Belarusian nuclear
power plant

The recent comprehensive inspection of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) has not revealed any fundamental issues, head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Olga Lugovskaya told BelTA commenting on some media reports alleging violations during the BelNPP construction.

“There were no major remarks and violations. There are no grounds or reasons to suspend the construction of the nuclear power plant or withdraw the license,” she noted. Olga Lugovskaya said that the remarks voiced during the inspection were accepted and the deadline for eliminating the failures was established. Olga Lugovskaya repeated that the remarks “were not critical or fundamental”.

According to the Gosatomnadzor chief, taking part in the comprehensive inspection were various supervisory bodies. The remarks were documented in the improvement notice. The deadline for removing the defects was established. In fact, all failures should be removed by the start of the second quarter of 2015. “These issues are being addressed as work proceeds; the bulk of remarks has already been addressed. Our major task is to make sure that the recommendations listed in the improvement notice are fulfilled within the established timeframe. I can say that we maintain close cooperation with our operator and we have no critical remarks,” Olga Lugovskaya said.

BelTA reported earlier that the comprehensive inspection of the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant took place on 27 October – 6 November. The inspection involved representatives of government agencies and their structural units, which are in charge of overseeing the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The number included 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, representatives of the FSUE VO Safety from Russia took part in the inspection as advisors.

The inspection covered several areas concerning the fulfillment of license requirements and conditions by the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant and the observance of the relevant legislation during the construction of the nuclear power plant. The inspectors looked into measures meant to ensure the safe construction of the second power-generating unit and the first power-generating unit.

MASS MEDIA

The representatives of the Republic of Belarus mass media must address to the Republican Unitary Enterprise “Belarusian NPP” 14 days before a visit to the Belarusian NPP construction site the following information:

1. Passport data;

2. Work place and position;

3. Planning date of a visit;

4. Transport data (license plate number, make of vehicle, auto model) ifa visit is planned in a car, private or mass media.

Also the following documents are attached:

1. Copy of the mass media accreditation certificate;

2. Passport copy (pages 31-33; page with the residence);

3. Plane of articles, interviews, foto recording and video recording.

For the representatives of the foreigner mass media all data must be presented 32 days before the planning visit.

EXCURSIONS

For the excursion purpose the visitors must address the formal enquiry where the passport data, work place and position of all visitors are specified and the list of issues exercising to the RUE “Belarusian NPP” 15 days before the visit.

The passport copy of all visitors must be attached (pages 31-33; page with the residence).

For the access to the Belarusian NPP construction site by the visitors who hasn’t reached the age of 18 years, the formal enquiry where the full name, date and place of birth, planning date of visit are specified must be addressed to the RUE “Belarusian NPP” 15 days before the visit.

Concrete has been poured into the first tier of the internal protective shell of the reactor building of the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant from the mark 1.25 meters below the sea level to the mark 6.75 meters above the sea level, the press service of AO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport told BelTA.

The concrete-enveloped tier is 8 meters high, with roughly 1,500m3 of concrete poured into it. The operation has been carried out by the Russian company OOO Trest Rossem.

According to Yuri Pustovoi, Director for Construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, director of the representative office of AO NIAEP in the Republic of Belarus, the concreting of the first tier of the internal protective shell is an important part of the work accomplished in 2014. Its completion will allow installing the consequent tiers of the internal protective shell. Plans have been made to start the work soon.

The internal protective shell that will be crowned by a dome at the top is one of the main elements in the system of safeguards and localization. The double protective shell of the reactor building rules out the leak of radioactive substances into the environment and serves as physical protection against natural and man-caused impacts, including earthquakes, hurricanes, and falling aircraft.

The merged company AO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is one of the leaders in the global nuclear power engineering industry and accounts for 31% of the global market of nuclear power plant construction services. In October 2014 the company was chosen to be the exclusive executive body of OAO Atomenergoproject. The company has representative offices and operation offices in 15 countries across the globe, with foreign projects accounting for nearly 80% of the order portfolio. The company is the developer and works hard to introduce the innovative system Multi-D, which is designed to manage the construction of complicated engineering installations. The system allows more effectively managing such parameters as budget, deadlines, and quality. The company is run by Valery Igorevich Limarenko, Doctor of Economics.

All the technologies and time frames are observed in the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, said Lilia Dulinets, Head of the International Cooperation, Personnel Training, and Information Support Office of the Nuclear Energy Department of the Belarusian Energy Ministry, during the online conference hosted by the BelTA website on 4 December.

“I would like to calm down everyone and say that old Soviet-style slogans and cutting corners are out of the question. Nuclear energy industry is no place for them. Everything proceeds on schedule and it is strictly monitored,” noted the specialist.

She also pointed out that the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant proceeds on schedule. “A technological process needs clearly defined time frames, therefore, everything goes on in strict compliance with technological requirements. We have an entire quality control system in place and regulating bodies work,” added Lilia Dulinets.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is a project to build an AES-2006 type nuclear power plant 18km away from Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The power plant will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. 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.

The cost of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) will not exceed $11 billion, Deputy Director General of the BelNPP Andrei Barkun told reporters on 26 November, BelTA has learned.

“The governments of Belarus and Russia concluded an agreement on providing a loan to build the BelNPP. The cost of the contract is preliminary. I can say that the cost of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will not exceed $11 billion,” the Deputy Director General said. Some 12.5% of the works have been performed and financed. Andrei Barkun stated that the devaluation of the Russian ruble will not affect the project. “In line with the agreement, the loan will be provided in dollars, therefore we are not particularly worried about the exchange rate of the Russian ruble,” he said.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is being built 18km away from the town of Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast. The BelNPP will have two power-generating units with the total output capacity of up to 2,400MW (2x1,200MW). The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO ASE is the general designer and the general contractor of the project. The AES-2006 design developed by the Saint Petersburg-based R&D company Atomenergoproject was chosen for building Belarus’ first nuclear power plant. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in 2018, the second one in 2020.