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In the letter of 22th of Маy, 2024 addressed to the Belarusian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), which acts in Belarus as nuclear safety regulator, the Lithuanian State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) once again calls to suspend operation of Unit 1 and 2 of Belarusian NPP until all safety issues are resolved.

VATESI has observed from the very beginning of the implementation of the Belarusian NPP project that Belarus has been doing its utmost to construct and put into operation the plant, which is located only 40 km from the capital of Lithuania,  as soon as possible but not to supervise the quality of the works and ensure safety. The irresponsible approach to safety is now increasingly evident in the unplanned shutdowns of the Belarusian NPP's power units and in the fluctuations in the power generated by the operating units, apparently due to the problems, which have been not addressed during the construction and installation of the equipment. Belarus does not share information on the issues of erratic operation of the Belarusian NPPs, unplanned shutdowns and prolonged repairs of the units, nor does it explain the reasons for the shutdowns and the work being carried out to resolve them.

"One year ago, we called on the Belarusian MES to assess the safety issues raised by VATESI regarding the Belarusian NPP. Since then, we have received from Belarus only general information on nuclear and radiation safety regulation. We see that the safety problems of the operating nuclear power plant continue to go unaddressed," said Michail Demčenko, Head of VATESI.

VATESI in the letter to the MES reminded still the lack of specific information of the nuclear power plant site selection and evaluation, NPP equipment resistance to seismic events and to the effects of a large civil aircraft crash, implementation of stress tests recommendations, probabilistic safety assessment, fire hazard analysis, analysis of developed countries' regulatory experience and safety improvements according to its results, review of the final safety analysis, international missions and other safety issues. VATESI also requests clarification of the information published in the public domain concerning the contamination of the Unit 2 reactor cooling loop with organic substances, the contamination of the Unit 1 secondary circulation loop with radionuclides, the deficiencies in the fixing of the reactor vessel as well as the detected defects and outstanding work.

Belarus is requested to provide information of authorized discharge limits from the power plant units. VATESI also calls on the MES and other responsible Belarusian authorities to publish all international expert missions’ recommendations and their implementation results and provide additional information, which is necessary for more accurate forecasting of releases during possible accidents.

This letter copies also sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), European Commission, Chairs of the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) and Western European Nuclear Safety Regulators Association (WENRA).