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MINSK, 27 August (BelTA) – The training and education center of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be commissioned soon, BelTA learned from Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk on 27 August.

The official said: “The relevant simulators are being installed right now. A full-scale model of the reactor control desk will be available as well.”

In his words, Belarus pays close attention to training the personnel that will man the future nuclear power plant. “We understand the responsibility. We recognize the fact that hardware is nothing without people,” noted Mikhail Mikhadyuk. “In the training center Belarusian specialists will be coached by experienced nuclear energy industry professionals until the Belarusian nuclear power plant goes online. The simulators that are being installed are complete replicas of the workstations that the Belarusian nuclear power plant personnel will have to work with. The hardware will be used to polish all the necessary skills. All kinds of emergencies will be simulated among other things.”

The Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister explained that the Belarusian program to train nuclear industry personnel comprises several components. First, specialists are trained in Belarusian universities. Four universities offer training in six professions. Over 800 people have been trained so far. Some of them are employed in the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry while some are employed at other power plants. They will get valuable experience since many technological processes at nuclear and heat power plants are similar, noted Mikhail Mikhadyuk.

The second component is retraining programs for specialists with hands-on experience of operating power plants. They are sent for training and on-the-job training to specialized centers and nuclear power plants outside Belarus.

Apart from that, Belarus hires foreign specialists with a long track record of operating nuclear power plants. “We have compiled a list of positions and specialists that will man the key workstations when our power plant in Ostrovets District goes online. There are about 70 specialists of the kind. Trained Belarusian specialists will work next to them for the sake of getting the relevant invaluable experience,” added Mikhail Mikhadyuk.

The official underlined that making the future Belarusian nuclear power plant safe and secure is a multiple-vector task. “The AES-2006 design used to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant is state of the art. It is a reference design. It combines an optimal number of active and passive safeguards that will secure the power plant’s reliable operation,” stated the Belarusian Deputy Energy Minister.