MINSK, 25 September (BelTA) – Rosatom will take care of processing the spent nuclear fuel generated by the Belarusian nuclear power plant, the press service of the Russian state nuclear industry corporation Rosatom told BelTA.
A solemn ceremony took place on the sidelines of the international forum World Atomic Week on 25 September to sign a contract between the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant and AO Techsnabexport Company (part of Rosatom). The contract covers safe management of spent nuclear fuel of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The document was signed by Director General of Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant Sergei Bobovich and Techsnabexport Director General Sergey Polgorodnik.
This contract represents the most important stage in advancing Belarus-Russia relations in nuclear energy industry and the world’s first commercial agreement that implements in practice the concept of a balanced nuclear fuel cycle with regard to the management of spent nuclear fuel of a nuclear power plant powered by VVER reactors. The contract covers the entire designed service life of the Belarusian nuclear power plant and includes obligations of Russian enterprises to take spent nuclear fuel for processing and obligations of Belarusian enterprises to take back the products resulting from the processing process.
Apart from that, on the sidelines of the forum the Belarusian national energy company Belenergo and Rosenergoatom Concern signed an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation. Rosenergoatom Director General Alexander Shutikov noted that since 2018 within the framework of a bilateral agreement the concern has been tightly cooperating with the Belarusian nuclear power plant in a broad range of matters. In particular, various kinds of information about the experience of operation are shared. Apart from that, active interaction has been enabled within the framework of the Moscow Center of the World Association of Nuclear Operators.
The agreement signed on 25 September will allow elevating the interaction between Russian and Belarusian specialists and will create the legal foundation for tighter cooperation between Rosenergoatom specialists and Belenergo specialists, including those of the Belarusian nuclear power plant that is part of the Belarusian national energy company. Cooperation between Rosenergoatom and the Belarusian nuclear power plant proceeds on a planned basis. Visits of Belarusian specialists to Russian nuclear power plants have already been planned as well as the development of education programs and career enhancement programs.
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