Background radiation unaffected by Belarusian nuclear power plant's first unit's launch

MINSK, 19 February (BelTA) – The commissioning of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant has not had a negative impact on background radiation levels, BelTA learned from Belarusian First Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Boleslav Pirshtuk at a session of the ministry's board.

According to the source, the ministry's radiation monitoring network has grown larger with new stations designed to monitor air pollution, surface water pollution, and soil pollution in the Belarusian nuclear power plant area. Monitoring data indicates the radiation situation in the country remains stable. The launch of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant has not had a negative impact on background radiation in the area where the nuclear power plant is located, Boleslav Pirshtuk noted.

The radiation monitoring network consists of 141 observation stations, including 76 ones meant to monitor radioactive pollution of the atmospheric air, 49 ones to monitor radioactive pollution in soils, 16 ones to monitor radioactive pollution in surface waters (six rivers that cross Chernobyl=affected territories, three bodies of water located in the area of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, and at 7 transboundary observation sites).

Plans have been made to use international technical aid in the next few years in order to improve the physical infrastructure by means of upgrading the radiation monitoring instruments.

A regional project of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the 2020-2025 period is being implemented now. The project is designed to improve radiation safety in the European-Asian region. Apart from that, proposals have been prepared for inclusion into the IAEA's technical cooperation program for 2022-2023. The program provides for the International Atomic Energy Agency to provide technical aid for organizing the monitoring of tritium content in objects of ecological interest in the area where the Belarusian nuclear power plant is located.