Lithuania begins preparations for shutdown of Soviet-built nuclear reactor

Lithuania begins nuclear reactor shutdown

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuania has begun shutting down a Soviet-build nuclear reactor as part of its agreement with the European Union.

The Ignalina nuclear plant in the town of Visaginas is scheduled to cease producing electricity at one hour before midnight Thursday.

Many Europeans feel that the Chernobyl-type reactor is unsafe since one exploded near the city of Chernobyl on April 26, 1986, casting a radioactive cloud over Europe. However, plant and Lithuanian officials claim the Ignalina unit could function safely for another 20 years.

Lithuania shut down the first reactor at the plant in 2004, the year it joined the EU.

The Ignalina plant is the last Chernobyl-type reactor operating outside Russia.