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MOSCOW, 19 June (BelTA) – The European Commission experts will give an independent evaluation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant stress tests, Belarus Deputy Energy Minister Mikhail Mikhadyuk told the media on the sidelines of Atomexpo in Moscow, BelTA has learned.

According to Mikhail Mikhadyuk, the state enterprise “Belarusian nuclear power plant” has already reviewed the results of the stress tests. These materials have been sent to Gosatomnadzor which is preparing a national report on the results of the stress tests.

“In the autumn we will send the national report to the European Commission for the independent evaluation of our stress tests. We held talks with the European Commission, and reached a full understanding on this issue,” said Mikhail Mikhadyuk.

“If the European Commission gives us any recommendations, Belarus will consider them and implement them,” he noted.

Belarus stress-tested its nuclear power plant in 2016 using European methods and taking into account recommendations based on the European Commission’s and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group’s (ENSREG) specifications. As part of the stress testing process the resilience of the Belarusian nuclear power plant as well as its adaptation to extreme impacts was tested. The safe operation of the nuclear power plant in the face of extreme external impacts was tested. Consequences of natural phenomena were forecast such as combinations of floods, extreme weather conditions and external impacts, consequences of the nuclear power plant’s losing safety functions due to the loss of external power.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build a VVER-1200 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). The first power-generating unit will be commissioned in 2019, the second – in 2020.