Document 13
Ares(2019)4888814
Nuclear safety cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Belarus
Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC)
The INSC is a funding instrument established and operated by the European Union, targeted at
eligible third countries and supporting the promotion of a high level of nuclear safety, radiation
protection, and the application of effective safeguards of nuclear material. The geographical
scope of the INSC covers all third countries, but priority is given to accession and neighbouring
states. In the current 7 years implementation period (2014-2020) the instrument disposes a
financial budget amounting to €225 million.
One of the INSC focal areas is the cooperation with national nuclear regulatory authorities and
their technical support organisations (TSOs) to enhance their regulatory skills by improving
licensing and safety assessment capabilities. The level and technical areas of the regulatory
cooperation with a specific country depends on the maturity and actual needs of the regulator,
but the reinforcement of the nuclear safety infrastructure and the transfer of best EU practice and
international experience are always priorities.
Nuclear Safety Cooperation with Belarus
In 2008 Belarus decided to embark on the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP) with two
units having a total generating capacity of 2000 MW electric. Later Ostrovets (located in the
Grodno region, about 50 km from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania) had been selected as the site
for the Belarusian NPP (BelNPP). The design assessment process selected the AES-2006 design
as favourite candidate for construction: the AES-2006 is a third generation Russian VVER
reactor design with a capacity of 1200 MW electric. The construction of Unit 1 started in
November 2013 and the first concrete for Unit 2 was poured in April 2014. Currently the
anticipated dates for commercial operation are 2020 (Unit 1) and 2021 (Unit 2).
Starting from 1991 Belarus continuously received EU nuclear safety assistance in the frame of
the TACIS project. After the decision to build the Belarusian NPP the cooperation was focused
on topical areas related to the construction of a new NPP (e.g. reviewing licensing submittals,
assessment of safety analysis reports, on-site and manufacturing inspections, commissioning,
etc.) and the assistance was provided in the frame of the INSC instrument. The Beneficiary was
the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Belarus (MES) and its department for nuclear and
radiation safety, called Gosatomnadzor (GAN). The projects were implemented by consortiums
led by RISKAUDIT and comprising nuclear regulators and TSOs from Bulgaria, France,
Germany, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden and Ukraine.
EU and Belarusian experts visiting the site of the
Getting acquainted with the full-scope simulator of
Belarusian NPP construction (2014) ©JRC
the new plant (2016) ©JRC
Concluded and ongoing cooperation projects
Starting in 2013 three major ISNC cooperation projects were launched with Belarus: BY3.01/09
(BE/RA/07), BY3.01/13 (BE/RA/08) and BY3.01/16 (BE/RA/09). The first two projects had
already been concluded, while BE/RA/09 is being currently implemented until early 2021.
These projects focused on the following main topical areas:
Further development of Belarusian regulatory and legislative framework for nuclear
safety and radioprotection
Organisation and management system of the regulatory authority
Establishment of an effective and independent Technical Support Organisation
Regulatory assessment and review of nuclear safety documentation for licensing
On-site inspections of safety relevant systems, structures and components during the
construction process and during manufacturing at the equipment suppliers
Use of computer codes applicable for supporting regulatory review activities
Safe management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste
Enhancing emergency preparedness and response capabilities of the regulator
Application of mobile equipment for environmental radiation monitoring
In the followings the technical contents of the above three projects are discussed in more detail.
BY3.01/09 –
Institutional and technical cooperation with GAN to develop its capabilities on the
basis of transferred European safety principles and practices (2013-2017)
The project consisted of two main components. Component A provided on-site assistance to the
management of GAN in updating the Strategy and Action Plan of the Belarusian regulator;
transferring EU Safety Assessment Report (SAR) review methodology and providing support in
performing the actual SAR review.
Component B provided generic and plant-specific training to selected GAN and SOSNY experts
on the use of the following EU codes: ATHLET (thermal-hydraulic calculations), COCOSYS
(containment analysis), ASTEC (severe accident calculations) and DYN3D (dynamic modelling
of reactor transients).
BY3.01/13 –
Support and assistance to strengthen the capabilities of the Belarusian nuclear
regulatory authority MES/GAN in the field of licensing and supervision of construction of the
Belarusian NPP (2015-2019)
This project consisted of five main components. Component A was primarily aimed to continue
the on-site support to the management of GAN focusing on such activities as improvement of
the regulatory management system; provision of support in reviewing the SAR and other
licensing documentation of the new plant; regulatory capacity building to review Probabilistic
Safety Assessment (PSA) reports and supporting regulatory inspection activities.
