Belarusian nuclear power plant's first reactor in for flushing in December

The unsealed reactor pressure vessel of the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be subjected to a flushing procedure in December in order to cleanse all the internal systems, BelTA learned from Belarusian Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk.

According to the source, government conferences are regularly held to discuss and review progress in building the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Results achieved in October 2017 were summed up on 2 November. Tasks for the end of the year and for the next year were determined. Preparations for the flushing procedure, which will begin in December, were discussed. Once the primary circuit systems and the safeguards of the first unit are fully assembled, they will be flushed, said Mikhail Mikhadyuk. It is a very important stage in building a nuclear power plant. “We also discussed in detail preparations for working in winter conditions,” said the official.

In his words, Belarus takes every measure to live up to the IAEA's high nuclear safety standards.

BelTA reported earlier that a reactor pressure vessel for the second power-generating unit was successfully delivered to the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in October. Its installation is supposed to begin before the next year. The reactor pressure vessel and all the four steam generators of the first unit have already been installed. The Belarusian nuclear power plant is built using the Russian standard Generation III+ design AES-2006 near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.