HOME > BELENE SITE > ADDITIONAL STUDIES > STUDIES AND ASSESSMENTS

With the support and under the coordination of the IAEA, a large volume of activities has been performed to assess the safety and suitability of the Belene NPP site from the point of view of current international safety standards. For this purpose, in 1992, 1994 and 1996 special IAEA missions were conducted to assess the characteristics and the safety of the Belene NPP site.

As a result, Energoproekt and the Geophysical Institute of BAS have developed and implemented a special program of additional studies, covering study and assessments of seismic safety, meteorological, demographic, and hydrological characteristics of the site, radiological effects, and effects of human activities. The assessment was performed in full compliance with the requirements of the IAEA standards and guidelines.

The results of the whole complex of assessment the geological, tectonic, seismic and other characteristics of the site and the region were discussed and confirmed by an IAEA final mission conducted in July 1997. Follow-up seismological surveys were recommended by IAEA for further verification of the data.

The recommended additional studies were carried out by mid-1999 by the Geological Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and once again confirmed that the site meets all modern requirements and standards and is suitable for the construction of a nuclear power plant.