Kirill Krivosheyev: A Belarusian-Russian consortium will create radiation monitoring systems for BelNPP

During the opening ceremony of the expo and conference Atomexpo Belarus in Minsk on 20 April IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano stated that the safety of operation of nuclear power plants all over the world has increased considerably in the last five years. At the same time the work to improve safety standards must continue all the time, he noted. Today’s computerized radiation control systems and technical solutions allow monitoring the environmental status and confirming the safety of the environment around nuclear power plants. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will not be an exception. It will have state-of-the-art equipment for these purposes. The Russian company SNIIP is a potential supplier of the equipment. It has established a consortium with the Belarusian enterprise Atomtex with clearly outlined goals.

A BelTA reporter talked to Kirill Krivosheyev, Director for Commerce of the Russian company SNIIP (part of Atomenergomash, the mechanical engineering division of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom). Kirill Krivosheyev informed BelTA for what purposes the two companies had combined their efforts, what radiation control systems are for, and whether the contract to sell such systems had been signed already.

Kirill Krivosheyev said: “Since the international community believes that the Russian nuclear power plant design AES-2006 [which is used to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant] boasts a high degree of safety, fortunately, our radiation monitoring systems have not had a chance to trigger yet. But it should be noted that in diagnostic mode these systems should feed all the necessary data. On the whole, they are designed to operate in normal conditions and in conditions of an emergency.” The executive explained that the product, which they are designing together with Atomtex, is an automated system meant to monitor radiation status. The system will monitor environmental status in a 30km-radius around the nuclear power plant. In other words, the system will keep the local population informed about the current state of affairs near the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

SNIIP has many years of experience under its belt and is over 64 years old. “We’ve supplied products to all the Russian nuclear power plants. We take part in many overseas projects, including in India, Iran, and China. On the whole, Rosatom is in favor of keeping purchasing procedures as open as possible and Belarus is no exception. We certainly have high chances as suppliers of equipment for the Belarusian nuclear power plant. We have a joint project with Belarusian Atomtex although the contracts have not been signed yet, we expect the matter to be resolved,” said Kirill Krivosheyev. Since Atomtex’s and SNIIP’s products are similar in many ways, the two companies can complement each other and create an optimal automated system in the end that will comply with technical, operational, and economic requirements. “Thus, with the consortium in place, we will create a better product through joint efforts,” believes Director for Commerce of the Russian company SNIIP.

Kirill Krivosheyev underlined that the companies have no deadlines for delivering radiation control equipment to the Belarusian nuclear power plant yet. “The construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant stays strictly on schedule. It takes at least six months to make our equipment. I think it will be delivered on time,” noted the executive.

On 20 April Belarusian Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik said that $400 million worth of equipment has been delivered to Belarus as part of the Belarusian nuclear power plant construction project. “The composition and requirements for the automated radiation control systems are not completely clear yet, this is why it is difficult to say how much our equipment will cost but, certainly, a lot less than the money already invested in the construction project,” pointed out Kirill Krivosheyev. In conclusion he said he was confident that the project to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant follows very high implementation standards.

The Russian company SNIIP and the Belarusian enterprise Atomtex are taking part in the international expo and conference Atomexpo Belarus 2016. SNIIP’s products in the area of the safe operation of nuclear power plants are demonstrated as part of the joint stand of Atomenergomash. Top executives and technical specialists of the company are taking part in the business program of the forum.

Since its inception in 1952, SNIIP has been working to ensure nuclear and radiation safety in the course of operation of nuclear power plants and research reactors, during technological processes at nuclear fuel enterprises, and during the operation of nuclear-powered vessels.

The R&D enterprise Atomtex of the public joint-stock company (OAO) MNIPI was established in 1995 as a daughter enterprise of the Minsk-based instrument-making institute MNIPI. The enterprise is focused on developing and making devices and equipment for nuclear measurements and radiation control.