In the small Belarusian town of Ostrovets, the country’s first nuclear power plant goes into operation today. A success for President Lukashenko? The neighboring states have security concerns.
By Christina Nagel, ARD Studio Moscow
Today is a public holiday for Belarus ‘head of state Alexander Lukashenko: Belarus’ first nuclear power plant is officially connected to the grid in the small town of Ostrovets. The best that the Russian side has ever built – even if the protesters would cry again, Lukashenko said laconically: It was luck, a gift.
Fortunately, because nuclear power – according to the official version – guarantees the Belarusians energy security and makes the country more independent of Russian gas, which has previously been used to generate electricity. After completion, 40 percent of the total electricity demand is to be covered with the help of the nuclear power plant. The fact that the uranium comes from Russia, the technology is Russian and Russian loans have to be paid does not seem to play a role.
A gift because – as he sees it – despite all the protests, Lukashenko continues to care for the future of the country, which was hit like no other by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster: 70 percent of the radioactive fallout fell on Belarus.
Lithuanians have doubts about the building fabric and functionality
The number of those who publicly opposed the construction of the pile at the gates of the town was still manageable. Instead, people were publicly happy about new streets, new apartments, kindergartens and schools. About a modest upswing. And anyway: Experts had said that it was the most reliable and safest nuclear power plant of all, they said.
No comparison to Chernobyl, say those responsible. The latest generation of security systems have been installed, says the chief engineer of the nuclear power plant. And the head of the reactor, Alexander Kanjuka, adds that you have been examined by many commissions and passed all tests: “You have indeed confirmed: Yes, your project is the best at the moment!”
In the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, just 40 kilometers away, you see it completely differently. Quality defects and a lack of controls were criticized even during construction. Also from MP Linas Balsis, whose forehead was frowned by the data available to him – both with regard to the building construction and the quality of work. He was not sure whether all construction work would be carried out as it should be, he told Belsat TV in 2019. However, he does not get any answers to relevant inquiries.
“Not so big mishaps” in the reactor series
The same thing happened to the members of the German Bundestag, who wanted to know what the reports about material theft, doubts about the choice of location, construction defects and transport damage to the reactor vessel were all about.
The Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom, which largely financed and also built the reactor, rejects any criticism: The third generation of the VVER-1200 series nuclear power plant meets the highest international standards, they say. Three reactors of this type have been on the grid in Russia for about three years. The co-chairman of the Russian environmental organization Eko Saschita, Vladimir Sliwjak, explains that major incidents are not known: But these “not so major mishaps” included radioactive water leakage, radioactive substances escaping from the cooling circuit .
The cooling system is one of the weak points of the series – including the newer ones. Atomic physicist Andrei Oscharowskij emphasized in a television documentary that it is still in the test phase. The reactors, he explained, were apparently functional, but not always, not everywhere and not under all conditions. Belarus is now de facto participating in an experiment.
As a test, the first block of the power plant in Ostrovets has been on the grid since the middle of the week. The second block is to follow in 2022. Meanwhile, head of state Lukashenko is already planning the next steps. Resignation, as tens of thousands across the country are likely to demand today and tomorrow, is not one of them.
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