power plants. Dense forests shape the thinly populated landscape. Long before reaching the plant, the road widens and the silver ribbon of a brand new district heating pipeline guides the visitor to the giant plant. Built between 1972 and 1983, Ignalina was equipped with two of the most powerful nuclear reactors in the world: RBMK-1500 water-cooled graphite-moderated channel-type power reactors. The RBMK-1500 reactor has a maximum thermal power output of 4,800 megawatts and an electrical power capacity of 1,500 MW. Plans for a third reactor were abandoned after the Chernobyl accident in April 1986. Nevertheless, at its peak the plant produced more than 80 per cent of Lithuania's electricity and 70 per cent of all the energy consumed in the Baltic states. Not for very much longer, though. Acknowledging international concerns about the safety of the RBMK reactor (the type that was also used in Chernobyl), Lithuania committed itself to close Unit 1 by 2005 and Unit 2 in 2009 before it became a member of the European Union. Subsequently, Unit 1 was closed in December 2004, while Unit 2 is still operating at full capacity. Nuclear decommissioning requires comprehensive planning, engineering and licensing; the construction of pre-decommissioning facilities for safe management and storage of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; phased dismantling of contaminated and activated systems and buildings and, finally, site restoration. Promoting nuclear safety It is here that the EBRD's nuclear safety department plays a key role by managing the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund, set up by the European Community together with 10 European countries in 2001. This is a huge task. "I am fascinated by the complexity of the whole project," said Gunter Grabia who oversees the decommissioning of Ignalina on behalf of the Bank, as he ambled around the enormous premises of the power plant. Together with (almost) half the Lithuanian government, numerous local dignitaries and plant director Victor Shevaldin, he was in Ignalina in early 2006 at the opening of a new steam boiler station. Fuelled by natural gas and more efficient than older boilers, it will help replace some of the power lost by closing the nuclear units Mr Grabia clearly feels at home at the plant: "I have been working with the EBRD's nuclear safety department for 13 years and am now focusing entirely on Lithuania. Having overcome so many challenges together, it is only natural that we should have forged close personal relationships. This challenge has become very dear to me. We are involved in everything from fund management to procurement and the final acceptance of every single sub-project. But it is clear that good results can only be achieved by a good team effort." Costing €6 million, the steam boiler will provide energy for the decommissioning process and is one of many small initiatives that have to be in place to complete the project. Total costs of the Ignalina decommissioning are estimated to be up to €1 billion, with final closure not expected before 2025. "We are proceeding according to a very detailed plan, which has clear priorities, but also has to be flexible," says Mr Grabia. "That's a big challenge." Handling nuclear waste A major step forward was the signing, before the end of 2005, of a €213 million contract for the design and construction of a turnkey interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility and treatment centre for solid radioactive waste. The contract also involves a substantial number of Lithuanian sub-contractors, providing both jobs and local economic development. The two facilities are expected to start operations in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Given Ignalina's importance for Lithuania's power supply, preparations are already under way to build up new resources by modernising existing power plants. The Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund is providing a €90 million grant for the environmental and technical upgrading of the Lithuanian Power Plant. With a capacity of 1,800 MW the multi-fuel plant, situated in the town of Elektrenai, will become the main generator of electricity in Lithuania after Ignalina closes. Commented Mr Shevaldin: “The EBRD and Lithuania have developed a strong partnership in the financing and implementation of projects supporting Lithuania’s needs in the light of the closure and decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Now we are beginning to see the first tangible results of these projects. I am confident that with the continued efficient support from the EBRD managed Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund we will establish a benchmark for the safe and cost-effective decommissioning of nuclear power plants with RBMK reactors.” Locals unhappy with closure Despite all these efforts it is apparent that people in Ignalina are not happy with the closure of "their" nuclear power plant. In a region with unemployment of more than 20 per cent it will, on top of everything else, result in the loss of several thousand jobs. Jonas Pondzius, an engineer who has been working in Ignalina for 20 years, says: "I am not happy about this. We did not decide to close down the plant. It was the politicians who did it." Social programmes are being developed by the government with EU support to provide a safety net, and the decommissioning operations are also creating new labour opportunities. And people do accept that their country has committed itself to the closure irrevocably although Ignalina had been designed for 30 years of operations. Dinosaurs apparently die hard – especially when they are still young. Written by EBRD Press Officer Axel Reiserer.
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1 March 2006 |
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