Nuclear Reactors 405 - Problems During Construction Of The Belarus Nuclear Power Plant
Belarus is an eastern European country that is bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. It was once a member of the Soviet Union. During the early 1980s, Belarus was working on the creation of a nuclear power plant but the1986 Chernobyl reactor accident in nearby Ukraine put those plans on hold. Problems with adequate power generation in 2007 reignited interest in build a nuclear power plant.
Environmentalists in Belarus had come out strongly against nuclear power in 2005 even before the project to build the plant was even restarted. In 2006, Ecodom organized a formal anti-nuclear movement. There was a Belarusian Anti-Nuclear Campaign in 2008 that brought together many of the anti-nuclear groups and parties.
In the meantime, plans were made and changed for the reactor project. A Russian loan of two billion dollars was secured in 2009. Also in 2009, legal disputes with Ukraine over treaty violations arose and various courts and agencies got involved. In 2011 a contract was signed with Rosatom, the Russian-owned nuclear company for the construction of two VVER-1200 Russian reactors which will generate two billion four hundred million watts. Construction began in 2013 at the Astravets (Ostrovets) site in Hrodna Voblast, on the Belarus border 28 miles from Vilnius, Lithuania. From the start, the government was reluctant to allow reporters to visit the construction site.
In 2005, a survey of Belarusians found that only twenty eight percent supported nuclear power. The government worked hard to suppress the opposition to nuclear power. Among other tactics, they supported non-profit organizations that were pro-nuclear. The effort to bolster support within the Belarusian public was so successful that by 2016, with the construction of the plant well underway, a new survey revealed that over fifty percent of the Belarusians now supported nuclear power.
In April of 1016, a supporting structure collapsed in a maintenance building on the construction site. Although a construction worker told reporters that the event had taken place, the project managers claimed that it had not happened. When the Ministry of Energy admitted the incident later, they said that it was not that significant.
On July 10 this year, the reactor casing which weighs over three hundred tons, fell about to the ground from a height of about nine feet. This time, ten people who worked at the site passed information to the media but again the management claimed that it did not happen. Finally, the incident was officially admitted on July 25th. The management swore that safety was of the greatest importance on the project. Rosatom said that even though their tests showed no damage to the reactor casing, they would replace it to " mitigate rumors and panic among the population."
On August 26th, an oxygen tank exploded and killed a worker. This string of accidents has caused the public and the media to question the honesty and competence of those in charge of the nuclear plant project. The Belarus media is asking the Ministry of Energy tough questions including whether they would have ever reported the accidents if whistleblowers had not informed the reporters. Rosatom was also accused of being more interested in making money than in the long term safety of the project.
It appears that Belarus will have its nuclear power plant. Unfortunately for the citizens, it also appears that the government, contractor and management involved in the project are more interested in controlling and suppressing any information about accidents and problems than informing the public. This attitude could ultimately result in a serious nuclear accident at the plant.
Belarus nuclear power plant:
