Lithuania’s Ignalina nuclear plant under public pressure in Belarus

The community of the Braslav district, Vitebsk oblast, calls upon Lithuania to do its utmost to remove highly active nuclear waste from the Ignalina nuclear power plant and send it for processing. The statement is part of the protocol compiled after public hearings on nuclear waste disposal in the Braslav district, BelTA learnt from Romuald Zhmurnya, chairman of the Braslav District Council of Deputies.

Besides, the general public believes it is necessary for Belarus and Lithuania to continue discussing methods and ways of nuclear waste disposal and to constantly monitor the environment, keeping the local community informed. An article of the protocol requests mass media’s objective and professional coverage of the closedown process of the Ignalina nuclear power plant and discourages incompetent remarks. “A functioning nuclear plant is much more dangerous than a waste storage and a burial site, which will be constantly monitored”, stressed Romuald Zhmurnya.

According to the source, during the public hearings representatives of the Lithuanian side informed residents of the Braslav district that the waste storage will be built by experienced German specialists at the power plant site. Besides, around 100,000 tonnes of low active nuclear waste will presumably be buried at the Ignalina nuclear power plant.

The public hearings took place in the Vidzy Rural Council in the Braslav district on April 20-21. The public hearings gathered around 300 people representing all the rural councils of the district as well as engineering specialists of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, Lithuanian scientists, representatives of environmental watchdogs of Belarus and Lithuania. Those were the second hearings arranged to discuss the disposal of nuclear waste produced by the Ignalina nuclear power plant. In line with international agreements the hearings took place in the Braslav district.