On 20 July, 2018 in the Information Centre of Balakovo NPP the representatives of regional media, media offices of Balakovo municipality administration, large enterprises of the region gathered over two significant matters: the presentation of the Report on environmental safety of the NPP for 2017 and the preparation for the large-scale complex emergency response exercise (ERE) that will be carried out at the NPP in September, 2018.

During the press conference the head of the Information and Public Relations Administration of Balakovo NPP Dmitriy Shevchenko reported the journalists that upon the results of 2017 the nuclear power plant has become the best Russian NPP for the fifteenth time. He stressed that the provision of environmental safety, minimization of the negative impact on the environment and environment control are one of the highest priorities at NPP’s work. In total the emission proportion of BNPP at the area territory is 0.05% of the area’s enterprises, and waste is 0.09%. The total spending on environmental control at BNPP exceeded 32 million rubles in 2017. Upon the results of last year BNPP showed the reliable and effective work one more time. It generated 31.995 billion kWh of electric energy in 2017.

Also, Dmitriy Shevchenko reported about the forthcoming large scale exercise at BNPP. They are carried out annually at one of the Russian NPPs. He invited the representative of the media to participate in the event coverage. Not only the personnel and means of the NPP, but also the local authorities, the Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Response team (NPPER), forces and means of the MES, the Ministry of Defense and the Federal Service of National Guard troops of the Russian Federation (Rosgvardiya), and a large team of international observers will be involved in the exercises. Several hundreds of the machinery including the military custom machinery will be used.

Olga Malyavitskaya, the Deputy Director of KIT-media holding (Saratov 24 channel) shared her impressions of the meeting. “Such form of the information interaction is useful for the media representatives. We’ve been cooperating with Balakovo NPP for a long time and I always note that the main emphasis is on the safety and informational openness. And this is correct! We live near a serious neighbor – the nuclear power plant, and it is important for the citizens of the region to know the ecological situation. Today we’ve been told about it in the informational centre. I carry the Plant’s 2017 environmental report with me to Saratov in order to show it to my colleagues and tell about it to our viewers”, Olga Malyavitskaya noted. Today we’ve talked about very serious event – a large emergency response training at Balakovo NPP. We’ve had a unique opportunity to ask the questions and receive the answers in the online mode in order to inform the population quickly and efficiently, the media should communicate with the representatives of Balakovo NPP directly. The safety of the citizens of our region is the major priority of the nuclear power plant, everyone notes that.”

The representatives of the concerned ministries and departments of Saratov Oblast, environmental public organizations, the CMC SI of MES of Russia, the Unified Operator Management of CDaES of Balakovo municipality, the Public Chamber of Balakovo municipality, and the veteran council of Balakovo NPP were invited to participate in the event. Traditionally, the specialists of the Balakovo branches of Atomenergoremont JSC, Atomtekhenergo JSC, Balakovo AES-Avto LLC became the active participants of the meeting.

The presentation of 2017 environmental report of Balakovo NPP that characterizes the main direction of the nature protection activities of the enterprise is the traditional annual

event. It is meant to increase the awareness of the population, environmental organizations, scientific and social institutes, local authorities and governmental authorities about the real environmental situation in the region and the measures of the environmental safety increase.

One can study the report about the environmental safety at NPP at the website of Rosenergoatom: http://www.rosenergoatom.ru/stations_projects/sayt-balakovskoy-aes/bezopasnost-i-ekologiya/ekologicheskie-otchety/