From 22 to 24 September 2026, a scientific event on the liquid radioactive waste management with a vacuum evaporation facility took place as a part of IAEA scientific visit programme at the ALTRA (Ignalina NPP, INPP) in Lithuania.
The SSE “Chornobyl NPP” specialists took part in this event: Deputy Technical Director (for RW Management) Oleksandr Skomarokhov, Head of the Integrated Radioactive Materials Management Department Oleksii Myasnikov, Head of the Water and Radiochemical Measurement Laboratory of the Integrated Radioactive Materials Management Department Anatolii Terzi, Lead Process Engineer for Water Treatment of the Radioactive Waste Management Department Andrii Kyshman, 1st Category Process Engineer for Water Treatment of the RWMD Valerii Pyrog, Lead Radiological Engineer of the Radioactive Materials Release Group of the Radiation Safety Department Tetiana Tymoshenko.
The Ukrainian delegation was provided with detailed information on the Ignalina NPP experience in the implementation and installation of a vacuum evaporation facility for liquid radioactive waste treatment, which would be useful for the ChNPP specialists involved in a similar project. The specialists covered all stages of the facility operation in detail: from installation and safety justification to actual operation.
“At the Ignalina NPP, a vacuum evaporation facility, similar to the one that will be used at the ChNPP, is currently at the commissioning stage. It was very important for us to gain the experience and knowledge that the Lithuanian specialists have acquired to date. We had an opportunity to see the equipment and communicate with the specialists who have been involved in the project and are currently carrying out commissioning work,” said Oleksandr Skomarokhov.
The programme included presentations and discussions on the ongoing status of the Ignalina NPP decommissioning projects, the experience gained and lessons learned, the decontamination methods, the generation of waste streams and practical approaches to their treatment. Particular attention was paid to the methods and procedures for releasing radioactive materials from the regulatory control.
“The Lithuanians have purchased a new facility for radioactive materials release. They are currently dismantling metal in the turbine hall. However, they are releasing not only metal but also concrete. Almost the entire foundation of the first turbogenerator has already been dismantled: this concrete is being cleaned of the surface contamination, crushed and used, for example, in roads construction,” said Oleksandr Skomarokhov.
The Ukrainian specialists, for their part, shared their experience with their Lithuanian colleagues on ensuring the security of the nuclear facility in wartime conditions.
During the technical visits to the Ignalina NPP sites, specifically to Building 150, the turbine hall, B10 free-release facility and Building 159, the participants observed the equipment and technologies in operation, communicated with ALTRA specialists and received answers to their technical questions. They also discussed technologies for reactor channels dismantling, strategies on irradiated graphite management, and waste generation during the dismantling of reactor R1 and R2 zones. The three-day visit programme was completed in full.
The parties agreed to continue sharing technical information and practical experience within the framework of the existing technical cooperation between ALTRA and the ChNPP. As both Ignalina and Chornobyl NPPs use RBMK-type reactors, the decommissioning experience gained in Lithuania over more than two decades is extremely valuable to the Ukrainian specialists. The cooperation between two NPP staff has been ongoing for many years: visits to Visaginas, near which the Ignalina NPP is located, took place in 2019, 2020 and 2024, and Altra specialists also provide technical advice on various issues related to decommissioning.