Belarusian nuclear power plant in for operating license inspection in late April – early May

MINSK, 10 March (BelTA) – In late April – early May the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be ready for the final inspection before the license to operate the first unit is granted. Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Olga Lugovskaya made the statement in BelTA's press center on 10 March.

The official said that in line with the construction schedule the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be ready to invite Gosatomnadzor representatives to the site approximately in late April – early May for the final inspection before the license to operate the first unit is granted.

In her words, the licensing of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in the context of commercial operation began back in 2017. “A nuclear power plant has to prove its operation will be safe. An expert evaluation is arranged with that in mind. Documents that substantiate safety are reviewed. The process is lengthy, science-intensive and resource-intensive. It involves a large number of experts. The energy and nuclear research institute Sosny of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is in charge of the expert evaluation,” Olga Lugovskaya noted.

Conformance evaluation is another part of the licensing process. It is related to the physical readiness of the facility and to the implementation of design solutions at the site. The readiness of the operating company and its personnel represents the third component.

Olga Lugovskaya went on saying that the nuclear power plant is scheduled to end the first part of the pilot commercial operation stage by late March. Conformance evaluation will take place after that. By that time all the works relating to the expert evaluation of safety parameters have to be finished and the operating company's readiness to do its job has to be evaluated. Gosatomnadzor will prepare a conclusion, which will be discussed at a session of the Emergencies Ministry board. The body will decide on granting the license or not, the official said.

Public hearings are supposed to take place one or two weeks before the final decision is made. Gosatomnadzor will provide information about the reasons the conclusion in favor of granting the license to operate the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant relies on.

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.