Belarus hosts the IAEA International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission

On June 28, 2021 the International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) mission started its work in the Republic of Belarus. The mission focuses on the national arrangements for ensuring the physical security of nuclear material and nuclear installations, the physical protection system of the nuclear facilities, the system for ensuring the physical protection of nuclear material during its transportation, information and computer security.

The IPPAS mission, as well as other assessment missions and peer reviews, is carried out on a voluntary basis and upon the invitation of the Republic of Belarus. Gosatomnadzor and other parties involved carried out the relevant preparatory activities in the country.

Joseph Sandoval, the USA citizen, is the Head of the IPPAS mission team in Belarus. The team also includes experts from the IAEA, Bulgaria, France, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. For two weeks the team will study the legal basis for ensuring nuclear security, licensing activities in the field of atomic energy use, implementation of supervisory and control measures in relation to nuclear facilities, security activities, response to unauthorized actions in relation to nuclear facilities, ensuring physical protection of nuclear material during transportation and other issues. There are planned working discussions with the representatives of the Belarusian side, interviews of senior officials of organizations involved in ensuring physical protection, work with documents, and a visit to the Belarusian NPP.

The IPPAS mission will finish its work on July 9, 2021. Based on the results of its implementation, the IPPAS team will prepare the Final Report.

The main expectation of the Belarusian side is to receive competent recommendations for improving the system of physical protection of nuclear facilities in the Republic of Belarus, for subsequent work to maintain a high level of security standards in our country.

The Republic of Belarus carries out consistent work by inviting assessment missions and peer reviews, the results of which become the basis for the development of relevant national action plans aimed at improving the nuclear and radiation safety and security system and its individual components based on international safety and security standards.

Belarus has already hosted a number of IAEA missions, including the missions for the regulatory authority in the field of nuclear and radiation safety – Integrated Regulatory Infrastructure Review (IRRS mission) in 2016, Emergency Preparedness Review Service (EPREV, 2018), State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Material Mission (ISSAS, 2019). The country also hosted two missions of Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review in a whole, including a regulatory component (INIR mission) in 2012 and 2020. An IRRS follow up mission will take place at the end of 2021 to assess progress in implementing the recommendations of the 2016 IRRS mission.