At the end of year-long complaints and appeals, the entrepreneurs who will design the decommissioning of the Salaspils nuclear reactor, the cemetery for nuclear waste and calculate the possible costs have finally been identified. While Latvia has been filling paperwork for years, Lithuania has gone incomparably further in the decommissioning of its nuclear power plant.
In terms of size, both objects are incomparable. In Salaspils it is a small reactor for scientific needs, in Ignalina - a huge nuclear power plant with two reactors. The Salaspils nuclear reactor was shut down in 1995, the Ignalina NPP only on December 31, 2009. Safe disposal of both nuclear facilities has been promised for the whole world, the European Commission, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Lithuanians are fulfilling their promises, even ahead of schedule. It is reported on the website of Ignalina NPP that all fuel has been removed from the first power unit, works are ongoing in the second unit. The construction of a landfill for low-level radioactive waste has been completed. Nuclear reactor property - scrap metal and electronics - have been sold in 60 auctions. Meanwhile, nothing has been happening in Salaspils for years, apart from a couple of dangerous security incidents and their prevention. It is good that at least the security has not been removed.
In accordance with the 2004 Cabinet of Ministers' order No. 958 “On the Concept of Decommissioning and Dismantling the Salaspils Nuclear Reactor”, 2010 was set as the first deadline for completion of the decommissioning. After that, the concept was changed again and again, and the deadlines for starting work were postponed again and again. Although the money was regularly set aside, it was allocated for purposes completely unrelated to the decommissioning of the reactor. For example, to compensate rural entrepreneurs for the disturbance to farming caused by the presence of birds, bears and valuable habitats on their property. When the State Audit Office last year audited the neverending story of the Salaspils nuclear reactor decommissioning and found this state-level irresponsibility, the State Comptroller Elita Krūmiņa concluded: “It is difficult to find an explanation for this, and we can only hope that we will not reach a large-scale environmental catastrophe for which the price will be much higher."
The harsh audit findings shook up the responsible liquidators of the nuclear reactor - the state SIA Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, and the Government of the Republic of Latvia. At least the money needed to design the liquidation work has been allocated, and this time there is reason to hope that it will not be wasted on watching birds or giving gifts to farmers. It will indeed be invested in the decommissioning process. For the time being, only in paperwork, and there is reason to be worried about their course, because a similar work model was chosen in the tender as originally in the Inčukalns tar pond project, and it was not very successful. A local general contractor who understands little to nothing of the work to be performed, and a foreign subcontractor with extensive experience. Such a combination did not work in the tar ponds, we will see what will happen in the case of Salaspils.
An agreement on the research of the Salaspils nuclear reactor, development of a construction project for its decommissioning, dismantling and authors' supervision has been concluded with the Daugavpils company SIA REM PRO. It also has offices in Riga and Moscow. The total cost of the contract is 2,188,884 euros. REM PRO has attracted as subcontractors companies with experience in decommissioning and dismantling works at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, both private companies and Lithuanian state-owned companies: UAB Tecos, state research institute Physical and Technological Science Center, state-owned company Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, as well as Finnish company Oy Sweco Rakennetekniikka, which has experience in the development of large-scale construction projects.
A lot of subordinates, we can only hope that the general will know how to coordinate the work so that everyone does not start fighting each other.
The representative of the commissioner - Anta Jantone, the head of the Information Analysis Department of the LEGMC, says that the first meeting with the designers seemed hopeful, but, of course, successful progress will require strict supervision, good cooperation and luck would also come in handy. Why do the main designers take part as subordinates? Because in the open tender the applicants have chosen the way to take part. In this case, the required experience is provided by the subordinates. Two years have been set aside for the development of the construction project.
In turn, the project for the expansion of the radioactive waste storage facility Radons must be ready within a year.
If the Salaspils reactor will be torn down, the radioactive waste will have to be placed somewhere immediately. You can't just stack them in a pile and then start figuring out where to put them. The construction project for the construction of a new radioactive waste container and long-term storage facility will be made by the association of persons GCA, the members of which are two domestic companies: SIA Geo Consultants and SIA Aqua-Brambis. The total cost of the contract, including authors' supervision, is 380,000 euros. When everything is designed, the workers must tell how much it will cost to decommission and safely dispose of the Salaspils nuclear reactor. Only then will the government think about where to get the money - what funds to apply for. Over the years, various amounts have been called, from a couple tens of millions of euros to hundreds of millions. Therefore, it is a very important part of the task - to figure out the real costs. In addition, with several options - if only one reactor building is removed or if the administrative building is also removed. The possibility of cleaning the entire territory of the Salaspils reactor, meaning - complete demolition of the entire territory - is no longer being considered. Too expensive.
In any case, the decommissioning of the Salaspils nuclear reactor will be a project for many years to come, and Lithuanians are far ahead of us with their decommissioning of the Ignalina power plant.