Cooling towers of the Belarusian nuclear power plant. An archive photo
SOCHI, 26 March (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia intend to set up a research and technology council in the field of nuclear and radiation safety, BelTA learned from Head of the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) Olga Lugovskaya on the sidelines of the international forum Atomexpo in Sochi.
Olga Lugovskaya said: “We use Atomexpo as a platform for interaction with our colleagues from Russia and other countries. In particular, we talked to our colleagues from [the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia] Rostechnadzor and Russia’s Research and Technology Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety. We are interested in an entire spectrum of cooperation avenues. After the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant was completed, Belarus began a new stage of operation of the nuclear power plant. Methods for oversight, expert evaluation, and safety evaluation have changed, will be corrected, and will be improved. We are also talking about interaction with Russian colleagues within the framework of scheduled preventive repairs at the Belarusian nuclear power plant and about using new approaches.”
Some changes have been triggered by the geopolitical situation. “We are adjusting our work with regard to software products. We used to use products of European countries to calculate various safety parameters. Our technical support organizations still use them but we are going to switch to software developed by Russian and Belarusian specialists. A lot of new products have been offered in Russia recently. Apart from that, we source out software development to Belarusian academic institutions,” the official noted.
The sides also agreed that time has come to set up a joint research and technology council. “I mean Gosatomnadzor, Rostechnadzor, and our technical support organizations. Critical safety matters, an increase in safety requirements, the development of new regulatory documents. All these aspects are important for us. Rostechnadzor does this work all the time. They are ready to loop us in so that we could also make a contribution and be up to date on the latest trends in the area of nuclear and radiation safety,” Olga Lugovskaya said.
In her words, the development of Union State programs will also be discussed at Atomexpo.
The international forum Atomexpo is a major exhibition and business venue where the current state of the atomic industry is discussed and trends of the industry’s future development take shape. Taking part in the forum are heads of key companies of the world atomic industry, government agencies, international and public organizations, leading experts. A Belarusian delegation is also taking part in the forum.
