IAEA mission to assess regulatory infrastructure in Belarus on 2-14 October

MINSK, 5 August (BelTA) – A mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will work in Belarus on 2-14 October for the sake of reviewing the regulatory infrastructure (Integrated Regulatory Review Service). The IAEA mission will analyze the compliance of the Belarusian system designed to regulate nuclear and radiation safety with the agency's recommendations, BelTA learned from representatives of the Communications and Public Information Office of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department (Gosatomnadzor) of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry after the latest session of the Ministry's board.

Gosatomnadzor head Olga Lugovskaya outlined the Department's near-term priorities. Among other things the Department will focus on preparing for licensing the operation of the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, including an evaluation of its safety parameters. The evaluation will be carried out by the licensed agency — the United Energy and Nuclear Research Institute Sosny of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. This is why Gosatomnadzor will invite foreign experts from the regulatory bodies of Armenia and Russia to evaluate the institute's compliance with licensing requirements and conditions.

Gosatomnadzor will also have to prepare for exercising oversight functions during the commissioning phase of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The creation of an integrated Gosatomnadzor management system in compliance with IAEA safety norms will remain high on the agenda.

According to the source, participants of the session of the Ministry's board discussed coordination of oversight efforts at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Oversight will be considerably beefed up. At present nine government agencies, including Gosatomnadzor, perform these functions. The application of legislation when violations of nuclear and radiation safety regulations are detected was also discussed.

“The organizations and officials, whose work we oversee, have to understand that any violations will entail decisive enforcement action in accordance with the law,” stated Belarusian First Emergencies Minister Vasily Stepanenko.

Participants of the Ministry's board session discussed and adopted Gosatomnadzor's strategic plan for 2016-2020, the strategy for enhancing oversight functions, managing knowledge and analyzing probabilities from the safety point of view. These documents stem from the experience accumulated by creating the nuclear and radiation safety regulatory infrastructure in Belarus, recommendations of foreign and international experts, the IAEA's current requirements for nuclear and radiation safety regulatory agencies..