Commentary on the Resolution of the European Parliament of February 11, 2021

In connection with the adoption of the Resolution of the European Parliament of February 11, 2021, the Department for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (Gosatomnadzor) makes the following statement on the issues raised regarding the regulation of nuclear and radiation safety.

In implementing its first nuclear power program, Belarus has consistently followed the safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and fundamental safety principles. Our country takes part in the implementation of all elements of the global nuclear safety regime. Belarus is a Contracting Party to a number of conventions and agreements, including the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management and others. Belarusian legislation on nuclear and radiation safety is constantly being enhanced, as well as taking into account new requirements and recommendations of the IAEA: new rules and regulations are being developed, existing documents are being revised, including high-level documents, such as the Law “On the Use of Atomic Energy” and the Law “On Radiation Safety”.

Belarus makes extensive use of the instruments of international assessment missions and peer reviews, voluntarily invited and hosted a number of IAEA missions, both specific and complex, including the regulatory infrastructure assessment issues:

- the IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission, 2012 and 2020;

- the IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission, 2016;

- Emergency Preparedness Review Service (EPREV) mission, 2018;

- the State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material (ISSAS) mission, 2019.

The recommendations received during the above mentioned missions are being implemented in a planned manner. The IAEA's International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission has been requested by the Republic of Belarus and will take place in the middle of 2021. An IRRS follow-up mission is scheduled for Quarter 4, 2021. In the official final documents of the missions, the IAEA experts note that:

“…Belarus has a regulatory framework for safety in place and a strong commitment to nuclear and radiation safety as demonstrated during the mission” (from the 2016 IRRS mission report);

“…Belarus is close to completing the required nuclear power infrastructure for starting the operation of its first nuclear power plant (NPP). It has competent organizations and is finalising its activities to prepare for start-up of the first unit” (from the INIR 2020 mission report).

IAEA experts and other parties involved have noted several times the positive practices and areas of good performance applied in Belarus, which are recommended for study by other countries, including in terms of the development of international cooperation, transparency and openness of the regulatory authority. For example, during the last review meeting under the Convention on Nuclear Safety in 2017 the Contracting Parties in the final document indicated “Comprehensive international cooperation, including bilateral agreements on nuclear safety” as an area of good performance. A similar conclusion was also reached by the Contracting Parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management during the last review meeting in 2018.

The Belarusian regulatory authotity in the field of nuclear and radiation safety is independent in making its regulatory decisions, including such important issues as licensing activities in the field of the atomic energy use and of ionizing radiation sources.

Prior to the commissioning of power unit No. 1 of the Belarusian NPP, since October 2017 Gosatomnadzor organized a comprehensive examination of the documents justifying the safe operation of the power unit, which was carried out by the expert organization State Scientific Institution “JIPNR-Sosny” of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Based on the safety review and the assessment of the compliance of the Belarusian NPP with licensing requirements and conditions, during which the readiness of the Belarusian NPP to safely perform the declared activities was checked, Gosatomnadzor drew the conclusion on the possibility of issuing a license for the beginning of the physical start-up of the power unit No.1. The loading of nuclear fuel into the reactor of the power unit No. 1 of the Belarusian NPP was started after the issuance of the license to the Belarusian NPP. Gosatomnadzor announced its issuance on the Gosatomnadzor web-site and in mass media. Gosatomnadzor also informed the IAEA and those competent regulatory authorities of the countries with whom the relevant bilateral agreements have been concluded about the start of loading nuclear fuel in accordance with the established procedure.

The commissioning of power unit No. 1 of the Belarusian NPP into commercial operation will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the national legislation and upon receiving of the relevant operating license by the Belarusian NPP. Prior to its issuance Gosatomnadzor will hold public hearings in accordance with the legislation, during which will inform the public about the safety expertise and assessment of the Belarusian NPP compliance with the licensing requirements and conditions, that allow to make a positive decision to issue this license.

Gosatomnadzor recalls that from August 2020 to the present power unit No. 1 of the Belarusian NPP is undergoing commissioning phases, during which equipment testing and numerous tests are carried out in various operating modes of the nuclear facility, including revealing the necessity of adjusting the equipment. There were no situations classified as emergency or abnormal. Nevertheless, regarding an increased public interest in various situations at the Belarusian NPP representatives of Gosatomnadzor, the Ministry of Energy, and other interested parties provided appropriate comments for the mass media. Through the national contact point – the Republican Center for Management and Response to Emergencies of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus – replies were provided to all requests about situations at the Belarusian NPP received within the established bilateral agreements “On prompt notification of a nuclear accident and exchange of information on nuclear and radiation safety”.

Gosatomnadzor emphasizes again that safety review, allowing to make a decision on the possibility of carrying out activities in the field of nuclear energy use, is carried out within the framework of the licensing process. Stress tests represent a one-time unscheduled assessment of the NPP's resistance to extreme external natural hazards and their combination in the light of the lessons of the accident at the Japanese NPP “Fukushima-Daiichi”, which allows to analyze the safety margins above the requirements established by regulatory legal acts and propose measures to increase them in the context of continuous safety enhancement.

Common actions with ENSREG regarding stress tests of the Belarusian NPP (the peer review of the National Report on Stress Tests of the Belarusian NPP 2017-2018 and the peer review of the National Action Plan following the results of stress tests 2020-2021) are carried out by our country on a voluntary basis, as a demonstration of Belarus' commitment to continuous enhancement of NPP safety.

The creation of the National Action Plan following the results of the stress tests of the Belarusian NPP (hereinafter - the National Action Plan) is entirely the task and responsibility of the Belarusian side. This thesis is confirmed in the ENSREG Report of 2018, in which it was recommended to Gosatomnadzor “in accordance with the principle of “intelligent ownership”, should identify the necessary safety improvements in response to the recommendations made in this report by the PRT and those by Gosatomnadzor itself, and incorporate them into a National Action Plan containing all relevant safety improvement measures and associated implementation schedules”. This was done: Gosatomnadzor, together with the interested parties, analyzed all the recommendations, the National Action Plan was formed and sent to the Belarusian NPP as a prescription. Its implementation is under control of the regulatory authority.

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