Ignalina decommissioning advances to unit 2 in historic nuclear cleanup

Ignalina is forcing Europe to dismantle a two-unit RBMK-1500 station with no true template, and the work has now advanced to unit 2. Altra says the shift is possible because its crews have already dismantled two-thirds of unit 1 on their own, even though the most radiation-hazardous work on the first reactor still has to be finished by outside contractors.

The plant in Visaginas Municipality, Lithuania, was once one of the country’s power pillars, supplying about 70% of electricity demand and roughly a quarter of generating capacity. Lithuania agreed to close Ignalina as part of its EU accession commitments because of the reactor’s Chernobyl-like RBMK design and the lack of robust containment. Unit 1 was shut down on December 31, 2004, and unit 2 followed on December 31, 2009.

The cleanup is being carried out under a major international financing structure. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development administers the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund, backed by the European Union and 14 European governments, while the European Commission has proposed continuing EU co-financing in the 2028-2034 period. The commission says the support is meant to bolster nuclear safety, protect workers and the public, and prevent environmental damage.

A key milestone came in April 2022, when the last spent nuclear fuel was removed from the reactors. That cleared the way for the harder dismantling and waste-handling phases that now dominate the schedule. A June 2024 programme overview said unit 1 had reached 44% completion of its total dismantling mass in the reactor’s R1 and R2 zones, with 635 of 2,052 channels dismantled and channel work forecast to finish by mid-2026. The same overview said unit 2 had already seen 17% of its total dismantling mass completed in preparatory work, while the APW in unit 2 was being installed with commissioning forecast for the end of 2025.

Regulatory momentum has also picked up. VATESI issued a permit for dismantling and decontamination work on the upper and lower zone equipment of unit 2 reactor channels after unit 1’s reactor channels were dismantled, marking the fourth permit it has issued since the decommissioning licence in October 2024. The work covers steam-water discharge piping at the top of the reactor, water supply piping at the bottom, fuel channels, reactor control and safety channels, and initial radioactive-waste treatment.

Altra plans to begin dismantling unit 2 at the end of 2026. Final dismantling of the reactors is expected by 2043, and all decommissioning-related work by 2050, turning Ignalina into a decades-long industrial program and a preview of the burden facing other aging reactor fleets.