Belarus wants to store radioactive materials. Four locations were selected
The Belarusian Ministry of Energy announced that research is underway on four locations for the construction of a repository for radioactive waste from the Belarusian nuclear power plant.
The Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) is located in the Ostrowiec district of the Grodno region, near the city of Astravets. It is an essential part of the program to reduce Minsk's dependence on Russian natural gas. It currently consists of two power units with a capacity of 1.2 GW. The first of them has been working since November 2020, and the second one since May 2023.
The Ministry of Energy of Belarus has provided new information on progress in selecting the location of a radioactive waste storage site. Local Energy Minister Denis Moroz reminded that the government had established a state commission whose task would be to select a suitable place for this investment.
Belarus is looking for a place to store radioactive waste
“The committee is to make a selection by the end of the year and present materials for further public discussions,” explained the deputy head of the ministry. – “So far, a systematic and in-depth analysis of all regions of the country has been carried out in terms of the possibility of building a storage point.” As assured, all aspects were taken into account in this process – economic, social and ecological.
“Out of 118 regions, four locations were selected for further, more detailed research,” said Denis Moroz. – “The work continues. The final selection of the location, its design and construction must be approached very carefully.”
At the end of April, the ministry reported that since the start of operation of the power plant, 28.5 billion kWh of electricity had been produced, which allowed it to replace over 7.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas. During a recent visit to the Mogilev region, Alexander Lukashenko said that another nuclear power plant should be built in eastern Belarus. The Belarusian dictator explained that it would be cheaper to build two more reactors in Astrowiec, but he does not rule out that the new structure will be built in the east of the country.