[en] Description of radioactive waste and principles of their management in Lithuania is presented. Information on the requirements of management of radioactive waste is provided. Legislation regulating management of radioactive waste is listed

[en] Lithuania operates the Ignalina nuclear power plant (INPP), which contains two Units with RBMK-1500 type reactors (thermal power output - 4200 MW, electrical power capacity - 1500 MW). The first Unit of the INPP went into operation at the end of 1983, the second Unit in August 1987. INPP produces approximately 80 % of the total electricity consumed in Lithuania. Following the decision taken by the Government of Lithuania, Unit 1 of INPP was shut down at the end of 2004. Unit 2 is planned to be shut down in 2009. Due to the unique and complex design of the plant, the decommissioning of the INPP is a real challenge both for the operator and regulatory authorities. The preparation for decommissioning of the INPP started in 1999. According to the Law on Radiation Protection, the Radiation Protection Centre is in charge of drafting laws and other legal documents, drafting and presentation to the Government of principles of state strategy in radiation protection, registry and regulatory control of safety of radioactive sources, licensing of practices and organising the state supervision and control of compliance with radiation protection requirements. Generally, the decommissioning measures are reflected in decommissioning planning documents - Ignalina NPP Final Decommissioning Plan. Detailed work procedures (including planned exposures) will be provided in separate decommissioning and dismantling projects (developed for particular decommissioning phases), associated safety analysis reports and other documents. According to Lithuanian radiation protection regulations, the operator shall establish a decommissioning Radiation Protection Programme (RPP) to protect workers, the general public and the environment against hazardous influence of ionizing radiation during INPP decommissioning. (author)

[en] The national policy for control of radioactive sources and radioactive waste from non-power applications is discussed in the paper. The Radiation Protection Centre is the regulatory authority responsible for the radiation protection of the public and of workers using sources of ionizing radiation in Lithuania. One of its responsibilities is the control of radioactive sources from the beginning of their 'life cycle', when they are imported, used, transported and placed as disused into the radioactive waste storage facilities. For the proper implementation of this task, an authorisation system and appropriate radiation protection infrastructure was established in Lithuania. It allows for the control of activities with radioactive sources and radioactive waste in an effective manner. (author)

[en] Lithuania has a long standing nuclear energy history. The country is the host of the Ignalina NPP consisting of two RBMK-1500 reactors (a type of boiling water reactor developed by the Soviet Union) located in Visaginas, Lithuania. Ignalina NPP (INPP) Unit 1 came online in December 1983 and Unit 2 was completed in 1987. Lithuania agreed to close the Ignalina NPP as part of its Accession Treaty to the European Union of 2003, as the Ignalina NPP design shares similarities with the Chernobyl NPP. Unit 1 was closed in December 2004 and Unit 2 was closed on 31 December 2009. Around 80% of electricity production in Lithuania in 2009 came from Unit 2 of the INPP. However, following the closure of the Ignalina NPP, Lithuanian electricity net import was 62% of the entire electricity demand in 2010 and 59%32 in 2011. To meet its energy needs following the INPP’s closure, in the absence of a new nuclear power plant, Lithuania relies on a combination of imported electricity, predominantly from interconnections with the UPS/IPS network, and power from alternative domestic generation facilities, which are predominantly fossil plants reliant on gas or oil imports from other countries

