VATESI decision to revoke the license to decommission the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility

On 16 April 2026, the State Nuclear Energy Safety Inspectorate (hereinafter referred to as VATESI) made a final decision to revoke the license No. 16.1-97(2021) issued to State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant on 13 May 2021 for the decommissioning of the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility.

The public was invited to review the draft decision and supporting documents and to submit their proposals.  No proposals were received from the public within the timeframe established in the Law on Nuclear Safety.

VATESI made a decision to revoke the operating license for the decommissioning of the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility, and imposed, that a restriction will remain in place on part of the former facility’s territory - the collection of drinking 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 wells water to a level below that specified in the Lithuanian Hygiene Standard (HN 24:2023) is established, lasting for no less than two years. Radiological monitoring of groundwater will continue to be carried out by the SE Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.

Summarized information on the progress and results of the review and assessment of the safety justification documents of the Maišiagala RWSF final decommissioning report and other reporting documents, on the basis of which VATESI adopted the decision to revoke the license for the decommissioning of the Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility, is presented in the Summary of the Review and Assessment of the Maišiagala RWSF Final Decommissioning Report and Other Reporting Documents.

Information about the nuclear facility

The former Maišiagala radioactive waste storage facility was established in the Bartkuškis forest of Širvintos district to store radioactive waste collected by industrial enterprises, medical institutions, and scientific organizations between 1963 and 1989, 9 km from Maišiagala and 40 km from Vilnius.

During the decommissioning of the storage facility, radioactive waste was removed from its basement, and the contaminated structures were subsequently dismantled. All radioactive waste removed and generated during the decommissioning was transported to the Ignalina NPP facilities in the territory of Visaginas municipality for further storage and management.

Applicant information
State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, company code 255450080, registered address Elektrinės str. 4, K47 Drūkšinių vil., 31152 Visaginas mun., Republic of Lithuania, Tel. No.: +370 386 28985, Fax. No. +370 386 24396, email: iae(at)altra.lt