MINSK, 13 October (BelTA) – New measurement standards will be created in Belarus for the nuclear energy industry and the nanoindustry. The plans were discussed as Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov visited a number of institutions run by the State Standardization Committee on 13 October, BelTA has learned.
Andrei Kobyakov was made familiar with the building under reconstruction in Novatorskaya Street. Once the work over there is done, the Belarusian State Standardization and Certification Institute will move in. According to Chairman of the State Standardization Committee Viktor Nazarenko, there are plans to finish the reconstruction process in 2018. The head of government was made familiar with Belarus' national measurement standards, measurement labs, and the lab for testing food and agricultural products at the Belarusian State Metrology Institute.
The future of the two institutions and the overall development of the quality management infrastructure in Belarus were discussed during the visit. The prime minister instructed the State Standardization Committee to consider expanding the measurement standards base together with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the State Science and Technology Committee. In particular, the operation of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will require new measurement standards. The Belarusian nanoindustry could use some, too. A package of measurement standards is now used to build the nuclear power plant but the nuclear power plant's operation will require some more. Plans were made to create six new measurement standards. One of the most complicated tasks is creating a reference neutron flux, which is supposed to be located outside urban areas due to safety considerations.
The energy and nuclear research institute Sosny of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus may be the location where the reference neutron flux will be situated. The creation of the metrology service as part of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was also discussed as well as the operation of metrology divisions at Belarusian companies. “We may need to introduce some requirements for the state of metrology services in Belarusian companies and think about periodical checkups since these matters directly affect quality,” noted Andrei Kobyakov. If necessary, the requirements may be legislated.
Protecting the Belarusian market from poor-quality and hazardous products was discussed with the head of government. Andrei Kobyakov gave instructions to step up state oversight over the matter. Instructions were given to actively defend Belarusian interests when amendments to the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty are introduced. For instance, the Eurasian Economic Union has decided that the development of technical regulations and standards will be done via tenders. As a result low prices are the key factor that determines the choice of developers. Belarus believes it is inadmissible considering the massive role technical regulations and standards play.
The discussion also touched upon Belarus' accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the need to set up research centers in the country to remove trade barriers caused by sanitary and phytosanitary considerations. The prime minister drew attention to the coordinated development of test labs, which are run by different government agencies. A way to coordinate their development, particularly those concerning the food industry, will be worked out soon.
A set of measures has been adopted to encourage the assimilation of cutting-edge methods and modern international quality management systems in Belarus in 2016-2020. The prime minister gave instructions to analyze whether the measures are properly being taken and find out what else needs to be done for more effective work in this area.
