To date, the first power unit of the nuclear power plant is operating at nominal power, and the second is at the stage of pilot operation. The main objective is security. Public hearings will be held in September before the issuance of an operating permit for power station no. 2. And by the end of the year, the station, as planned, will reach full capacity. All this was preceded by a lot of work, which continues to this day. The SOYUZ correspondent learned about what had been done, prospects, changes in legislation and the assessment of the Belarusian experience by Russian colleagues.
- When in 2007 the decision was made to build the first Belarusian nuclear power plant and the process of forming the infrastructure began, safety became a key aspect, – explains Olga Lugovskaya, head of Gosatomnadzor. We have strictly followed the recommendations of the IAEA. We understood that all decisions that have been taken on the development, adoption and approval of strategies, relevant international agreements, including those related to the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, should be developed on time. All this was supported by the relevant roadmaps, which were adopted by the leaders of our country, the government and the responsible authorities. In all the documents, the issue of security is posed as the main and fundamental one.
Before issuing a license to operate the second power unit, public hearings will be held in September
All this time, Belarus has scrupulously improved the legislation. This year alone, a number of important documents concerning the fate of nuclear waste have been adopted. Including the draft law “On Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Field of Spent Nuclear Fuel Management”.
The Belarusian strategy for the management of radioactive waste (RW), approved by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers N 128, defines the principles aimed at ensuring safety in the field of management of RW, the main directions for the development and improvement of the national radioactive waste management system waste of all categories generated and generated in Belarus.
By building its first nuclear power plant, Belarus is not only strictly following the recommendations of international experts, but also working ahead of the curve in many respects.
Nuclear waste is one such problem. This is highly appreciated by our Russian colleagues.
So, according to Eduard Nikitin, director of decommissioning programs at TVEL JSC (an integrator of the state corporation Rosatom for the dismantling of dangerous nuclear and radioactive installations and the management of radioactive waste), the Belarusian experience will be included in the textbooks on nuclear energy:
- The first block of BelNPP has been launched, but the power plant is officially out of service until the launch of the second. And the issues of waste disposal, site selection, NFC management are already being resolved. And not at the level of reasoning, but in the applied version.
In addition, the specialist pointed to the scientific achievements of Belarusians, who are far from newcomers to the nuclear field.
- Yes, the first power plant is being built, but Belarus has not only knowledge in the field of nuclear technology, but a school. Now everyone is thinking about how to make mobile reactors on mobile platforms. But a similar project of the Pamir mobile nuclear power plant has already been implemented in Belarus, but was closed due to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Therefore, colleagues are often a driving force for us and a fresh perspective on many issues.
According to Nadezhda Zdanevich, head of the technical assistance department of nuclear power plants of the national production association “Belenergo”, the priority option for the management of spent nuclear fuel in Belarus, chosen on the basis of the results of the research, is his treatment in Russia.
And for the disposal of received recycled waste, which will not contain long-lived radionuclides, Belarus plans to build a republican radioactive waste disposal facility by 2030, said Nikolai Mikhailov, deputy director of the Department of nuclear energy – head of the department for the organization of the operation of nuclear power plants and RW management of the Ministry of Energy Nikolai Mikhailov. When choosing the technology of disposal points, the experience of many countries was studied, first of all, of course, the experience of Russia:
- We came to the conclusion that the approaches demonstrated by Russian colleagues in this area are relevant and applicable in Belarus. We will start construction in accordance with the provisions of the roadmap, the development of which is currently in the active phase. We plan to implement this project by 2030.
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