Public hearings before granting BelNPP's second unit's operating license scheduled for September

MINSK, 29 June (BelTA) – Public hearings are supposed to take place in mid-September before the license for commercial operation of the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) can be granted, BelTA learned from Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Olga Lugovskaya.

Olga Lugovskaya said: “We intend to arrange public hearings in order to explain the approaches to granting the license for commercial operation of the second unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant approximately in the middle of September. The government has tasked us with raising the public's awareness about how such decisions are made.”

The official reminded that the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant now operates at nominal power levels while the second one is going through the pilot commercial operation stage.

The public hearings are supposed to inform the general public about progress and results of the safety expert evaluation and conformance evaluation arranged by Gosatomnadzor to evaluate the applicant's compliance with requirements of the license in the course of making decisions affecting nuclear and radiation safety of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

Participants of the public hearings are expected to discuss technical and organizational aspects that are crucial to the safe operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant as a whole entity with two units over the course of 60 years. Infrastructure matters will be raised as well: the development of the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant as the nuclear power plant's operating organization, the development of infrastructure for managing radioactive waste and spent fuel, accident preparedness and response. Apart from that, the Belarusian nuclear power plant's interaction with organizations of the country that supplies the technologies (Russia) after the commissioning of the nuclear power plant will be reviewed as well as a strategy for interaction between the operating organization and foreign and international organizations in safety matters.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant uses the Russian design AES-2006 featuring two VVER-1200 reactors with the total output capacity of 2,400MW. It is an evolutionary nuclear power plant design with third-generation water-moderated reactors. Such designs boast improved technical and economic parameters. A unique combination of active and passive safeguards is their key feature.