Procedure for commissioning BelNPP startup facilities approved

MINSK, 8 February (BelTA) - The Belarusian government has approved the procedure for the commissioning of the startup facilities of the units of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. This is provided by Resolution No.71 of the Council of Ministers of 3 February 2021, which was officially published on the national legal internet portal on 7 February, BelTA has learned.

In according with the document, the commissioning of the startup facilities of the nuclear power plant shall be carried out by an acceptance commission with the registration of an appropriate acceptance act. The acceptance commission shall include the heads or deputy heads of government agencies and other organizations in accordance with the list of government agencies and other organizations indicated in the resolution. The deputy energy minister, who oversees nuclear energy matters, has been appointed chairman of the acceptance commission. His deputy is the director general of the state production association Belenergo.

The acceptance commission shall check the readiness of the startup facilities of the nuclear power plant for safe operation, assess the quality of construction, installation and start-up works and their compliance with the design documentation and the regulatory requirements for design, construction and commissioning of the startup facilities of the unit. Also, the commission shall assess the compliance of the startup facilities with the requirements of nuclear, radiation, industrial, fire and environmental safety, legislation in the field of sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population, technical regulation and standardization, in the energy and gas supply, on occupational health. The acceptance commission shall also check the compliance of the actual indicators with the design documentation, assess the quality and safety of materials, structures and products, etc.

The date the acceptance act is signed by the members of the acceptance commission shall be considered the date of operational acceptance of the startup facilities of the unit of the nuclear power plant.

Government agencies that have the right to issue certificates include the inspectorate of the Department of Control and Supervision of Construction at the State Committee for Standardization, the healthcare authorities, the Safe Industrial Practices Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gospromnadzor), the fire safety authorities, the oversight bodies in the field of protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies and civil defense, the national center for state environmental examination and training of executive officers and specialists with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, the State Labor Inspectorate, the energy and gas supervision authorities, the main command of the commander of the internal troops, traffic police.

The resolution comes into force on the day of its adoption.