European experts to visit Belarus to prepare review of action plan on BelNPP stress tests

MINSK, 9 September (BelTA) - European experts will come to Belarus to prepare a peer review of the national action plan on the results of stress tests of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP), Oleg Sobolev, a consultant with the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor), told a press conference on 9 September, BelTA has learned.

“A national action plan was developed following the stress tests at the BelNPP in 2019. The document contains more than 20 events. It includes not only recommendations of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG), but also our own conclusions and proposals of environmental organizations. European experts have shown an interest in analyzing this plan and its implementation. In July 2020 Belarus officially announced its consent to the peer review,” Oleg Sobolev said.

European experts have already analyzed the national action plan on the results of the stress tests at the BelNPP and formulated questions to Belarus. “Technical consultations will take place next. After that, experts will receive and analyze our answers. A group of European experts will then travel to Belarus to visit the BelNPP site. This work will end up with the preparation of a report on the peer review,” the Gosatomnadzor consultant said.

A number of events have already taken place. In particular, as part of video conferences European experts were told about the current state of affairs at the site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant and the implementation of the national action plan on the results of the stress tests. Administrative details of preparing the peer review were discussed as well. Technical consultations have already started, with the first one taking place yesterday. According to Oleg Sobolev, the exact dates for the experts' arrival and preparation of the review have not been determined yet.

Stress tests of the Belarusian nuclear power plant were carried out in 2016. The ability of the Belarusian nuclear power plant to withstand extreme unfavorable natural phenomena and their combinations (earthquakes, tsunami, floods, and the rest) was evaluated after the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.

ENSREG performed a peer review of results of the stress tests of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in 2017-2018. No safety deficiencies (failures to meet requirements of Belarusian legislation based on IAEA safety standards) were found. ENSREG experts put forth a number of recommendations on safety margins above the limits specified by legislation and the safety standards.