Lithuania keeps warning Belarus against operating nuclear plant with unsolved safety issues

February 4, BPN. Lithuania’s state regulator for nuclear energy (VATESI) has once again urged Belarus to stop operating its nuclear power plant (NPP) until all safety issues are resolved.

Operation of the NPP’s Unit 1 and the launch of Unit 2 should be suspended until all the issues identified in the stress tests and by the international missions are resolved, VATESI said commenting on the reports by the Belarusian emergency ministry.

Safety measures must be implemented at both units, it stressed, noting that the NPP failed to implement at least four safety measures at Unit 1.

The existing NPP action plan does not include additional recommendations for emergency control, improved ventilation of the reactor containment, or additional protection of buildings and equipment from water, it added.

Belarus still has not provided data on seismic testing of equipment at Unit 2, the regulator said.

The Belarusian NPP is located near Astraviec, Hrodna region, some 10 miles away from the Lithuanian border. It has been built with a Russian loan. Lithuania views the plant as unsafe and describes it as a “geopolitical weapon.”

In November 2022, Unit 1 of the Belarusian NPP was reconnected to the grid after repairs which started in April and lasted over six months, instead of the planned 80 days. The NPP’s Unit 2 is currently undergoing start-up operations and is scheduled to start commercial operation in the second half of 2023.