Events

The Belarusian authorities have taken into account all possible external hazards to the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) that is under construction, Greg Rzentkowski, Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Installation Safety, told reporters at the presentation of the results of the SEED mission in Belarus on 20 January, BelTA has learned.

“The IAEA mission concluded that the Belarusian authorities have taken into due account all external hazards that may pose risks to the BelNPP in developing the design of the plant,” Greg Rzentkowski noted.

The IAEA experts also put forward a number of recommendations regarding the preparations of the operating organization for the next licensing stage of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

“Following the practice established in the IAEA, the final report on the results of the mission will be presented to the Belarusian government not later than 90 days after the end of the mission. I am glad to note that the Belarusian authorities have informed the IAEA of their plans to make the report public,” Greg Rzentkowski added.

Belarus hosted a Site and External Events Design (SEED) mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency from 16 to 20 January. The IAEA experts assessed the compliance of the BelNPP construction site with international safety standards and the resilience of the systems, structures and components of the plant to external and internal risks and hazards. The experts evaluated the margin of safety envisaged in the design in light of lessons from the Fukushima Daiichi accident. The team that carried out the SEED mission included experts from the United States, Poland, France, Hungary, Turkey and Romania.