GPAN Splits Into Two Organizations. Since the Chernobyl accident, the Soviet agency GPAN had been gaining strength in directing the upgrades in plant operations that followed the accident. In December 1994, GANU was abolished, and its functions were assumed by the newly created Ministry for Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety. Agreement Among CIS Countries. In June 1992, the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed an accord in Minsk addressing how these countries would cooperate regarding commercial nuclear power.
Countries involved include Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova.
Nuclear Plans, Small-Scale Programs Belarus Considers Nuclear Energy. However, rising costs and disruptions in natural gas supplies prompted the Belarus government to consider building its own nuclear plant. In 1992, the country's national power program called for the construction of 1,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity to come on line between 2005 and 2010. Ministry officials continued talks with Western companies, however, including Westinghouse Electric, Siemens, Asea Brown Boveri and General Atomics. As of October 1994, no decision had been made on what type of reactor to pursue.