Cranberry Township, PA, December 15, 2021 – Westinghouse Electric Company announced it has recently completed dismantling the first of two reactor vessels at Bohunice V1 Nuclear Power Plant in Slovakia. The annular water tanks that ensured bio-shield protection of the two reactor pressure vessels have also been dismantled.
“As the leader in specialized nuclear decommissioning, and with the largest number of successfully executed reactor decommissioning scopes over the last decade, we’re pleased to deliver the value of certainty to our customer in this technically demanding project at Bohunice,” said Sam Shakir, President of Westinghouse Environmental Services.
Located near the village of Jaslovské Bohunice in the Trnava District in western Slovakia, the Bohunice V1 plant includes two V-230 type VVER 440 units. The first reactor was shut down on December 31, 2006, and the second ceased operation on December 31, 2008, after 28 years of operation.
Westinghouse, with its partner Vuje, is contracted by Jadrová a vyraďovacia spoločnosť (JAVYS) to dismantle the two reactors, reactor coolant loops and components, and decontaminate structures and systems. This included managing nearly 9,500 tons of waste comprised of primary circuit components (steam generators, main circulating pumps, main isolation valves, reactor internals, reactor vessels, auxiliary equipment, and plant systems), and other singular elements like the annular water tank and dry storage for high-activated operational waste integrated in 400 vertical silo-tubes. This project is financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
In addition to Bohunice, Westinghouse is currently dismantling fifteen reactors in five countries and implementing many decommissioning and decontamination, and waste management projects worldwide.