Component B improved the Belarusian legislative, regulatory and organisational framework for
the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, including historical waste.
Component C provided training on accident analysis codes and delivered initial (basic) training
courses for additional codes applicable to model NPP ventilation systems; to analyse criticality
issues and reactivity-initiated accidents and to calculate the composition change of materials
subjected to neutron irradiation.
In Component D an improved roadmap for emergency preparedness was developed for Belarus,
also considering the new NPP under construction.
Component E provided staff training to use a mobile radiation laboratory which had been
delivered in a separate project.
BY3.01/16 –
Support and assistance to strengthen the capabilities of the Belarusian nuclear
regulatory authority (2018 – ongoing) This project consists of four main components. In Component A the on-site assistance is
continued and it further develops the Strategy, Action and Cooperation Plan of MES/GAN, thus
contributing to the enhancement of the capabilities of the Belarusian regulator. Component A
also enhances the regulatory capacity to carry out independent nuclear safety assessments and
licensing reviews and improves GAN's capabilities to carry out inspections on safety relevant
systems, structures and components during the construction process of the new NPP.
Component B focuses on further enhancing the technical expertise capabilities of GAN by
supporting the development of an effective and independent TSO system; supporting the review
and assessment of safety documentation; improving expertise in deterministic safety analysis by
providing further code training and developing a risk-informed regulatory approach. The code
training is proposed to be continued by providing plant-specific training courses on ATHLET
and COCOSYS to selected specialists of the CNRS, the newly created TSO of GAN.
Component C aims at further improving emergency preparedness and response capabilities in
Belarus by supporting the establishment and development of the associated decision-making
system; providing training to the experts working in the on-site and regional subdivisions of
MES and providing support to improve emergency response measures and trans-boundary
coordination of activities.
Component D helps to develop an improved strategy for the management of radioactive waste at
the Belarusian NPP. It also aims to improve the regulatory supervision of radioactive waste and
spent fuel management facilities, including their decommissioning phase.
Visit of a high-level EU delegation to the
Paying a short visit to the Information Centre of the
construction site (2016) ©JRC
new nuclear power plant (2016) ©JRC
Stress tests
The Republic of Belarus made a commitment after the Fukushima accident to perform the
targeted safety reassessment (the so called "stress tests") of the new Belarusian NPP. The related
safety analyses were carried out in 2016 according to the ENSREG-WENRA test specifications.
The self-evaluation report was submitted by the BelNPP operating organisation to the nuclear
regulator in 2017 and subsequently the Belarusian National Report was prepared and presented
to the European Commission. The National Report underwent the usual peer review process
performed by ENSREG with the peer review mission performed in March 2018. All reports and
the conclusions of the peer review process are publicly available on the ENSREG website (see
http://www.ensreg.eu/EU-Stress-Tests/Country-Specific-Reports/EU-Neighbouring-Countries/Belarus
for details). It is believed that the transparent completion of the stress tests enhanced public and
international acceptance of the new Belarusian nuclear power plant significantly. During the
preparation of the National Report the Belarusian nuclear regulator had been efficiently assisted
by EU experts to ensure full conformance to the ENSREG specifications and EU best practice.
Conclusions and future cooperation
The long-term nuclear and radiation safety cooperation between the EU and the Republic of
Belarus is of prime importance for both parties, as it was proven by the results of the concluded
and currently ongoing TACIS and INSC projects. The current status and future perspectives of
nuclear safety in the neighbouring countries is an issue of high priority for the EU and during
the last decades the ISNC has proven to be an efficient and resilient tool to ensure the necessary
level of technical cooperation and information exchange with these countries. Belarus has also
benefited from the INSC cooperation to a great extent by having access to the latest European
developments in nuclear and radiation safety. The above described projects ensured an efficient
transfer of nuclear safety know-how and EU experience to the Belarusian partners and promoted
the regular application of EU best practice, as well as international standards. It is believed that
this know-how transfer contributed to the professional development of the Belarusian nuclear
regulator to a considerable extent and enhanced its technical expertise.
It is anticipated that the nuclear safety cooperation between the EU and the Republic of Belarus
will be continued beyond the completion of the currently ongoing BY3.01/16 project, as well.
The construction of the Belarusian NPP is nearing its completion and the commissioning and the
subsequent operation of the two new units will definitely represent new important challenges
also to the nuclear regulator. We are convinced that appropriately specified and implemented
INSC cooperation projects could assist the Belarusian regulator to fulfil its regulatory duties at a
high professional level also in the future.
Brussels, July 2019
Compiled by EC JRC, EC DEVCO and RISKAUDIT