Decommissioning of V1 reactors at Jaslovské Bohunice completed

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced that two VVER 440 V-230 reactors at the Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant in Slovakia have been successfully dismantled. The project to decommission them has now been officially completed.

The reactors, which began operating in the 1970s, were the first of their kind to be built outside the territory of the former Soviet Union. Their closure was one of the conditions for Slovakia’s accession to the European Union in 2004, following safety concerns raised by the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA). The first unit was shut down at the end of 2006, and the second two years later.

More than a decade of preparation and international cooperation

Preparatory work to decommission the V1 reactors began in 2012, with the aim of preparing the site for future use by 2027. The project was funded by the Bohunice International Decommissioning Support Fund (BIDSF), which had received contributions totalling 638 million euros (approximately CZK 15.7 billion) from the European Union and countries including Austria, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom by the end of 2023.

The project was carried out by a consortium led by Westinghouse, which also included Slovak company VUJE. According to the EBRD, the safe handling of primary-circuit components was ensured, including steam generators, main circulation pumps, reactor pressure vessels and their internals.

Safe dismantling and decontamination of thousands of tonnes of material

The dismantling involved processing 6 700 tonnes of radioactive and contaminated structures using wet and dry cutting and robotic decontamination systems. A further 479 tonnes of secondary radioactive waste and 3 800 tonnes of non-radioactive materials were processed; the latter were cleared for reuse.

"This project shows what can be achieved through international cooperation. It reaffirms our shared commitment to nuclear safety and environmental protection, and demonstrates that even such complex tasks can be completed efficiently and on time,"said Steven White, head of the BIDSF at the EBRD.

Massimo Garribba, Deputy Director-General for Energy at the European Commission, added: "The completion of this decommissioning project at Bohunice sets a high bar for similar activities in the future. Thanks to the oversight of Slovak company JAVYS and the management of the BIDSF, the project has been successfully completed."

Current state of Slovakia’s nuclear energy sector

Slovakia currently operates five nuclear reactors, which supply approximately half of its domestic electricity consumption. The two reactors at Bohunice (V2) entered service in 1984 and 1985, while Mochovce 1 and 2 began operating in 1998 and 1999. Construction of Mochovce units 3 and 4 began in 1986, was suspended in 1992 and later resumed. Mochovce 3 entered service in 2023, while work on unit 4 is still ongoing.