Belarusian nuclear
power plant

Building works at the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) are of high quality, Chief Engineer of the BelNPP project Pavel Bezrukov said during a press tour of the Energy Ministry, Information Ministry of Belarus and OAO Atomproyekt to the construction sites of the BelNPP and the Leningrad nuclear power plant, BelTA has learned.

 “We are happy with the level of works and the attitude of Belarusian builders,” Pavel Bezrukov said.

Representatives of OAO Atomproyekt conduct regular reviews at the construction site of the plant. “Several specialists of our company present at the site of the future nuclear power plant,” Pavel Bezrukov noted. If needed the number of Atomproyekt representatives will be increased.

OAO Atomproyekt was founded at the base of the VNIPIET chief institute (All-Russian Scientific Research and Design Institute for Energy Technology) and St. Petersburg Atomenergoproekt on 1 July 2014. Atomproyekt is a leading company of the Rosatom State Corporation. The company provides comprehensive planning for nuclear power facilities, scientific research and development of new-generation nuclear power technologies.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant will consist of two power-generating units with the total generating capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant. The timeline for implementing the project is stipulated by the general contract. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in November 2018, with the second one commissioning in 2020.

The construction of the information center for the Belarusian nuclear power plant began in Ostrovets, Grodno Oblast, representatives of the Belarusian Energy Ministry told BelTA.

 The one-storey building will be located in the first residential district of the town for energy industry personnel. The design envisages a spacious conference hall fitted with multimedia tools that will come in handy for lectures about nuclear power engineering as well as halls for showcasing models and expositions. Visitors of the center will be able to get familiar with operation principles of modern nuclear power plants, the strategy for handling radioactive waste, peculiarities of safeguards. Part of the exposition will be dedicated to the construction of the first Belarusian nuclear power plant. The information center is scheduled to open in March 2015.

 At present the nuclear power plant’s information center is located in Ostrovets in rented premises of the local movie theater. Since it was opened in October 2009, it has welcomed over 7,000 people from Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, Czechia, the USA, Vietnam, Turkey, Japan, and other countries.

The information center of the nuclear power plant is meant to raise the awareness of and deliver information to various population groups: labor collectives, public organizations, mass media, government agencies, school and university students, and other interested persons. The main task of the center is to keep the general public informed about matters concerning nuclear power engineering, progress in building the Belarusian nuclear power plant, and other things.

The Volgodonsk-based branch Atommash of ZAO AEM Technologies (part of Atomenergomash, which is the mechanical engineering division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom) is in the process of shipping components of the core catcher for the second power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from OAO Atomenergomash representatives.

Once assembled, the core catcher will be 14 meters high, 6.5 meters in diameter and will weigh about 760 tonnes.

The two largest components of the core catcher have been delivered by trucks to a special wharf in Volgodonsk and loaded onto a freight vessel, said the source.

Automobile and water transport is used to deliver the core catcher to the Belarusian nuclear power plant. From Volgodonsk the ship will travel for 2,500km to reach Lake Ilmen. Then the large-sized and heavy components will be delivered to the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant by trucks. The other components will be delivered to the customer using automobile transport.

The Volgodonsk-based enterprise has been making molten core catchers since 2010. The company has already shipped core catchers for the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, for the first and second units of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant, and the first unit of the Baltic nuclear power plant.

The core catcher is a specialized system designed to protect nuclear power plants. The device protects load-bearing structures of the hermetic shell from thermomechanical impact of the molten core, which temperature can exceed 2,000C during an emergency. The conical structure is designed to catch and keep liquid and solid radioactive materials if an accident destroys the reactor. The device will keep dangerous radioactive elements from leaking out of the shell even in the direst of emergencies.

OAO Atomenergomash is the mechanical engineering division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom. Atomenergomash provides effective comprehensive solutions for nuclear power industry, heat power industry, gas, oil, and chemical industries. The company comprises about 30 major manufacturing, research, and engineering enterprises in Russia, Ukraine, Czechia, and Hungary.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant will comprise two power-generating units with the total capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and general contractor of the project.

The Russian company OAO NIKIMT Atomstroy has trained and certified welders for the Belarusian enterprises involved in building the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from representatives of the Russian company’s communications department.

As many as 20 specialists have completed the training course and have passed the exam. They will be employed for the installation of auxiliary systems of the reactor. They have been issued certificates and documents that authorize them to oversee and carry out technical control over the organization of welding operations.

 “The construction of any nuclear power plant requires a considerable volume of welding operations. The Belarusian nuclear power plant is built in line with Russian norms and requirements, which means that all the welding operations are to be carried out in accordance with Russian rules for the nuclear power engineering industry,” stressed Vladimir Popov, Deputy Director General for Manufacturing of OAO NIKIMT Atomstroy.

In his words, the Belarusian specialists are true professionals with extensive experience of working in the chemical industry and the oil industry. “However, they have not met the requirements set for the nuclear industry before. The training course has allowed the Belarusians to fully prepare for welding operations at the reactor under construction,” added Vladimir Popov. OAO NIKIMT Atomstroy (the parent material organization of the state corporation Rosatom, part of the control circuit of OAO Atomenergoproject) is the first company in the industry to open an official representation in the Republic of Belarus for training and certifying welders.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant will boast two power-generating units with the total generating capacity of up to 2,400MW (1,200MW each). The Russian design AES-2006 has been chosen to build the power plant. The design is fully compliant with international standards and IAEA recommendations. The Russian merged company OAO NIAEP – ZAO Atomstroyexport (ASE) is the general designer and the general contractor for building the power plant. The timeline for implementing the project is stipulated by the general contract. The first power-generating unit of the nuclear power plant is scheduled for launch in November 2018.

About 10% of the work needed to build the Belarusian nuclear power plant has been completed, BelTA learned from Mikhail Filimonov, Director General of the enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, on 9 July.

Mikhail Filimonov stressed that all the operations are carried out on schedule and sometimes ahead of schedule. “Construction work at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant is proceeding very actively now. The construction workers are busy building the unground parts of both reactors, the machinery room, and a special reservoir. The unique structure of a grading bowl as high as 170m is being built. For now the construction work progress is virtually at 10% mark,” said the Director General.

 There are no complaints regarding the work of the general contractor and the subcontractors. Over 3,000 people are now employed at the construction site of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. Over 200 Belarusian and Russian students have arrived at the site to help professional workers. The number includes students from Brest Oblast, Gomel Oblast, Mogilev Oblast, Vitebsk Oblast, Grodno Oblast, Minsk Oblast and the city, students from Nizhny Novgorod and Obninsk. Bricklayers, concrete workers, geodesists, non-destructive testing inspectors, and welders are in demand.

“There is no doubt that strong and healthy lads will come in handy. They will help the construction workers a lot, their labor is in demand and is highly appreciated,” remarked Mikhail Filimonov.

In the future the best students from the relevant universities will be able to apply for full-time positions on the Belarusian nuclear power plant’s operation team. Close attention is now paid to training personnel for the nuclear power plant.

The power plant’s training center will prepare the workforce among other institutions. There is an interest in hiring foreign specialists, including from Ukraine. According to Mikhail Filimonov, there is no doubt that the power plant will have highly qualified personnel before it goes online.