MINSK – Nuclear fuel has been loaded into power unit No. 1 of the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) and operations for its physical launch are ongoing, head of the Belarussian Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department (Gosatomnadzor) Vigen Marukhyan said on August 20.
“As of August 20, 163 fuel assembly rods were loaded into the reactor. There are certain steps to be taken to seal the reactor. They take longer than one hour or one day,” the BelTA state-run news agency said, citing Marukhyan.
“The second phase of the physical launch is supposed to take place once the state enterprise Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant notifies Gosatomnadzor that the enterprise is ready to begin this phase – hydraulic tests,” BelTA said
