Events

MINSK, 5 July (BelTA) – Belarus is working on a mechanism to inform the neighboring states about the operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Ostrovets when the project is commissioned, Lilia Dulinets, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Energy Department of the Belarusian Energy Ministry said during the roundtable session headlined “Nuclear energy development: environmental aspects and safety” held in Minsk on 5 July, BelTA has learned.

The Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention) envisages a post-project analysis. “This means when the BelNPP is commissioned, the parameters controlled will be checked. We are ready to provide this data to all our neighbors and to those who want to partake in the relevant procedures of the Espoo Convention. When we bring the nuclear fuel and put the BelNPP into operation, we will be working on the feedback mechanism to inform the neighboring states about the BelNPP operation and the background radiation. This has all been agreed upon. The work towards the implementation of this mechanism is well underway,” Lilia Dulinets remarked.

According to her, today Belarus is performing all kinds of environmental monitoring applying the most up-to-date equipment. The country is eager to share its results. “We are ready to hold a dialogue both outside our borders and within them,” Lilia Dulinets underlined.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build a VVER-1200 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The first power-generating unit will be commissioned in 2019, the second – in 2020.

The roundtable session “Nuclear energy development: environmental aspects and safety” is held under the auspices of the Belarusian Energy Ministry.