MINSK, 29 January (BelTA) – Nuclear and radiation safety was discussed at the meeting of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) with the National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA) of Poland in Gdansk, BelTA learned from Gosatomnadzor.
The Gosatomnadzor delegation told their Polish counterparts about efforts to improve nuclear and radiation safety infrastructure in Belarus, regulatory supervision of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (BelNPP) construction, peer review of the BelNPP stress tests, progress in fulfilling the IAEA mission's recommendations and proposals on the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission as of 2016.
In turn, specialists of Poland's National Atomic Energy Agency told the Belarusian delegation about capacity building in nuclear safety licensing, efforts to ensure safety of the Maria research reactor (currently the sole research nuclear reactor operated in Poland), and cooperation with the IAEA.
“The parties expressed satisfaction with the information exchange about the state of nuclear and radiation safety and agreed to maintain and expand bilateral contacts,” Gosatomnadzor informed.
The Belarus-Poland intergovernmental agreement on early notification of nuclear accidents and cooperation in radiation safety was signed in 1994. The work on the agreement gained momentum after the two countries decided to implement nuclear energy programs.
Nuclear and radiation safety watchdogs of Belarus and Poland cooperate in the bilateral format and within the framework of the IAEA, the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA), and the Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF).
