Inside Nuclear Reactors

Powering Down
Engineers walk around the edge of the reactor head during the Ignalina nuclear power plant's final days in 2009. One of the conditions Lithuania had to meet to join the European Union was shutting down the Chernobyl-style facility (with all the Chernobyl-style weaknesses). Taking the reactor offline was a good thing in terms of public safety, but it left Lithuania more dependent than ever on gas supplies from Russia.

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