According to a recent report by the European Court of Auditors, the estimated costs of decommissioning first-generation nuclear reactors, along with associated waste disposal, in Lithuania, Bulgaria and Slovakia could be at least $12.7 billion.
The auditors said that financing from European Union (EU) member states remains limited, with financing gaps sitting at $31 million in Bulgaria and $102 million in Slovakia.
“I am concerned that key decommissioning projects have suffered delays, that financing gaps remain, and that insufficient progress is being made towards final disposal of high-level nuclear waste,” Phil Wynn Owen, member of the European Court of Auditors, said.
The auditors said that future costs associated with nuclear decommissioning and final disposal of spent nuclear fuel are not always recognized as provisions or included in notes to the accounts.
The report recommends a few steps to the European Commission, including seeking increases in national co-financing, setting up dedicated funding programs for decommissioning, allowing EU nuclear decommissioning assistance to finance dedicated decommissioning staff, working with member states so that all future costs for decommissioning are transparent, and exploring options with member states for the final disposal of spent fuel and high-level waste.
The report recommended that involved members states improve project management by investing in necessary infrastructure, improving the exchange of best practices among themselves and with the wider nuclear decommissioning community, establishing more complete cost estimates, and recognizing their own roles in ensuring that the polluter pays principle is respected by preparing to use national funds to cover some costs of the project.