On January 24, 2019, public hearings took place in the Dubovskiy district of the Rostov region on the following subject: ‘The preliminary materials evaluating the environmental impact of the Rostov NPP’s 3rd power block operation within an 18-months’ fuel cycle at 104% normal capacity of the reactor facility with ventilation cooling towers’.

In total, 290 people participated in the hearings, including designers, NPP operation specialists, representatives of the Rosenergoatom Joint-Stock company, the administration authorities and the Deputy Assembly of the Dubovskiy district, public environment protection organizations, supervisory bodies, as well as the dwellers of the Dubovskiy district and other Russian cities.

The public hearings in the Dubovskoe settlement took more than two hours, during which the information about the project under discussion and all possible aspects of environmental impact of the Rostov NPP’s 3rd power block operation at 104% normal capacity of the reactor facility with ventilation cooling towers were provided.

Andrey Gorbunov, the chief engineer of the Rostov NPP, told the attendees about the peculiarities of operating an NPP power block with ventilation cooling towers, the goals and the expected results of implementing such technical solution. He also noted that the usage of ventilation cooling towers alongside an evaporative cooling tower will increase the efficiency of the 3rd power block operation during the hot summer period, which is typical for this southern region.

Liubov Banschikova, a representative of the R&D Company ‘Gidrotekhproekt’ that also evaluated the environmental impact of the Rostov NPP 1st and 2nd power block’s operation at 104% of the normal capacity, delivered the keynote speech. Olga Gorskaya, the head of the Rostov NPP’s environment protection department, elaborated on the principles of the NPP’s environmental policy and nature protection measures.

At present, the 1st and the 2nd power blocks of the Rostov NPP are in commercial operation with the reactor facility at 104% of their normal capacity; the 3rd power block is in a pilot production mode. According to the metrics of the industrial environmental control and monitoring held at the Rostov NPP and with regard to the data provided by the regulatory, supervisory authorities and independent environment protection organizations, during the period of operating the power blocks at the increased capacity of 104%, there has been no environmental decline in the area of the Rostov NPP.

‘The operation of the nuclear power plant does not lead to any increase in the radiation background within the NPP monitoring zone’, Alexander Zemlyak, the chief medical officer of the Dubovskiy central district hospital, said.

The operation of the power blocks at the increased capacity of 104% means increased electric power output for the region and the whole country, which is important for further social and economic development. ‘The investigations presented in the environmental impact materials, their level, alongside the reports presented today by the scientists, external experts and the Rostov NPP specialists certainly have credibility. The fact that these activities are being held once again reconfirms that the nuclear power industry leans towards transparency and that they do want to share any changes and innovations in their work with the dwellers of the area next to the NPP. Since the very first day of the Rostov NPP’s 1st power block operation, the company became a reliable partner for our region. Thanks to the funds we have received from the nuclear power industry, we managed to complete the gas infrastructure development and perform a lot of work with regards to water supply. As part of their non-profit activities, the NPP supports our local young talents, creative teams, large families’, Nina Kirillova, the head of the Dubovskiy district administration, noted.

When summarizing the hearings, Svetlana Gilevich, the chairman of the Deputy Assembly of the Dubovskiy district, told the participants about the procedure of taking into account the public opinion and mentioned that the end client will review all submitted suggestions and concerns when preparing the final materials evaluating the environmental impact.

All interested parties may familiarize themselves with the preliminary materials evaluating the environmental impact during the next month, with the final date being February 24th.