Ecologists: Belarus To Turn Into Radioactive Waste Dump

The Astravets nuclear power plant can cause a technogenic catastrophe.

In Belarus, a radioactive cemetery will be built for the wastes from the nuclear power plant. Domestic experts are developing a project to create a disposal site for the radioactive wastes from the Astravets nuclear power plant, Radio Racyja reports.

As reported in the Ministry of Energy, the work on the project is already underway. According to Belarusian energy specialists, this point will allow to isolate radioactive wastes and prevent their negative impact on the environment.

Chairman of the Green Party Dzmitry Kuchuk said that it is impossible to completely isolate radioactive wastes:

- There is no technology for processing radioactive wastes in the world. The situation with this cemetery will lead to Belarus becoming a dump for radioactive wastes. After all, if there is an NPP, the wastes must be stored and processed at the territory of the country where they are produced. Accordingly, you can forget about the development of the resort area in the Astravets district, the development of the agricultural sector, since no one will want to buy food from there.

- It was initially planned to transport the waste to Russia.

- In Russia, they adopted a law which says no radioactive wastes can be stored at their territory. They will deliver the waste to Russia, process them within 10 years and then they will go back to Belarus. The radioactive wastes will be stored there for thousands years until the mankind invents a technology allowing to render them harmless.

- Does the Green Party plan to make statements, hold actions in connection with the construction of the nuclear power plant?

- We protest against this all the time. But, unfortunately, now the population does not react at all. We are running out of time. Two years later, they will deliver radioactive fuel and we will all live in a completely different country from a security point of view. We need to protest, go to the rails, do something, because the situation is sad. We need to call on the international community to support us. There is still less and less time to stop this construction.

- Let us sum up, there cannot be a safe system of radioactive waste storage with today's technologies at all, right?

- Yes. Such technology doesn’t exist in the world at all. At any nuclear power station, in Lithuania, for example, there are cemeteries where these wastes are stored. In Germany, they tried to lay waste in the salt mines, but this is also storage. It is impossible to completely recycle radioactive waste.

According to the Ministry of Energy, mathematical models and computational programs have been created to achieve the safety of radioactive waste disposal in order to calculate the processes of radionuclide migration from the burial system to the geosphere through the internal, external engineering and natural barriers near-surface storage facilities.

The Belarusian nuclear power plant is built at the expense of a loan from Russia. The first delivery of nuclear fuel to the Belarusian NPP is expected in late 2018.