IAEA mission to assess Belarus’ nuclear safety regulatory infrastructure in 2016

The international mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Belarus to assess its nuclear safety regulatory infrastructure in 2016, Olga Lugovskaya, Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry, said during a briefing hosted by BelTA's press center.

“Belarus invited the IAEA to send an international mission to assess its safety regulatory infrastructure, and the invitation was accepted. The visit will take place in late 2016,” she noted.

The invitation was made during the national report of the Republic of Belarus on the implementation of the Convention on Nuclear Safety in March 2014.

An IAEA mission visited Belarus in 2012 to check if the infrastructure of the country was ready for constructing a nuclear power plant. “The second mission will look into some more specific issues. We expect that it will give us some more concrete requirements and recommendations,” Olga Lugovskaya emphasized.

Belarus is one of the founders of the IAEA. It has a long history of cooperation with the agency. A high-level delegation on nuclear safety culture led by IAEA Deputy Director General Denis Flory visited Minsk on 2 to 3 December. The delegation included representatives of nuclear safety watchdogs from France, Russia, the United States, Vietnam, as well as experts of the IAEA, the Regulatory Cooperation Forum, and the European Commission. The delegation held meetings at the Council of Ministers, the Energy Ministry, and the Emergencies Ministry, and took part in the seminar for government officials involved in the implementation of the Belarusian nuclear energy program and promotion of nuclear safety culture. The visit of the IAEA delegation was initiated by Belarus.