By Alexander Kamovich: Today, the Belarusian nuclear power plant became the main platform of practical maneuvers. The staff practiced their readiness for emergencies on special simulators.
For facilities such as nuclear power plants, there exist design accidents and non-project accidents. In the first case, leaks of radioactive substances outside the reactor vessel at the Belarusian nuclear power plant are impossible. In the case of a non-project accident, the probability of such events is also extremely small. The NPP is equipped with 5 degrees of security, and during the exercise, Belarusian rescuers were dealing with situations in the most difficult conditions.
The training center of the NPP is ready for any situation. Each of the NPP workers undergoes serious training, and the training process does not end even after the worker has begun doing his job. On the exact copy of the real control panel, dispatchers handle the most critical situations. Experts note that in real life, the chance of a scenario which rescuers were working on is extremely low – it is 10 to the power of minus 7.
On the second day of the exercise, special attention was paid to working with local people. So, rural councils within a radius of 3 km organized the delivery of people from the affected areas to checkpoints. Together with the doctors, the Ministry of Emergency Situations provided first aid to the victims and evacuated them to safe places. The equipment was tested as well – contaminated cars were sent to be "cleaned up" from radiation.
Representatives of the CSTO countries and ambassadors accredited in Belarus observed the training. The Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus visited the training grounds, too. Vladimir Semashko noted the coordinated work of all departments and the readiness of rescuers to any emergency situation.
According to the IAEA recommendations, states that launch large nuclear power facilities should conduct a series of exercises to train response measures to possible emergencies. The observers note that the current exercise has become a good start for Belarus. Rescuers themselves also point out that, together with complying with international standards, their main goal is security in their country.