[en] Lithuania has few nuclear facilities. There are two non-upgradable nuclear reactors of RBMK-1500 series [light water-cooled graphite-moderated channel type reactors, LWGR (RBMK)]. Also one on-site dry spent nuclear fuel interim storage facility is located at Ignalina NPP. All these facilities are located in the north-eastern part of Lithuania, near the borders with Belarus and Latvia, 160 km distance from the capital city Vilnius, on the banks of the lake Druksiai. The first Unit of Ignalina NPP went into operation at the end of 1983, the second Unit in August 1987. Lithuania signed a Nuclear Safety Grant Agreement in 1994 stating, inter alfa, the commitment of the Republic of Lithuania to close both units of the Ignalina NPP at the time of so called 'gap closure' and therefore not to use the designed technical lifetime of the reactor units by re-channeling the fuel channels. The decision to shut down the Unit 1 is already taken by law, and it is planned to stop the Unit 1 before the 1 January 2005. in November 2002 the Government of Lithuania adopted the decision which states that preferred option for the decommissioning of Unit 1 is the immediate dismantling. It means that the process of dismantling of the Unit 1 will start right after shutdown of the reactor and the process will continue at least for 30 years. From the radiological point of view, this process can be treated as big extended outage of the unit with constantly changing working environment that might cause high individual and collective doses to the workers. The draft of the Final. Decommissioning Plan, as a part of the licensing requirements needed to start the decommissioning process, already exists. It has been preliminary estimated by the operator that during immediate dismantling of the Unit 1, the total exposure approximately will result in 35 manSv. Due to unique construction, the occupational exposure results for the reactors of RBMK (LWGR) type are one of the highest if comparing with reactors of other types. The outages of both units each year usually last 2-4 months. The main 'contributors' to the annual collective dose are the annual outages of the units. Keeping the occupational exposure in accordance with legal requirements, the operator needs to establish an effective radiological work management programme during the outage periods, which shall serve as a part of the radiation protection programme. Both legal requirements and practical experiences applied at Ignalina NPP related to radiological work management aspects influencing close reduction during outages and radiation protection measures planned to be applied during coming decommissioning of both units is discussed in the paper. (author)

[en] Lithuania has one nuclear power plant - Ignalina NPP, which contains two RBMK-1500 reactors (actual thermal power output - 4 200 MW, electrical power capacity - 1 500 MW). The First Unit of Ignalina NPP went into operation at the end of 1983, the second Unit in August 1987. Alter Lithuania regained it's independence in 1990, because of changed political thinking, when old standards have been replaced by national, constantly the 'new' thinking is being implemented. This is also happened in the field of radiation protection. A number of new laws, Government Resolutions, regulatory documents (Hygiene Standards and Orders of Ministers) have been established which forms the legal basis for radiation protection in Lithuania. It shall be considered that one of tools which allows to keep the national radiation protection requirements in accordance with international standards, is the harmonization of national legislation with the international requirements and recommendations. The radiation protection requirements set out by the relevant Lithuanian radiation protection legislation directly related to nuclear facilities are presented in the paper. (authors)

[en] The paper presents the overview of the emissions of the radioactive substances into the atmosphere and Druksiai lake from the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) (Lithuania) during 1984-2002. The paper also covers the estimated annual doses to the critical group of population in 2002. According to the legal acts of Lithuania, the public exposure from all controlled practices (excluding natural background radiation and medical exposure) shall not exceed 1 mSv per year and the annual dose constraint to the general public due to operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities - 0.2 mSv. The results of the paper reflect the situation which shows that public annual exposure due to operation of INPP in 2002 has not exceeded annual dose constraint. (author)

