MINSK, 27 June (BelTA) – The seventh review meeting of the contracting parties to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management is taking place in Vienna on 27 June – 8 July, representatives of the Belarusian diplomatic mission to Austria told BelTA.
The convention was signed under the aegis of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1997. Its parties are 87 countries and Euratom. Belarus has been party to the convention since 24 February 2003 and takes part in all the review meetings.
Review meetings are held every three years to discuss national reports on fulfilling undertaken international commitments and to discuss the policy and practice of management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.
The Belarusian delegation is led by Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Emergencies Ministry Olga Lugovskaya. The delegation also includes representatives of the Energy Ministry, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant.
The delegation is expected to participate in plenary sessions and discussions within the framework of the relevant country groups of presented national reports. Belarus' report will also be presented.
Representatives of the embassy pointed out that Belarus' experience traditionally attracts attention of a broad range of participants. The report's discussion will contribute to further improvement of safety of handling of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Belarus' national report regarding the fulfillment of commitments as part of the joint convention is publicly available on the website of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor).
