Step-by-step licensing of Belarusian nuclear station construction praised

The step-by-step licensing of the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is justified, said Olga Lugovskaya, Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry, during a press conference in BelTA’s press center on 21 April.

“The practice has turned out to be a good one and popular,” explained Olga Lugovskaya. “It allows continued construction of the nuclear power plant. Economy matters if safety considerations are kept in mind. Even all IAEA documents stipulate that development should be prioritized if safety is taken care of”.

The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry is now preparing to license the main stage of the construction of the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The licensing work began in 2011 with licenses issued to Belnipienergoprom and the United Energy and Nuclear Research Institute Sosny. The two bodies acted as experts for evaluating the nuclear power plant design. In May 2012 the Nuclear Power Plant Construction Directorate issued a license to place the first and second units of the power plant. The license to build the bottom part of the foundation of the first power-generating unit was issued in September 2013. February 2014 saw the license to build the foundations and the bottom parts of the first and second power-generating units of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

Olga Lugovskaya explained that the step-by-step licensing scheme had been chosen by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry as the scheme that fits modern conditions best. The official underlined that despite the high level of references all the expert evaluations are carried out as if it was the first time the nuclear power plant design is used. “Every new power plant, every new facility is unique. Expert evaluation is carried out in full without thinking about previous reference evaluations,” she concluded.

Construction workers started pouring concrete into the foundation of the facilities that will make up the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant at the Ostrovets site in November 2013. The Belarusian nuclear power plant will boast two power-generating units with the total generating capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant. The timeline for implementing the project is stipulated by the general contract. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in November 2018.