Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 17 December (BelTA) – The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry and the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia (Rostechnadzor) intend to carry out joint inspections of the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction in 2014, BelTA learned from Olga Lugovskaya, Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department, on 17 December.

According to the source, the inspections will be carried out as part of the cooperation practiced by the Belarusian and Russian regulatory bodies for the sake of accelerating the professional development of the Belarusian personnel. “Experience can be earned and we are working on it together with Russian colleagues from Rostechnadzor. They have technical support divisions, which are designed to provide consulting services and we are already learning as part of the work. We plan to arrange such a process in the future, too. Next year Russian specialists will arrive and together with us they will carry out supervision inspections, they will be present at the construction site,” she said. In her words, the visits will be educational because the Belarusian legislation allows only the national nuclear industry watchdog to oversee the construction of the nuclear power plant.

Olga Lugovskaya also said that in 2013 educational visits to Russia were arranged for specialists representing nuclear oversight, civil engineering oversight, industrial oversight, and fire safety oversight of Belarus. The specialists visited facilities under construction of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in Russia. “The Belarusian specialists were invited to take part in an inspection tour. Together with Russian colleagues they examined all the facilities, asked questions about what things should be paid close attention to. In this regard we are satisfied with the support from Russian colleagues,” she remarked.

According to the official, the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is closely overseen. A working group headed by First Deputy Emergencies Minister of Belarus Vasily Stepanenko has been set up to coordinate efforts of all the Belarusian oversight agencies. The oversight efforts are summarized and analyzed by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry. The data is used to assess the safety level of the nuclear power plant construction, to plan further inspections and to reveal problem spots. In 2013 the Gosatomnadzor carried out four planned inspections and a surprise one of the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

Construction workers started pouring concrete into the foundation of facilities that will make up the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant at the Ostrovets site in November 2013. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will boast two power-generating units with the total capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian public joint-stock company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant. The timeline for implementing the project is stipulated by the general contract. The first power-engineering unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in November 2018.

Belarus and Russia signed the general contract to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant in July 2012. The cost of building the installation is primarily covered by a state export loan granted by Russia. In line with the relevant intergovernmental agreement the loan can provide up to $10 billion for 25 years to cover 90% of the cost of every contract between the Russian company ZAO Atomstroyexport and the Belarusian state institution Directorate for Nuclear Power Plant Construction.