Nuclear fuel loaded into first unit of Astravyets nuke plant in Belarus

<p> MINSK, Aug 20 - PrimePress. Nuclear fuel has been loaded into the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP, Astravyets District, Grodno Oblast), according to Vigen Marukhyan, Head of the Nuclear Safety Regulation Office of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor). </p> <p>   </p> <p> The official made a statement to this effect on Aug 20. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “To date, 163 fuel assemblies were loaded into the reactor. There are certain steps to be taken to seal the reactor. They take longer than one hour or one day. The second phase of the physical launch is supposed to take place once the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant notifies Gosatomnadzor that the enterprise is ready to begin this phase – hydraulic tests,” BelTA reports citing Vigen Marukhyan as saying. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The official explained that the first phase of the physical launch involves the loading of nuclear fuel. The second phase involves “cold” tests – hydraulic tests on a reactor unit with the temperature under 130C. The third phase involves “hot” tests with the temperature raised above 130C. </p> <p>   </p> <p> On Aug 7, they started loading fresh nuclear fuel into the reactor core of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. This is one of the stages of the process of putting the power unit into operation. They were supposed to load a total of 163 assemblies with nuclear fuel into the reactor in August. </p> <p>   </p> <p> On Aug 14, Russia and Belarus confirmed their plans to put into operation the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP, Astravyets District, Grodno Oblast) in 2021. This follows from the intergovernmental protocol on amendments to the agreement signed in March 2011 between the governments of both countries on cooperation in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus, Prime reports. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The protocol, signed on July 14 this year, was published in Russia on the official portal of legal information on Friday. The protocol states that it become temporarily effective from August 14, 2020. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The protocol says that Russia and Belarus “are taking the necessary measures to put into operation the first unit of the nuclear power plant in 2021 and the second unit in 2022. It is noted that “the launch shall be confirmed by signing acceptance acts for each NPP unit completed by construction”. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Belarus’ first nuclear power plant in Ostrovets (a town in the Grodno Region also referred to as Astravyets) will have two VVER-1200 units with a combined capacity of up to 2,400 megawatts. The AES-2006 Russian standard design of (generation 3+) was chosen for its construction. The startup of the first power unit was postponed from 2018 to 2019 and then to the third quarter of 2020. The second unit is expected to be launched in 2021. Rosatom’s division Atomstroyexport acts as the general contractor for the NPP construction. The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant RUE is the project customer and the future operator of the NPP. End </p>

2020-08-21

Primepress