Belarus' Nuclear Power Unit No.1 To Become Fully Operational In April-May - Official

The first power unit of Belarus' Astravets nuclear power plant is expected to be fully operational in April or May of this year after safety assessment procedures are concluded, Leonid Dedul, a high-ranking nuclear safety official said Monday

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) The first power unit of Belarus' Astravets nuclear power plant is expected to be fully operational in April or May of this year after safety assessment procedures are concluded, Leonid Dedul, a high-ranking nuclear safety official said Monday.

"The expected date of acceptance is April-May. And then, according to the positive conclusion of the commission, it will enter into service," Dedul, who is the Deputy Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor), told reporters.

The power unit was inaugurated in November 2020 and has been entering service into the Belarusian power grid gradually and in an experimental run so far.

According to state news agency Belta, Dedul explained that the plant will not be fully made part of the country's power grid until it receives a series of positive assessments and relevant licenses from the agency's inspection commission.

Furthermore, Dedul said that Belarus is expecting two missions from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this year.

"The next international inspection is scheduled for June-July. This will be the IAEA's International Physical Protection Advisory Service mission. An IAEA mission to assess the regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety will arrive in Belarus at the end of the year, if the epidemiological situation allows. Belarus demonstrates openness, we invite foreign experts," Dedul said, as quoted by Belta.

Built in collaboration with Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom, the Astravets-1 NPP went online on November 3 after around nine years of construction and testing. The VVER V-491 Pressurized Water Reactor, the largest joint project between the two neighbors, is the first in a series of power plants that will go online through 2022.