Public hearings before licensing operation of BelNPP's first unit scheduled for 30 April

MINSK, 23 April (BelTA) – Public hearings will take place at 14:00-19:00 on 30 April before the license to operate the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is issued. The hearings will take place in several studios and will employ videoconference technologies, representatives of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) told BelTA.

The purpose of the public hearings is to notify the general public about progress and results of an expert evaluation of safety and conformance of the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant with license requirements and terms as the Emergencies Ministry works to grant the license to operate the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

Taking into account the coronavirus pandemic the public hearings will be held in a hybrid mode. Videoconference technologies will be used in several studios. The key one is a multifunctional community center in Ostrovets. The other ones will be located in Gosatomnadzor, the Minsk city branch of the Emergencies Ministry and the Minsk Oblast branch of the Emergencies Ministry.

Belarusian citizens, foreign citizens, and stateless persons are invited to participate in the public hearings. In order to participate, they have to fill in a registration form, send it to hearings@gosatomnadzor.gov.by, and receive a registration confirmation from the same address. Applicants have to choose the studio they want to be in. They can also apply for making a speech during the public hearings. If Internet access is not available, registration is available by phone (+37517 2725824 or +37533 3264445) from 10:00 till 17:00 on weekdays. Registration ends at 17:00 on 29 April.

The number of participants of the public hearings is limited by the capacity of the studios. If a studio reaches its seating capacity, registration will be halted, the relevant notification will be published on Gosatomnadzor's website.

Any persons (including those who are not registered) are granted an opportunity to ask questions or submit proposals regarding the topic of the public hearings and get answers to their questions. All the questions have to be written down in a form developed by Gosatomnadzor. Answers will be provided during the public hearings and published on the Gosatomnadzor website. Questions can be submitted by email to hearings@gosatomnadzor.gov.by till 17:00 on 29 April and in written form from the studios till 15:30 on 30 April.