The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRI) on 14 April granted a separate permit for activities related to unloading damaged used nuclear fuel from the pool at units 1 and 2 of the Chernobyl NPP and its transfer to the wet storage facility (SNFS-1). The decision followed an inspection held on 6-8 April," the SNRI statement said, adding that work to remove the damaged assemblies "will start shortly".
Undamaged used fuel was removed from units 1, 2 and 3 in September 2013 and removal of the damaged fuel assemblies was originally planned for 2014. Once all the used fuel is removed, units 1 and 2 will lose their status as nuclear installations and will become facilities for radioactive waste management. This will facilitate the decommissioning of the plant, SNRI said.
