Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant reported on Jan. 15 that 30,358 tons of equipment and related structures have been dismantled at the facility, where decommissioning is expected to wrap up in 2038. Final plans call for the dismantling of nearly 130,000 tons of equipment and related structures.
The larger dismantled equipment is being auctioned off as scrap metal, while the remaining material will be stored in buffer storage and then moved to landfills for long-term storage. According to World Nuclear News, cold testing, one of the early stages in the decommissioning process, has begun at the Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility for units 1 and 2 of the power plant. Cold testing is a process for testing equipment and operational systems without the use of radioactive waste.
As part of its accession agreement to the European Union in the 2000s, Lithuania shut down units 1 and 2 at Ignalia. Unit 1 operated from 1983-2004, while unit 2 operated from 1987-2009.