All change at shut-down Bulgarian reactors

21 October 2010

Licences for two shut-down reactors at Bulgaria's Kozloduy plant have been formally transferred to state radioactive waste enterprise DP RAO by the country's nuclear regulatory agency in a move that heralds the implementation of decommissioning work at the units. Kozloduy units 1 and 2, both VVER-440 reactors, were shut down in 2002 under commitments made by Bulgaria as part of its accession to the European Union (EU). According to DP RAO, the licence transfer is a vital step towards the implementation of a ministerial decree that will see the units declared as radioactive waste management facilities. Kozloduy units 3 and 4, also closed as part of Bulgaria's pledge to the EU in 2006, could in theory still be restarted in case of crisis, but Kozloduy 5 and 6 remain the country's only currently operating nuclear units.