IAEA assesses Belarus’ capabilities in radiation monitoring

An expert mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Minsk on October 12-13. This is reported on the website of Belhydromet, writes sb.by.

The purpose of the visit is to discuss the implementation of the IAEA projects BYE9028 and BYE9030, as well as to assess the technical and analytical capabilities of Belarus in the field of radiation monitoring of the environment. The IAEA mission includes the head of the Laboratory of Radiochemistry of the terrestrial environment of the IAEA Jonathan Burnett and radioecologist of the Laboratory Alexander Ulanovsky.

On the first day, an introductory meeting was held in Belhydromet with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and Gosatomnadzor. Belhydromet was represented by the head of Belhydromet Sergey Khilman, Deputy Chief Mikhail Kovalenko, Head of the Radiation Monitoring Service Oleg Dubaylo, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ideological Work and International Cooperation Department Vladimir Kasyanenko and other employees of Belhydromet.

- For 40 years the Republic of Belarus has been implementing measures aimed at minimizing the consequences of the radiation accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Our country understands more than anyone the scale of the environmental, economic and social consequences of radiation incidents. In accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Radiation Safety”, radiation monitoring, as a system of long-term regular observations, assessment and forecast of the radiation situation, is a key element of ensuring the radiation safety of our country, the head of Belhydromet said in his welcoming speech.

He thanked the IAEA mission for its support and noted that Belhydromet’s participation in the implementation of the IAEA BYE9028 international technical assistance project “Improving the National Radiation Monitoring Infrastructure and Emergency Response System” allows not only to update the instrument fleet of laboratories conducting radiation monitoring and control in Belarus, but also to improve the skills of Belhydromet specialists within the framework of IAEA technical seminars.

During the meeting, the Belarusian side noted the key role of the IAEA in the field of radiation safety and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

At the end of the discussion, the IAEA experts visited the Minsk weather station, where they studied the work of the radiation monitoring point.

On the second day of the visit, experts together with Belhydromet employees reviewed the implementation of the BYE9028 project, visited Belhydromet laboratories and discussed their technical capabilities. The parties stressed the importance of further developing cooperation in the field of radiation monitoring and improving preparedness to respond to radiation accidents.

In our country, radiation monitoring is carried out by Belhydromet at 120 observation points within the framework of the national environmental monitoring system. Belhydromet focuses on the quality and accuracy of data on the content of radionuclides in atmospheric air, soil, surface and groundwater. Collection, storage, processing, data analysis and provision of information is carried out by the Information and Analytical Center for Radiation Monitoring, operating on the basis of Belhydromet.