Lithuania asks to shut down Belarusian NPP

The Lithuanian State Nuclear Safety Inspectorate reported that last Thursday it sent a letter to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus calling for the suspension of the operation and launch of units 1 and 2 of the Belarusian NPP in Astravets.

This is reported by the Delfi portal.

"Most nuclear safety issues have not yet been resolved. The inspectorate reminded that it is still waiting for answers to the safety issues related to the selection and assessment of the site, the resistance of certain safety-critical equipment of the Belarusian NPP to seismic events and the consequences of a large commercial aircraft crash, the implementation of recommendations for stress tests, probabilistic safety assessment, fire risk assessment, and other safety issues," the statement said.

The Lithuanian State Inspectorate asks the Belarusian authorities to explain the published information that the cooling circuit of the reactor of the 2nd power unit of the plant was contaminated with organic substances, and the secondary circulation circuit of the 1st power unit - with radionuclides. The Inspectorate is also seeking clarification on the deficiencies in the reactor vessel fastening, as well as on the identified defects and unfinished work.

"The goal is to receive information from Belarus on the established limit values for the activity of radionuclides released into the environment. The Inspectorate also calls on the Ministry of Emergencies and other responsible institutions of Belarus to publish the recommendations made during international expert missions and the results of their implementation, to provide additional information necessary for a more accurate forecast of possible accidental releases," the statement said.

Copies of the letter were sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Commission, the European Nuclear Safety Regulatory Group (ENSREG), and the Association of Western European Nuclear Regulators (WENRA).

According to the phased power start-up program, on May 13, the second power unit of the Belarusian NPP (in Ostrovka) was connected to the grid for the first time, delivering the first kilowatt-hours of electricity to the country's integrated power system.

Author - Olena Madiak, 29/05/2023