Belarusian nuclear power plant done receiving nuclear fuel for first unit

MINSK, 25 May (BelTA) – The Belarusian nuclear power plant has finished receiving nuclear fuel for the initial load of the reactor of the first unit, BelTA learned from the press service of ASE (the engineering division of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom).

Belarusian nuclear power plant specialists performed incoming inspection of the fuel in presence of ASE representatives. Every step was overseen by specialists of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor).

As part of the incoming inspection the specialists checked the accompanying documents, the external state of the containers, and the integrity of seals. Papers were signed to confirm the quality of the received fuel.

According to Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk, specialists of the Belarusian nuclear power plant responsibly transported the fuel to a storage facility and demonstrated professionalism in the course of the incoming inspection.

All the fuel rod arrays will remain in the fresh nuclear fuel storage facility before they are loaded into the reactor of the first unit.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast using a Russian design featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. Rosatom's engineering division – ASE – is the general contractor. The first unit is supposed to go online in 2020, with the second one scheduled for launch in 2021. On 6 May the Belarusian Energy Ministry said that nuclear fuel for the first unit was delivered.