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MINSK, 10 June (BelTA) – Oversight measures implemented at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant have not been able to confirm that an incident has happened in the course of the construction project, BelTA learned from representatives of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry.

According to the source, in the course of execution of oversight measures at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant in the form of continuous oversight and in the form of a comprehensive inspection the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department has not been able to corroborate the statements made by Press Secretary of the State Security Department of Lithuania Vytautas Makauskas and Lithuanian Minister of Environment Kestutis Treciokas, who had claimed that another incident has happened in the course of construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry reminded that permanent oversight measures are in place to ensure the safety of construction and commissioning of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. In particular, the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department has a special team of seven inspectors working at the construction site. In addition to this team comprehensive inspections are held twice a year. The comprehensive inspections involve representatives of several oversight agencies at once as well as specialists of the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia (Rostechnadzor), who act in the advisory capacity. BelTA reported earlier that another comprehensive inspection was launched a short while ago and is now in progress.

The state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant has not submitted any reports about safety-compromising incidents either. In line with the effective legislation the licensee is supposed to notify the regulatory agency about any events that may influence safety.

“Thus, information presented by Lithuania regarding another possible incident in the course of construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant has not been confirmed,” concluded the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). In line with the general contract for building the nuclear power plant the first power-generating unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2018, with the second one to go online in 2020.