IAEA pleased with Belarusian nuclear power plant personnel training

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) positively evaluates the training of Belarusian nuclear power plant personnel, BelTA learned from the Information and Public Relations Department of the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant.

A group of IAEA experts visited the Belarusian nuclear power plant this week. The experts examined the system used to train the enterprise’s personnel, analyzed the academic base, and helped test a full-scale simulator in the training and education center. The IAEA specialists together with Belarusian nuclear power plant specialists tested the simulator in various modes. The IAEA invited specialists from other nuclear power plants with a huge amount of experience of working in the personnel training system and simulator construction.

Summing up results of the mission, Vitaly Kolomiyets, a technical officer of the Nuclear Energy Department of the International Atomic Energy Agency, noted that the Belarusian nuclear power plant has secured essential progress in personnel training in the last 12 months. Active work is in progress in all areas. Experienced qualified specialists are recruited. Specialists of the Belarusian nuclear power plant are given on-the-job training opportunities at other nuclear power plants. He said: “We see that responsible, knowledgeable, enterprising officers with the necessary experience and positive mood handle personnel training at the enterprise.”

As a result of the visit the IAEA experts presented their proposals and recommendations to the Belarusian side.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.