WANO: Nuclear safety is top priority for Belarusian nuclear power plant

MINSK, 14 April (BelTA) - Nuclear safety is the highest priority for the Belarusian nuclear power plant, the head of the team of experts of the Moscow center of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) Dmitry Chichikin said in a video posted on the Youtube channel of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA has learned.

From 5 to 13 April international experts carried out a technical support mission in order to evaluate the operational readiness of the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Apart from WANO representatives the expert group included specialists from the nuclear power plants in Russia, Bulgaria, the UAE and Turkey. According to Dmitry Chichikin, evaluation was carried out across nine production areas. "We conducted an in-depth analysis of the operational readiness of the second unit for the upcoming fuel loading and subsequent connection to the grid, examined the current state of the plant in relation to the subsequent launch. I would like to note that the plant voluntarily invited a team of external experts to further evaluate the project. This assessment is not mandatory in the format of WANO," he said.

"The plant demonstrates openness and professionalism. I have been to this plant probably for the sixth time. I can say that the project is developing. Most importantly, we made sure that nuclear safety is the highest priority for the BelNPP executives," Dmitry Chichikin said.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast using the Russian design AES-2006 featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW.