The operation of the Astravyez NPP reactor has been suspended in Belarus / Article / LSM.lv

Lithuania has once again expressed concern that Belarus is not complying with all safety requirements at the Astravyec nuclear power plant (NPP), which is only about 30 kilometers from the Lithuanian border. Since its discovery has been suspended several times. But as of today, the first power unit is disconnected from the power system and the reactor plant is shut down. –

The first power unit of the Astravyez nuclear power plant in Belarus has been disconnected from the power system and the reactor plant has been shut down, the Belarusian Ministry of Energy said.

The decommissioning was planned and it is known that the testing of the system equipment will last until December 11.

The nuclear power plant was put into operation in early November. At that time, the authoritarian head of state Alexander Lukashenko opened the station in a solemn ceremony, calling it a historic moment. But jau the next day electricity production was suspended. The Ministry of Energy later explained that it was necessary to replace some equipment to resume production, but the reasons were not revealed.

Meanwhile, Belarusian independent media reported that the first turbine of the power unit had to be shut down due to transformer failure.

Belarus’ neighbors, including Latvia, had previously expressed concern that the facility was unlikely to meet all security requirements. The nuclear power plant resumed operations in the second half of November, but came back to the public’s attention earlier this week when the Belarusian NGO’s Ekodom portal released information about a possible incident.

The information available to the portal indicates that a serious incident occurred during the hydraulic testing of the reactor. As a result, the emergency cooling system tank is damaged and, in order not to acknowledge the accident, an attempt is made to repair the tank, although for safety reasons it should be replaced.

Thus, the reactor is operated without an emergency cooling system – tests are performed to increase capacity, and this poses a risk of a very serious incident.

In response to this information, the Lithuanian State Nuclear Safety Inspectorate requested information on the condition of the reactor emergency cooling system from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus, but did not receive a reply. Minsk has merely stated that there have been no incidents in the process of loading nuclear fuel at the power plant that could be classified as special or exceptional.

Lithuania has repeatedly expressed concerns about the power plant, especially as it is only about 30 kilometers from the Lithuanian border and 50 kilometers from Vilnius.

CONTEXT:

Electricity generation at the Astravjec nuclear power plant started November 3.

Lithuania considers the station to be dangerous, especially given that it is located close to the border. That is why Lithuania has decided to boycott the station. In fact, this means that Lithuania will stop trading in electricity with Belarus as soon as the station starts operating.

Lithuania has been trying for a long time to persuade Latvia not to buy the electricity produced at the station. In August, the government decidedthat Latvia will stop buying electricity from Belarus if it starts operating at the Astravyez NPP. In addition, Latvia will require Russia to certify the origin of the electricity traded to make sure that it is not produced in Belarus.

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