Belarus plans to spend 445 million US dollars on its first nuclear station in 2016. The funds will be used to finance the construction of core buildings and structures at the both reactor units. Pre-arranged for this year is to begin the assembly of a reactor vessel, steam generators, a turbine and electrical systems.
Other plans for the current year are to organize auxiliary power and water supplies at the nuclear station. The commissioning of auxiliary facilities will kick off equipment installation.
Construction of a high voltage power line will also begin on time to transmit power from the nuclear station.
Alexander Bondar, Belarusian NPP Chief Engineer, spoke to reporters about unique safety solutions used in the nuclear station project. “The double containment structure improves safety of the nuclear station. As a chief engineer and a person responsible for safety of the plant, I am absolutely sure in the level of protection and strength of the double containment,” Bondar said. The double structure is capable of protecting the reactor from almost any external impact, whether environmental or man-made, including earthquakes, hurricanes and plane crashes.
“The Belarusian NPP is ten times, rather than two or three times, more reliable than some other nuclear stations. Its double containment and a core catcher form the strongest passive safety system that needs no human involvement,” Alexander Bondar explained.
Nuclear fuel shipments to the Belarusian NPP will begin in the 4th quarter of 2017, he added. “We are now drafting an addendum to the framework agreement to set out the terms of fuel supplies. According to the project schedule, fuel will be loaded in early 2018. There is plenty of time left to negotiate all the terms and conditions of shipment. We see no problems with deadlines – everything runs just as planned,” Bondar concluded.
Installation of the reactor vessel at Unit 1 will begin in late May. Alexander Kanyuka, a reactor island supervisor at the Belarusian NPP, told reporters, “The vessel installation date has been preliminarily set for the 28th of May. All the components are already on site, and preparations are underway to begin the installation. As expected, this operation will take approximately two weeks. After the vessel is in place, other equipment is assembled and connected into a single loop with the main circulation circuit,” Kanyuka explained.
The vessel installation is a difficult and labor-intensive process. “The vessel is a key component of the reactor. Accuracy of its installation should be in full compliance with the project documents because it has a direct influence on subsequent operational safety,” he told reporters.
The reactor vessel was manufactured at Atommash, a company of Rosatom’s nuclear engineering division, and delivered to the Belarusian NPP site in late December 2015.
