Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Units 1-3 are now completely free of spent nuclear fuel, State Specialized Enterprise ChNPP announced Monday after unloading the Central Hall 1 cooling pool and moving the spent fuel into wet storage.
Chernobyl, which experienced a catastrophic power surge in 1986, resulting in what is considered the worst nuclear accident on record, entered decommissioning in April 2015. The last Chernobyl reactor shut down in 2000, and a year later ChNPP was established to oversee decommissioning, announcing detailed plans in 2008. The plant is expected to enter SAFSTOR by 2028, and is set for equipment removal in 2046 and equipment demolition in 2064. The European Commission has pledged €730 million for the four-phase decommissioning project.
