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Stress-tests of the Belarusian NPP

03 July 2018

03-07-2018

On July 2, 2018 the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) endorsed the Peer Review Report of the Belarusian NPP Stress-Tests.

On July 3, 2018 the chairs of the Peer Review Team and the Peer Review Board presented the results of the peer review to the public in Brussels. The head of the Belarusian regulatory authority Gosatomnadzor, Olga Lugovskaya, also addressed the audience.

The Peer Review Report, its executive summary and Joint Press-Release of ENSREG and Gosatomnadzor will be published on July 4, 2018.

Detailed information on the process and results of the stress-tests will be presented during briefing of the Head of Gosatomnadzor, Olga Lugovskaya, scheduled for July 10, 2018.

Stress tests and peer review were conducted by Belarus voluntarily in accordance with the commitment taken in the context of Joint Declaration of 2011 in the same way as for the nuclear power plants in the European Union and some neighboring countries (Ukraine, Switzerland, Armenia) to assess: 1) how the NPP will withstand extreme natural events (earthquake, flooding, extreme weather conditions); 2) response of the plants to prolonged loss of electric power and/or loss of the ultimate heat sink; 3) severe accident management.

The aim of the stress-tests is to give the national regulatory authorities useful practical recommendations for further enhancement of the nuclear safety.

Belarus fully met its voluntary commitments taken in the context of the Joint Declaration on Stress-Tests of 2011:

- operator conducted self-assessment in accordance with EU specifications;

- based on this self-assessment  the national regulatory authority prepared the National Report with conclusions and recommendations on safety improvement measures;

- a peer-review of the National Report  by the European regulators was conducted.

For the first time a peer-review was conducted for an NPP under construction of a new design with advanced safety features. The highest new safety standards were applied during the review, including WENRA approach for new reactor designs, though legally speaking it is not applicable for the Belarusian NPP.

Belarusian regulatory authority – Gosatomnadzor – intends:

- to consider all recommendations made in the peer-review report;

- to identify the necessary safety improvements in response to the recommendations made in the peer-review report and to the recommendations made by Gosatomnadzor itself;

- to incorporate all relevant safety improvement measures into a National Action Plan with associated implementation schedules;

-  to identify the approach to a  review of the National Action Plan.

Such approach to a follow-up is based on the understanding of the logic of the stress-tests process by the Belarusian side and is in full compliance with the approach followed within the European Union.

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