Despite coronavirus, construction work of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) is going on in full swing in Pabna. The pandemic situation at the project is under full control, and do not expect it to worsen.
Kirill Orlov, medical adviser to the ASE (an engineering division of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM) branch in Bangladesh made this view in an online interview with Bangladesh Post.
He also shared the prevailing coronavirus situation at Rooppur NPP as also their initiatives to ensure the health of the project’s staffers.
How do you assess the current coronavirus situation at Rooppur NPP?
I am pleased to report that over the past month, not a single case of coronavirus infection has been reported among the nearly 3,000 Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian employees. Among almost 16 thousand Bangladeshi project workers, cases of the disease are very rare – in single digit. This is much better than the national average when you take into account the number of employees on the project.
We managed to prevent the mass incidence of coronavirus infection thanks to the timely adopted strict sanitary and organizational measures, which in many ways continue to operate today. Moreover, the pandemic forced to reorganize and qualitatively improve the work of the entire medical service of the project.
From the very beginning of the pandemic, in March last year, we introduced all the necessary quarantine measures, including mandatory multi-stage temperature control, which is carried out both at the entrance to the construction site and in office buildings, canteen and work facilities, mandatory wearing of masks, regular disinfection of premises and other measures. They remain in force today, as well as restrictions on the movement of Russian specialists outside their places of residence - the villages of Green City and Bangla Kutir.
Three times a week, meetings of a special headquarters for the fight against coronavirus infection are held with the participation of representatives of all subcontractors, which monitors the situation and takes the necessary decisions.
Within the framework of the project, a system has been created in which no person can enter the site without a test or with a positive test result. At the same time, test results are accepted only if there is a QR code on the document, that is, it is possible to check the result in the database of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Bangladesh.
Test of project employees is done on a systematic basis, there are testing schedules that are tightly controlled.
Two departments have been created in the central medical post on the site for ordinary patients and the infectious diseases’ department. Two specialists are constantly working in the infectious diseases department, observing all the regime requirements for infectious diseases.
In case of suspicion of a covid infection, the sick person is instantly isolated, and all persons who have been in contact with him are also isolated. Both the sick person and the persons in contact are immediately tested for coronavirus, if necessary, the test is done repeatedly. Preventive therapy is mandatorily applied. In case of a positive test result, the sick person is sent to a hospital within an hour on a special vehicle.
Most subcontractors have their own medical rooms, where atmosphere is created for the immediate collection of samples from patients with suspected coronavirus. At the same time, the sick person is immediately isolated, which minimizes contact with other persons.
Recently, a contract was signed with a large medical company, which provided the project with a mobile PCR testing laboratory. The company has all the necessary state permits for this activity. A laboratory with a capacity of 1,000 tests per day has recently begun operating in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear power plant site. At the same time, test results are provided within a maximum of 24 hours.
The first batch of Sputnik V vaccine has recently arrived to the site with a group of specialists from the Russian Federal Medical and Biological Agency. Employees of ASE JSC and subcontractors who wish to receive the vaccine will be able to take this under a close medical supervision, which will also last for some time after vaccination.
How is the medical assistance organized for the NPP project staffers?
First of all, I would like to note that the project staff have round-the-clock access to medical assistance.
All have medical education; the majority have a higher medical education. At the same time, they are not attending physicians and do not perform operations. We give qualified advice on a particular issue related to the health of the employees. If there is a medical indication, we refer a person to a local medical institution, to a specific narrow-profile specialist. If the situation requires immediate medical attention, we will of course provide the patient with the necessary assistance. In all other cases, we will refer him to local medical facilities.
Our main task is to minimize errors in the profile of hospitalization and in the profile of narrow specialists of local clinics.
In the Green City village, there is a central first-aid post with several doctors. There is a diagnostic room with necessary equipment like ultrasound and ECG machines, where we can do some analyzes. There are plans to purchase blood and urine analyzers. Thus, we will be able to do all the most important clinical analyzes of biological fluids right on the spot, using our own first-aid post, as well as diagnose a number of surgical diseases at an early stage.
Bangladeshi employees also make frequent visits to health posts at the NPP site and in Green City. They are provided with first aid, and, if necessary, a referral to specialized specialists is issued.
How is the cooperation with local medical institutions organized?
We cooperate with a number of local clinics, diagnostic centers on a commercial basis under insurance contracts.
ASE, as well as a number of our subcontractors, have concluded healthcare insurance contracts for their employees with local insurance companies. This type of insurance is preferable for us.
Under insurance, clinics provide diagnostic, if necessary, and inpatient care, up to the performance of rather complex surgical operations.
Most of the consulting clinics are within reach - from 15 minutes to an hour by car, in the nearby towns of Ishwardi, Pabna, and a little further in Rajshahi. These clinics have specialist doctors of all profiles, equipment for any, including high-tech examinations.
The medical service of the project has at its disposal two ambulances, ready to leave at any time to any hospital in the country. Another ambulance will arrive soon.
What kind of help does the Bangladeshi side provide to the NPP project in regard to medical services?
A working and trusting relationship has been established with the Bangladeshi side. The heads and staff of the Bangladesh Ministry of Science and Technology and the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) provide us with comprehensive assistance, as they are interested in the timely and smooth implementation of the project. Cooperation with BAEC is carried out in many areas, from the organization of quarantine measures and temperature control on the project to consultations on the choice of hospitals. With the active participation of BAEC, necessary permits for vaccination were obtained, the Commission provided us with premises for vaccination. Together with BAEC, regular inspections of laboratories and medical facilities in the area of the Rooppur NPP construction are carried out. Russian and Bengali project staffers carry out many tasks jointly.
How common are serious health problems of the staff?
There has been only a few of them over the past year. Life-threatening diseases are rare. And, I repeat, they happened, first of all, due to the fact that initially unhealthy people came to the site.
There are, of course, minor injuries and household poisoning. Basically, medical advisers conduct standard therapy appointments. There are few chronic diseases.
