Исследование грунта при выборе площадки. Фото: БелРАО
Flagshtok has identified the locations of sites being considered for the construction of a radioactive waste disposal facility in Belarus. Journalists reconstructed the locations using slides from presentations by the state enterprise Belarusian Organisation for Radioactive Waste Management and materials from independent sources.
Official sources, including BelRAO, have not publicly disclosed these locations.
According to the outlet’s findings, the repository could be built at one of the following sites.
“Khoiniki Site” is located in the Homiel region near the abandoned village of Novaselki, on the border of the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve and the Prypiats River, 10 km from Khoiniki.
“Mstsislau Site” is located in the Mahiliou region between the villages of Sycheuka and Valouniki, 19 km from Mstsislau. The Belaya Natopa River, a tributary of the Sozh River, flows nearby.
The exact location of the “Astravets Site” in the Hrodna region is unknown. It did not appear in presentation materials from BelRAO and has not been publicly identified by officials responsible for the sector.
According to the authors, the possible construction site corresponds to the coordinates of a location mentioned in a BelPol leak. It is believed to be situated near the P45 highway between the villages of Miashliany and Aveny, 2.5 km from the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) and 21 km from Astravets. The nearest river is the Viliya, which flows into the Neman.
“The leaked document referred to a disposal site for Class 3 and Class 4 radioactive waste. It cannot be ruled out that the plans have since changed and that the same site is now intended to store all classes of waste from the nuclear power plant,” the report said.