"The top-priority items have been completed, which definitely increase our level of security." “This mainly concerns the completion of equipment that will ensure readiness to overcome beyond project accidents under any conditions. Also, a number of points have been fulfilled, which are of a calculated and analytical nature," said Nikolai Karpenko. In particular, reports have been made on the analysis of seismic safety, on the analysis of control zones of NPP power units in conditions of beyond project accidents, etc.
In February, a group of European experts is scheduled to visit Belarusian nuclear power plant as part of a partnership review of the national action plan following the results of stress tests. The visit is being prepared by the European Nuclear Safety Regulatory Group (ENSREG). Experts will get acquainted with the design solutions implemented at the NPP site based on the results of stress tests.
Speaking about the readiness of BelNPP for various emergency situations, Nikolai Karpenko explained that the project of the plant contains "the most advanced technical solutions and engineering surveys." “Therefore, at the moment, it seems to me, the project of Belarusian NPP, which is based on the AES-2006 project, is the most advanced in the world.” “Overall, safety management is not a one-time project. It would be wrong if we dealt with plant safety on a case-by-case basis. The safety management process is never-ending - technology evolves, regulations change and become more stringent. Therefore, we cannot sit still and we must constantly deal with this issue," the BelNPP representative summed up.
It should be reminded that Belarus voluntarily conducted stress tests of the NPP under the European Union procedure in 2016-2018, during which the resistance of the nuclear power plant to external natural influences and their combination was analyzed in detail. The document contains 23 events with a deadline for their implementation from 2019 to 2025.
