VATESI revoked the license for the decommissioning of the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility
On April 16, 2026 the State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) decided to revoke the license for the decommissioning of the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility located in the Širvintos district.
“It is the first nuclear facility in Lithuania—a former radioactive waste storage facility—for which decommissioning activities have been completed. The radioactive waste has been removed from the site; the site and the remaining buildings are not contaminated and do not make negative impact on the residential environment in the vicinity,” says Michail Demčenko, Head of VATESI.
The results of the final radiological measurements of the former storage site and the buildings remaining there confirmed that they are not contaminated with radionuclides and do not require supervision from a radiation safety perspective.
However, in some groundwater monitoring wells at the site, tritium activity concentrations are periodically observed that exceed the limit permitted for drinking water according to the requirements of the Lithuanian Hygiene Standard (HN24:2023). Such residual tritium concentrations do not make a negative impact on the surrounding environment, as water is not extracted for drinking or use within the former storage facility’s territory.
On the part of the former Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility’s territory restriction on its future use will be applied – the extraction of water for consumption will be prohibited for a certain period of time. This restriction will remain in place until a decrease in the concentration of tritium in water monitoring wells to a level below that specified in the Lithuanian Hygiene Standard (HN 24:2023) is observed, lasting for no less than two years. SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant will continue to conduct radiological monitoring of groundwater and to maintain the former storage facility site and constructions.
SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant completed decommissioning of the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility. Radioactive waste was retrieved from the vault, and the contaminated structures were subsequently dismantled. All radioactive waste retrieved from the storage facility vault and generated during decommissioning has been transported to the Ignalina NPP facilities in the territory of Visaginas municipality for further management.
The public was invited to review VATESI’s draft decision on the revocation of the license and to submit comments. No comments were received from the public within the timeframe established by the Nuclear Safety Law.