Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 6 November (BelTA) – All the required safety measures are in place during the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP), head of the bureau for nuclear and radiation safety of nuclear facilities at the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Alexander Prikhodko said during an online conference on the BelTA website commenting on the preliminary results of the comprehensive inspection of the BelNPP facilities.

“The preliminary results of the comprehensive inspection suggest that the safety requirements related to the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant are fulfilled in general,” Alexander Prikhodko said.

He noted that violations are detected during all comprehensive inspections. In particular, the specialists of the nuclear safety watchdog have revealed a number of violations related to waterproofing works, input checks of equipment, construction, concreting and installation of reinforcement works, installation and mounting of lifting equipment.

“The Gosatomnadzor representatives who took part in inspections at nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation say that similar violations are revealed at all nuclear power plants, however these violations are not critical if they are fixed in a timely manner. It is important to understand that the goal of inspections is, first of all, to prevent violations,” he noted.

When the comprehensive inspection is over, the inspectors will prepare their findings listing the violations and providing recommendations on their removal.

First deputy head of Gosatomnadzor Leonid Rydlevsky noted that nuclear safety watchdogs are constantly monitoring the efforts to fix the violations. “It was established during the current inspection that the operating organization is up to date with fixing the violations,” he noted.

The comprehensive inspection of the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is taking place on 27 October – 6 November. The inspection involves representatives of government agencies and their structural units, which are in charge of overseeing the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The number includes representatives of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department and the Safe Industrial Practices Department of the Emergencies Ministry, and the State Committee for Standardization. Apart from Belarusian specialists experienced Russian colleagues — representatives of the FSUE VO Safety — are taking part in the inspection as advisors.