Belarus to host IAEA nuclear infrastructure mission in Q1 2020

Belarus is set to host a nuclear infrastructure mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the first quarter of 2020, Belarus’ Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk said as he spoke at the plenary session of the 63rd session of the IAEA General Conference on 16 September, BelTA has learned.

“In the first quarter of next year, Belarus will host an IAEA an integrated nuclear infrastructure review mission to assess the third phase of its nuclear power program,” Mikhail Mikhadyuk noted.

Over the past year, Belarus hosted three IAEA missions - Emergency Preparedness Review (EPREV) mission, Safeguards Advisory Service Mission (ISSAS), and Operational Safety Review mission (Pre-OSART).

“The conclusions of the IAEA missions confirm Belarus' commitment to ensuring the highest level of nuclear security. We analyze carefully the results and recommendations of each mission and plan appropriate measures to implement them,” the deputy minister said.

According to Mikhail Mikhadyuk, by actively using international expertise, Belarus supports the IAEA's efforts to develop and provide member states with an effective toolkit of advisory and technical assistance on a wide range of nuclear and radiation safety issues.

“We have always proceeded from the fact that missions and partnership expertise should remain focused on practical utility for member states and remain modular in order to be applied to specific areas or phases of activity, which should not be used by member states for populist accusations in any way,” said the deputy minister.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built using a Russian design featuring VVER-1200 reactors near Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in late 2019, with the second one to go online in 2020.