Belarusian nuclear power plant to get nuclear fuel in November

MINSK, 9 August (BelTA) – Nuclear fuel is supposed to be delivered to the Belarusian nuclear power plant in November 2018. The delivery was discussed at the latest session of the board of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor), BelTA has learned.

In H2 2018 Gosatomnadzor will have to perform regulatory procedures concerning the delivery of nuclear fuel to the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Safety parameters will be evaluated as part of the work to license the operation of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. A national action plan on fulfilling recommendations given after the Belarusian nuclear power plant’s stress tests will have to be adopted and implemented.

The establishment of Gosatomnadzor’s information and analysis center as part of the system of nuclear energy crisis centers was mentioned. Participants of the session also talked over the legislative framework and preparations for public hearings on the agency’s important decisions in the area of nuclear and radiation safety.

Gosatomnadzor’s work will include participation in welcoming an IAEA EPREV mission (emergency preparedness review) and preparations to welcome an IAEA ISSAS mission (state systems of accounting for and control of nuclear material).

It was noted that Gosatomnadzor’s accomplishments and experience in developing the infrastructure for regulating nuclear and radiation safety in the course of implementing Belarus’ first nuclear energy program are in demand in a growing number of countries, which embark upon building their first nuclear power plants. In June Belarus hosted events of the Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF). Representatives of the countries, which receive aid or may potentially receive aid (Bangladesh, Vietnam, Ghana, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Poland, Sudan), and donor countries and organizations took part in the forum. In June Belarus also hosted a plenary session of the Forum of the State Nuclear Safety Authorities of the Countries Operating WWER Type Reactors (WWER Forum).