[en] According to the Law on Radiation Protection of the Republic of Lithuania (passed in 1999), the Radiation Protection Centre of the Ministry of Health is the regulatory authority responsible for the radiation protection of public and of workers using sources of ionizing radiation in Lithuania. One of its responsibilities is the control of radioactive sources from the beginning of their 'life cycle', when they are imported in, used, transported and placed as spent into the radioactive waste storage facilities. For the effective control of sources there is national authorization system (notification- registration-licensing) based on the international requirements and recommendations introduced, which also includes keeping and maintaining the Register of Sources, controlling and investigating events while illegally carrying on or in possession of radioactive material, decision making and performing the state radiation protection supervision and control of users of radioactive sources, controlling, within the limits of competence, the radioactive waste management activities in nuclear and non-nuclear power applications. According to the requirements set out in the Law on Radiation Protection and the Government Resolution 'On Establishment of the State Register of the Sources of Ionizing Radiation and Exposure of Workers' (1999) and supplementary legal acts, all licence-holders conducting their activities with sources of ionizing radiation have to present all necessary data to the State Register after annual inventory of sources, after installation of new sources, after decommissioning of sources, after disposal of spent sources, after finishing the activities with the generators of ionizing radiation. The information to the Radiation Protection Centre has to be presented every week from the Customs Department of the Ministry of Finance about all sources of ionizing radiation imported to or exported from Lithuania and the information about the companies performed these procedures. The State Register of Sources of Ionizing Radiation is managed in local software, based on the FOX PRO database system. The software provides to print out various kinds of reports about the sources - couple of options are available to investigate the 'source's life'. The RAIS (Regulatory Authority Information System), version 2.0, provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is now under examination and after necessary changes it will be translated into Lithuanian language and adopted to the local conditions. Improving the system, the database on spent sealed radioactive sources will be also included that will allow to have clear and objective information about the sources disused or sources sent for disposal. The principal users of sources of ionizing radiation in non-power applications in Lithuania can be split up into different categories, namely: industry, hospitals, research institutions and others (i.e. museums, libraries). Radioactive waste generated during the use of sources of ionizing radiation (excluding those generated in the nuclear fuel cycle) shall be managed according to the basic radioactive waste management principles and requirements set out in the Law on the Management of Radioactive Waste and in the Lithuanian Hygiene Standard HN 89:2001 'Management of Radioactive Waste', approved by the Minister of Health in 2001. There are requirements for the local waste management (at users' premises) established. Detailed requirements for the management of solid (including spent sealed sources), liquid, gaseous radioactive waste are established, basic requirements for the temporary radioactive waste management facilities, located at users' premises, are set out. There shall be three options for the management of radioactive waste generated during the licensed practice applied: waste below clearance levels shall be managed as ordinary waste or disposed of to environment; waste containing short lived radionuclides (with half-life less than 100 days) shall be stored at user's premises until the clearance levels will be reached and disposed of to environment; if the above mentioned conditions are not met, radioactive waste shall be transported to the interim radioactive waste storage facility

[en] Lithuania has one nuclear power plant - Ignalina NPP, which contains two RBMK-1500 reactors (actual thermal power output - 4200 MW, electrical power capacity - 1500 MW). The first Unit of Ignalina NPP went into operation at the end of 1983, the second Unit in August 1987. Due to unique construction, the occupational exposure results for the reactors of RBMK type are one of the highest if comparing with reactors of other types. According to requirements set out in the Lithuanian Hygiene Standard HN 87:2001 'Radiation Protection in Nuclear Power Plant', the radiation protection programme shall be established at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, where a set of measures shall be implemented in order to protect workers from the negative impact which may cause the ionizing radiation. Legal requirements set out by the Lithuanian Hygiene Standard HN 87:2001 'Radiation Protection in Nuclear Power Plant', requirements for the radiation protection programme at the Ignalina NPP and it's practical implementation is discussed in the paper. (author)

[en] The Lithuanian Hygiene Standard HN 83:1998 'Radiation Protection of Outside Workers' (1998), that is based on requirements set out in the Law on Radiation Protection of the Republic of Lithuania (No. VIII-1190 of 12 January 1999), and other legal acts, establishes the radiation protection requirements for contractors (hereinafter - outside workers) when they are performing their activities within the controlled areas. The principal requirement of the Lithuanian Hygiene Standard HN 83:1998 is that the radiation protection of outside workers shall be at the same scale as of permanent workers. One of crucial points for ensuring the high radiological safety culture between the license holder, employer and outside workers is the clear allocation of tasks and distribution of' responsibilities in the field of radiation protection. The basic requirements for radiation protection of outside workers and main factors that help to enhance the radiological safety culture within Ignalina NPP and outside workers are discussed in the paper. (authors)