Solovyov: BelNPP is environmentally safe

The Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) which is currently being built in the country is environmentally safe, Yuri Solovyov, the chairman of the board of the Belarusian public association "Ecological Initiative", said during an online press conference at BelTA.

"I can say that the ongoing environmental monitoring shows that the Belarusian nuclear power plant is environmentally safe," he said.

Yuri Solovyov recalled that the public center for environmental safety of the NPP construction and operation was launched in Belarus in 2012. Its main task is to provide the public in Belarus and other countries with the information about nuclear energy and security during the construction of the NPP in Belarus.

For the third year the center has conducted public monitoring of the process of the construction of the nuclear power plant: environmental activists of non-governmental organizations get acquainted with the course of construction, measure the radiation levels at the NPP construction site and its surroundings, study the impact of the object under construction on the environment. The monitoring results are made available in open access, on the BelNPP website, in the media, and are communicated to the public during the public information activities of the center.

According to Yuri Solovyov, public monitoring will be continued after the nuclear power plant is put into operation. “We will compare the current radiation environmental data on the site with the data that will be received after the plant is commissioned. If any deviations are registered, the relevant information will be immediately passed on to the competent authorities and the public,” the ecologist said.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built 18km away from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based R&D company Atomenergoproject was chosen for building Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in 2018, the second one in 2020.