The board of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Belarus has issued a permit for the power start-up of unit 1 of the country's first nuclear power plant, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom announced today. Based on the resolution of the State Regulatory Authority of Belarus, the board agreed on 23 October to amend the licences of the Belorusian NPP and JSC ASE EC, allowing this work to begin, Rosatom said.

Unit 1 of the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus has achieved first criticality, Russia's Rosatom announced today. The milestone was reached at 2.26am (local time) on 11 October. First criticality, also referred to as the minimum controlled power level, is reached when neutron flux is recorded in a reactor at a level sufficient to sustain a fission chain reaction. It is considered to be the final stage of the physical start-up procedure, and enables personnel to verify whether the physical characteristics of the reactor core comply with the design requirements.

The ministries responsible for the energy sector in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have reached an agreement to cease electricity trading with Belarus when it commissions its nuclear power plant and to introduce a system of certificates stating the origin of electricity.

Fuel loading began today at unit 1 of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced. At 11:45am local time, the first fuel assembly was loaded into the reactor and a total of 163 assemblies will be loaded before the end of the month.

The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) has issued a permit for the loading of fresh fuel into unit one of the nuclear power plant under construction near Ostrovets in the Grodno region. It consists of two VVER-1200 reactors that are scheduled for commissioning this year and next.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has provided Belarus with a mobile laboratory for assessing radiological threats associated with forest fires in the Polessie State Radio-Ecological Reserve, adjacent to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Recent fires in the exclusion zone did not lead to a hazardous increase in air-borne radioactive particles.

The first batch of fuel for the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus has been delivered to the construction site in Ostrovets, Russia's Rosatom announced today. The fuel assemblies are currently being prepared for unloading and inspection. 

Hot-tests have been completed at unit 1 of the first nuclear power plant to be constructed in Belarus, Rosatom announced yesterday. The Russian state nuclear corporation said the milestone was an important stage in preparing the unit for commissioning.

The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Department of the Belarusian Emergencies Ministry (Gosatomnadzor) has begun a 30-day inspection of the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus to assess its readiness to take delivery of fuel. The regulator will also check operator BelNPP's managerial and technical alignment with legislative standards, including those concerning nuclear and radiation safety.

Hydraulic tests of the primary circuit systems and equipment for density and strength have been completed at unit 1 of the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus. Russia's ASE Group said this phase of pre-commissioning tests at a pressure of 24.5 MPa had been passed easily and in "little more than a day".

The operator of Belarus's first nuclear power plant has shown a commitment to strengthening safety, an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded. The team also identified areas for further enhancements as plant owner Belarusian NPP prepares to start up Ostrovets unit 1 next year.

ASE Group has conducted a test-run of all four of the main circulating pumps of the first unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant as part of preparations for hydraulic testing of the systems and equipment of its primary and secondary circuits.