Radiation survey around Belarusian NPP to reach Lithuania

Belarusian environmentalists intend to hold the radiation-environmental monitoring in the Lithuanian regions adjacent to the Belarusian nuclear power plant in 2014, Yuri Solovyov, the head of the Belarusian Ecological Initiative non-governmental association, said during the roundtable to discuss the results of the independent radiation- environmental monitoring around the construction site of the Belarusian NPP in Minsk on 13 December, BelTA learned.

"It may be a joint project with our Lithuanian partners. I hope Lithuania will trust their environmentalists not less than Belarusians trust theirs. The aim of the project is similar to the objectives of monitoring carried out in 2013 when we collected the information which will be used as the benchmark in our further work on the assessment of the environmental impact of the NPP construction project in all stages of its life cycle: construction, operation and decommissioning,” Yuri Solovyov said.

The results presented at the roundtable show that the levels of natural radiation background around the construction site in Ostrovets are extremely low. According to Yuri Solovyov, it would be naive to expect something abnormal in Ostrovets and in the villages near the NPP construction site, and even on the site itself. The natural background is normal. Atomic fuel has not yet been delivered. But the collected information is needed as benchmark measurements. So it would be great to take samples of soil, air and water and do other measurements on the Lithuanian territory.”

“We also look forward to the exchange of data with Lithuanian colleagues about radiation-environmental situation in the region of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, the prospective site for the future Visaginas nuclear power plant, and especially at the place of nuclear fuel waste burial for the Ignalina plant,” noted Yuri Solovyov.

He underscored that the spent fuel burial site on the Lithuanian territory is of the greatest concern of the Belarusian public: “We have not yet received any documents, no official information about the security systems applied there. So far we have to trust that it is a European and hence safe project. But should any leakage of radioactive waste happen, the unique Belarusian lake located less than a kilometer away will be lost forever.” Moreover, the Belarusian environmentalist expressed concern about the reports in media claiming that there are plans to store the waste from not only the Ignalina plant but other plants in other EU countries in Lithuania. "It is logical from the point of view of the economy and costs. But it is extremely threatening from an environmental point of view, and we want to be sure that everything is safe there.”

The project “Public monitoring of the impact of the Belarusian nuclear power plant on the environment" is part of the independent public monitoring system in Belarus and is implemented on the initiative of a number of Belarusian environmental organizations with the participation of scientists and specialists from Belarus, Russia and Lithuania. The information will make part of the databank and will be used for follow-up monitoring. Based on the information collected in 2013 the national center of radiation control and monitoring at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Belarus has prepared a detailed report, which will soon be posted on the websites of the ministry and the NPP Construction Directorate. Monitoring results will also be presented to the public of Lithuania at a roundtable in Vilnius on 17 December.

The Oka cross-regional environmental organization took part in the monitoring on behalf of Russia, and the institute for regional development and democracy on behalf of Lithuania.