Last of the five power units of Greifswald NPP having VVER-440 reactors on the German coast of the Baltic Sea was shut down on 18 December 1990. Closure of the NPP was commenced after the publication of lethally negative report on the plant safety. Decommissioning of this NPP has become the world-largest project of this kind.
It took more than 10 years to shut down and dismantle the power units, to build an interim storage for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. The estimated cost of the whole decommissioning project is €3.5 billion.
When making a political decision about the NPP closure the German government also took a responsibility for mitigating social consequences of the plant decommissioning. It provided the budget for social adaptation measures and established conditions for attracting investment into new industrial development. This breathed new life into the region. The regional public council carried out socio-ecological monitoring of the NPP decommissioning.
NPP Greifswald: Halted at Request
Authors: Oleg Bodrov, Gennady Shabarin Russian version 2007