Slovakia clears 7,400 tons of radioactive waste from Soviet reactors

Slovakia has completed the decommissioning and dismantling of two Soviet-era VVER-440 V1 reactors at the Bohunice nuclear power plant, removing nearly 7,400 tons (6,700 tonnes) of radioactive and contaminated materials. This milestone, confirmed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), marks the end of the main decommissioning phase and clears the site for redevelopment by 2027. The project was carried out by a consortium led by Westinghouse and Slovak firm VUJE under the EBRD-managed Bohunice International Decommissioning Support Fund (BIDSF), which received €638 million (USD 745 million) from the EU and various donor countries. The dismantling involved advanced robotic decontamination and cutting techniques to safely handle both primary and secondary radioactive waste. The two reactors, commissioned in the late 1970s and originally built with Soviet technology and Czechoslovakian assistance, were Slovakia’s first