Plasma Melting Facility at Bulgaria's NPP Kozloduy Starts Operations - EBRD
A new plasma melting facility at Bulgaria's nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy has started operations, following a 31 million euro ($36.3 million) investment, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said on Tuesday. Using plasma technology, the facility will significantly reduce the volume of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from NPP Kozloduy's four units in decommissioning and its two operational units, the EBRD said in a statement. The facility, which will be operated by the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste (SERAW), has a capacity of up to 250 tonnes per year. The technology allows for treatment of waste with a minimum risk of radioactive contamination, the EBRD said. The EBRD-managed Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF) financed 65% of the project, while Bulgaria provided the remaining 35%.Spain's Iberdrola Ingeniería y Construcción was the project's engineering company, while Belgium's Belgoprocess acted as the process provider.