The press service of the Department for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus (Gosatomnadzor) has reported on the permission to perform low power physical experiments at BelNPP unit No. 1.
BelNPP can also carry out work on the management of operational radioactive waste now.
“This decision is based on the conclusion of Gosatomnadzor, which, in accordance with the current legislation, reviewed the results of the examination of documents justifying safety, and checked the readiness of the Belarusian NPP to carry out the declared activities,” the message says.
The Astravets NPP was built by Rosatom using a Russian loan, to be run on its own uranium fuel. Lukashenka’s plan to sell energy to Lithuania has failed — the Seimas legally banned the purchase of Belarusian electricity, as the nuclear power plant is dangerously close to the Lithuanian capital.
The first power unit of the BelNPP is planned to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2021 (the power start-up is expected in November this year), the second one — in 2022.
