Lithuania should join the International Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) Decommissioning Support Fund (Ignalina IDSF) as a new member by mid-2007 under the draft amendment to the fund's regulations submitted to the Assembly of Contributors to Ignalina IDSF held in London in December.
"It means that Lithuania will be able to get more information and will have a greater say since it would have a vote," Arturas Dainius, the Economy Ministry Secretary, told BNS.
The European Commission has re-proposed a package of EU nuclear safety and waste rules, but only after deleting most of its teeth in the face of implacable hostility from some capitals.
Launching the legislation in Brussels on Wednesday, EU energy commissioner Loyola de Palacio was frank that she preferred the Commission's previous proposals, which member states binned this summer. But "the best is the enemy of the good", she added.
The European Commission's forward programme on decommissioning and waste management (D&WM) covers all the decommissioning of all existing installations (operating or otherwise) and the treatment of waste that exists or results from the decommissioning process. The programme is set to be reviewed every four years, primarily so as to take account of any new plants that may be built in the future. The aim is to decommission all existing plants up to "level 3" as soon as possible. This means removing any nuclear materials, any waste and radioactive equipment and any trace of residual radioactive waste in the buildings. The Commission is also investigating the green field option, where the structures are demolished and the land is returned to its original state.
