Solid Waste Management and Storage Facilities (B234)

NUKEM was awarded a contract by the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant to deliver a waste treatment centre for solid radioactive waste on a turn-key basis.

Radioactive waste generated during operation of Ignalina Units 1 and 2 used to be stored at the NPP site. As part of the decommissioning effort, the waste is supposed to be processed at the new facilities for waste retrieval and treatment. The project consists of three parts:

• Waste retrieval and sorting facility for various types of solid low, intermediate and high level waste to be retrieved from the existing storage buildings (project B2),
• Waste conditioning facility equipped with state-of-the-art sorting, characterisation, treatment and storage systems, safety systems and process infrastructure for the new buildings (project B3),
• Storage facility for short-lived waste and a separate storage facility for non-conditioned (only sorted) high level and long-lived waste (project B4) with storage capacity of 120,000m3.

The decommissioning effort and construction of the new solid waste treatment and storage facilities are funded by the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund (IIDSF) managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The IIDSF is financially supported by the European Community, specifically by Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Norway and Switzerland.

The contact covers engineering design of the entire facility, preparation of the licensing package, support of the end user in securing construction and operational permits, construction of the building and its infrastructure and support during the commissioning.

NUKEM is responsible for construction of the building, including its infrastructure, supply and installation of the process equipment, including all necessary safety systems and equipment for characterisation of radioactive waste.