Belarusian NPP subject to stress tests


Nuclear power plant in Astravets has held nuclear safety stress tests.

The Department of Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Emergencies Ministry of Belarus has published a national report on the results of nuclear safety stress tests at the Astravets power plant.

According to the department, the NPP, which is based on the Russian design of the latest generation “3+”, fully complies with international safety standards.

Among the possible factors of influence are an earthquake, a flood, an abnormal rise in temperature and other natural disasters.

Now the report will be handed over to the European Group for the Supervision of Nuclear Safety (ENSREG) and the European Commission for an international review.

On October 19, Vice-Premier of Belarus Uladzimir Syamashka said that the likelihood of the Belarusian nuclear power plant accident is practically zero.

In June, the Lithuanian Parliament decided that the Belarusian NPP is dangerous, that it is “a threat to national security of the Republic of Lithuania, its environment and to public health.” The decision was supported by 104 Lithuanian MPs.

Head of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense Vytautas Bakas noted that Belarus had violated three international conventions and the Belarusian NPP project is non-transparent.

Poland also expressed concern about the project: Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said that Warsaw does not intend to purchase energy from the Astravets NPP. According to the politician, the Polish authorities will not change their views on the dangers of the project, despite the IAEA evaluation.

The construction of nuclear power plant was accompanied by incidents, and the information about them always reached the public with a significant delay.

In the summer of 2016, construction workers damaged the reactor vessel, and in December 2016, the new vessel touched a rail post during transportation. There was information that two welders were killed at the site.

TWITTER