Belarus to get nuclear station architectural design in H1 2013

MINSK, 18 January (BelTA) – The architectural design for Belarus’ first nuclear power plant will be submitted for examination to Belarus in H1 2013. The information was released by Mr Alexander Andreyev, Head of the State Environmental Assessment Office of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, BelTA has learned.

“At present Belarus has the presidential decree that permits the designing of the nuclear station at the Ostrovets site. The investment consideration of the construction project has been carried out as well as the environmental impact assessment, public discussions, and consultations with other countries. The architectural design is the next phase. The Russian side is working it out. It is expected to be submitted for our examination in H1 2013,” said Alexander Andreyev. He added that after the design passes all the necessary examinations and gets a go-ahead, Belarus will get down to building the nuclear power plant itself.

The official said that the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Russian state corporation for nuclear energy Rosatom insist that all the preparatory operations have to be completed before getting down to the very project to build the nuclear power plant. This is why Belarus publishes information about the country’s readiness to build the nuclear station in a timely manner. An IAEA mission has assessed Belarus’ readiness.

 

Belarusian environmental protection laws have been studied, with the regulations found compliant with international requirements. Apart from that, the work Belarus has done to choose the location to build the station has been assessed along with safety and security precautions, preliminary preparations of environmental services that will monitor the environment in the nuclear station construction zone.

 

As a result, the IAEA mission acknowledged that as far as the environmental protection is concerned, all the preparatory operations had been completed, with no remarks voiced. “So one can say that Belarus’ environmental protection readiness to build the station has passed the test,” remarked Alexander Andreyev.

He also said that the intensive training of the personnel, who will operate the station, is in progress in Belarus along with the development of the technical standards to build and operate the nuclear power plant. All these documents are being prepared by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus while, in turn, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry examines them and adjusts them.

According to Alexander Andreyev, some mass media incorrectly deliver information about the progress in building the Belarusian nuclear station. “It is necessary to understand that at present preliminary work to build the nuclear power plant is in progress in Belarus.

 

We haven’t started building the station itself yet,” he made it clear. The official remarked that before building the station itself, it is necessary to complete the preparatory phases: storage and supply facilities have to be built to enable the construction process along with living premises and the necessary communications.

Alexander Andreyev also remarked that the Hydrometeorology Department keeps an eye on the radioactive status of the area around the future nuclear power plant. He underlined that the Russian design of the station is the best in the world as far as safety is concerned.

 

“The design has even been criticized for the excessive cost of the safeguards. But the tragedy in Fukushima proved that investing in safety today is better than having to deal with irreparable consequences later,” stressed the official.