Positive evaluation of Belarus’ Nuclear Safety Convention report

Belarus’ national report on fulfilling the Nuclear Safety Convention has received a positive international evaluation on the whole, said First Deputy Emergencies Minister of Belarus Vasily Stepanenko at the press conference in BelTA’s press center on 21 April.

Parties to the Convention have to prepare detailed reports every three years. Belarus has been presenting its reports since 1999. The latest report dealt with the development of nuclear power engineering and covered the project to build Belarus’ first nuclear power plant in detail.

The Belarusian report was prepared in August 2013. In line with the established procedure Belarus had to answer questions from all the parties to the Convention while the Belarusian side was free to ask questions from other countries regarding their reports. According to the Emergencies Ministry, Belarus received 116 questions from the USA, Russia, and other countries with a well-developed nuclear industry as well as questions from countries with nascent nuclear industries. “Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania, which were interested in safety levels, demonstrated their strongest interest,” explained Vasily Stepanenko. He attributed the interest in the Belarusian report to the fast construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The report was officially presented in the IAEA HQ in Vienna in late March during a conference of parties to the Convention. The Belarusian delegation included representatives of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the Emergencies Ministry. The report is freely available on the website of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry.