After the termination of operation, each nuclear installation in the Slovak Republic must be safely decommissioned. In the Slovak Republic, there are currently ten nuclear installations in two localities. They are or they will later be the subject of decommissioning. This spectrum encompasses nuclear power plants as well as non-reactor nuclear facilities intended for the management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

The basic data on all reactor units are indicated in the following table:

Nuclear installations not intended for electricity generation (hereinafter referred to as “non-reactor” nuclear facilities) are:

• Technologies for Treatment and Conditioning of Radioactive Waste at the J. Bohunice site,
• Interim Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility at the J. Bohunice site,
• Final Treatment Centre for liquid Radioactive Waste at the Mochovce site,
• Integral Storage Facility for Radioactive Waste at the J. Bohunice site,
• National Radioactive Waste Repository at the Mochovce site.
  

Decommissioning of a nuclear installation pursuant to Act 541/2004 Coll. (The Atomic Act) represents activities after termination of operation, whose purpose is to exempt the nuclear installation from the jurisdiction of the Atomic Act, which means that the installation is not considered to be a nuclear installation anymore. The decommissioning process may commence only after the transport of nuclear fuel from the reactor. After the transition phase (phase from operation to decommissioning), staged removal of individual facilities, disassembly, dismantling, demolition and handling of particular types of materials and radioactive waste may commence. Decontamination procedures are aimed to ensure that most of the decommissioning materials could be either used as usable raw material or released into the environment in the form of conventional waste. Construction materials arising from the demolished buildings are used as backfilling materials for construction pits.

Radioactive waste is treated and conditioned into a form suitable for disposal in the repository.

The process of decommissioning normally consists of several stages restricted by subject and time. The whole process includes particular tasks and projects with a defined scope of works and target state. The scope and complexity of dismantling, decontaminating, demolition and supporting works, volume of material for further management, estimated radiation exposure of workers and other factors are all contained in  the database, from which the balance of costs for decommissioning of a nuclear installation, management with materials and radioactive waste is derived. The final safety state of the locality is ensured, too.

The licence holder for decommissioning of a nuclear installation is responsible for securing of financial resources intended for the reimbursement of supplier works related to decommissioning of a nuclear installation and internal processes (e.g. management of radioactive waste from decommissioning). In the Slovak Republic, these financial resources are provided by the National Nuclear Fund based upon the applications of the licence holder for decommissioning pursuant to Act on the National Nuclear Fund. In the case of decommissioning of the nuclear power plant V1, to cover the partial costs, EU also provides financial resources through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Bohunice International Decommissioning Support Fund (BIDSF).

The applications of the licence holder for decommissioning are compiled based upon the plan for each stage of decommissioning. They are sorted by particular years and areas. After being assessed by the NJF and with regard to the conditions of the state budget and the strategy described in the National Programme for the Management of Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel, these applications subsequently become the subject of reimbursement of costs for the decommissioning process. The NJF approves calculations of outputs of the licence holder for decommissioning, assesses economic part of each stage of the plan for decommissioning of a nuclear installation and oversees eligibility of provision of financial resources for the coverage of costs.