BelNPP: Radiation control and environmental monitoring
Olga Zhukova
Head of the Radiation and Ecological Monitoring Research Department of the National Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Pollution Control, and Environmental Monitoring of Belarus
Ensuring nuclear and radiation safety during the construction and operation of the national nuclear power plant is an overriding concern for Belarus. The design used to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant is unparalleled on the international scale as far as ecological safety is concerned. A system for regular checks at all the stages of the project has been created in the country. Close attention is paid to ensuring nuclear safety taking into account all the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Who and how monitors radiation status and the environment? What role do public organizations and international organizations play? What can be said about the radiation environment near the Belarusian nuclear power plant now? How will citizens be able to make sure the nuclear power plant has no negative impact on the environment and their health? How will monitoring procedures be organized after the facility is commissioned? The expert has answered these and other questions.
No radiation impact on environment from BelNPP construction
The construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) has no radiation impact on the environment, Olga Zhukova, Candidate of Science (Engineering), Head of the Radiation and Ecological Monitoring Research Department of the National Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Pollution Control, and Environmental Monitoring of Belarus, said during an online conference hosted by BelTA on 19 May.
“The construction of the BelNPP has no radiation impact on the environment in the area. No problems in the environment have been detected,” she stressed.
In her words, the radiation environment at the construction site of the BelNPP is mainly determined by the presence of natural radionuclides and low leftover radioactive contamination from nuclear weapons tests in the 1950-60s. “Thus we can state that the radiation situation near the construction site of the BelNPP is stable, which is attested by the results of the radiation survey carried out between 2009 and 2014,” Olga Zhukova pointed out.
The volumetric activity of caesium-137 and strontium-90 in surface waters and the specific activity of caesium-137 and strontium-90 in sediments do not exceed background levels. The density of soil contamination with caesium-137 ranges from 0.02 to 0.04 Ci/km2, with strontium-90 from 0.02 to 0.03 Ci/km2.
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). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. 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.
Belarusians to receive up-to-date information about radiation near Belarusian nuclear power plant
Belarusians will get up-to-date reports regarding the radiation environment near the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The information was released by Olga Zhukova, Candidate of Science (Engineering), Head of the Radiation and Ecological Monitoring Research Department of the National Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Pollution Control, and Environmental Monitoring of Belarus, during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 19 May.
According to the source, an automated system to monitor the radiation environment around the Belarusian nuclear power plant is being created. The system will keep the nation informed about the radiation environment, will make lives safer and will reduce all kinds of phobias related to the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The information will be available from the websites of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, the national weather center, and mass media.
The system will collect and process information about gamma radiation power levels and meteorological data. The radiation environment will be constantly monitored and the general public will be informed about the radiation status of the nuclear power plant and around the facility. In the course of the project's implementation the basic complex of the automated system to monitor the radiation environment near the Belarusian nuclear power plant has been developed. The complex comprises three automatic gamma radiation metering stations that will be located in Gervyaty, Mikhalishki, and Trokeniki. In these locations information tables will be installed to demonstrate current radiation levels in the specific location. A large table with the same functionality will be located in the town of Ostrovets, explained the specialist.
According to Olga Zhukova, there are plans to enhance the radiation metering complex with new-generation sensors that allow measuring the isotopic composition of gamma-emitting radionuclides. The emerging technology will allow building a nationwide automatic radiation control system in the future. The deployment of the radiation metering system during the construction of the nuclear power plant will allow accumulating statistics data that describe the radiation environment status near the nuclear power plant before the facility goes online.
In 2010-2012 the A.N. Sevchenko Applied Physical Problems Institute of the Belarusian State University carried out the development project to design the automated system to monitor the radiation environment in the observation area of the nuclear power plant. The Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry was the customer of the project.
The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. 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.
Russian experience for building radiation monitoring system in Belarus
Belarus will draw from Russian experience to create an automated radiation environment monitoring system. The information was released by Olga Zhukova, Candidate of Science (Engineering), Head of the Radiation and Ecological Monitoring Research Department of the National Center for Hydrometeorology, Radioactive Pollution Control, and Environmental Monitoring of Belarus, during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 19 May.
According to the source, an automated radiation environment monitoring system has already been deployed in Russia to cover all the nuclear power plants and nuclear industry enterprises. “We would like to deploy a similar system in Belarus. We plan to finish setting up the system in 2017, one year ahead of the launch of the nuclear power plant’s first power-generating unit,” noted Olga Zhukova.
In particular, the Belarusian weather service cooperates with the R&D group Typhoon of the Russian weather service. “We cooperate within the framework of the Union State program on meteorology and environmental pollution monitoring. For the sake of forecasting the propagation of radioactive pollution by air in an emergency we rely on the software product RECASS NT developed by Typhoon. Information about gamma radiation power levels registered by monitoring stations of the Russian weather service and observation stations of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry is constantly shared,” explained Olga Zhukova.
Radiation background sensors of the Russian radiation monitoring system work on their own, sending averaged figures to the system’s central control station every minute and every hour. The data is automatically pushed to the website www.russianatom.ru. Since the data is automatically displayed on the website, users can rest assured it has not been tempered with. All the information is freely available to any person. “You can select a sensor on the map to see results of gamma radiation measurements in this location over a period of time,” said the representative of the Belarusian weather service.
In her words, the deployment of the system will discourage the distribution of incorrect information about worsening radiation environment.
The basic configuration of the automated radiation environment monitoring system has been deployed near the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The system comprises three automatic stations in Gervyaty, Mikhalishki, and Trokeniki that record gamma radiation power levels and meteorological parameters. “We are going to expand the system. Similar stations will be deployed in Oshmyany, Kotlovka, Gudogai, Kamelishki and so on. At present gamma radiation power levels in the area vary between 0.07 and 0.12 µSv/h,” said Olga Zhukova.
In accordance with article 32 of the law on nuclear energy uses the operator of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is supposed to monitor radiation levels in the sanitary protection zone and the observation zone of the nuclear power plant. Thus, the operator of the nuclear power plant will take care of creating and operating the automated radiation environment monitoring system in the observation zone. Acting on behalf of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, the Belarusian weather service will take care of deploying the system, including in populated localities near the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.
The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. 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.