Belarus to work out spent nuclear fuel handling strategy by year end

A strategy for handling spent nuclear fuel will be worked out in Belarus by the end of the year. Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk made the statement as he answered questions of foreign diplomats after their tour of the Belarusian nuclear power plant’s construction site on 26 May, BelTA has learned.

The official said: “Together with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus we are developing a strategy for handling spent nuclear fuel. The document is supposed to be approved by the government by the end of the year.” Mikhail Mikhadyuk stressed that all the issues will be fixed. “Trust me, we are not going to deviate from international practice,” he stated.

Mikhail Mikhadyuk said that two approaches to handling spent nuclear fuel are practiced in the world. As part of the first one spent nuclear fuel is extracted from the active zone and stored in the cooling pond for some time. After that spent nuclear fuel is reloaded into special containers and can be stored on site for the entire duration of the nuclear power plant’s operation if proper conditions are available. The second approach provides for extracting spent nuclear fuel, putting it inside a transport container, and sending it to the processing factory. Processed fuel is then stored at a special storage facility. Belarus and Russia have signed an intergovernmental agreement, which stipulates that Belarusian spent nuclear fuel will be sent to Russia for processing. In line with the Russian Federation legislation processed fuel can be stored in Russia for up to 20 years. After that Belarus will build a storage facility of its own. Mikhail Mikhadyuk explained that the strategy for handling spent nuclear fuel will determine which approach Belarus will follow in the end. The deputy energy minister stressed that there are no technologies in the world for the ultimate disposal of nuclear fuel. “But science advances all the time. I think that it will become available by the time we need the technology,” said the official.

As far as operational costs are concerned, the Belarusian nuclear power plant’s design provides for places and conditions for storing the amount of spent nuclear fuel that the power plant can generate over the course of ten years. “The government has approved a strategy for handling radioactive waste. In line with the document we are going to build a standalone storage facility after the waste has been stored for ten years,” said Mikhail Mikhadyuk.

Speaking about which country will make nuclear fuel for the Belarusian nuclear power plant, Mikhail Mikhadyuk stressed that Belarus will choose the vendor bearing the price and safety in mind. “Every reactor type needs a specific kind of fuel. Belarus and Russia have signed an intergovernmental agreement, according to which Russia will supply us with fuel. I cannot rule out the possibility that we will consider other options in the future if a tried and tested alternative is available. Everything is possible given enough time,” said the Belarusian deputy energy minister.

More than 25 diplomats, who are accredited in Belarus, came for a tour of the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant on 26 May. The number included heads of diplomatic missions and charges d’affaires. In particular, ambassadors of Russia, the UAE, Palestine, the UK, Turkey, Germany, Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, and Turkmenistan were made familiar with the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction progress. Diplomats from Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, Japan, Hungary, the USA, and Netherlands also came to Ostrovets.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build a new-generation nuclear power plant with two VVER-1200 type reactors (1,200MW each) 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.