Over the past week, IAEA experts continued to hear explosions every day at different distances from the Zaporizhia NPP. IAEA head: nuclear facilities in Ukraine remain “extremely vulnerable” Peace and security
The armed conflict in Ukraine continues to threaten the country’s nuclear security: military operations are taking place near the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP); An air raid alert was recently announced at several nuclear facilities; A rocket attack knocked out a research center in the northeast of the country. This was stated on Thursday by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi.
“For more than two years, Ukraine’s nuclear facilities have been under constant threat,” Grossi recalled. “We remain committed to doing everything possible to minimize the risk of a nuclear accident that could harm people and the environment, not just in Ukraine.” So far we have been able to stabilize the situation, but as we saw again this week, nuclear facilities in Ukraine remain extremely vulnerable.”
Over the past week, those at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant power plant, IAEA experts continued to hear explosions every day at different distances from the Zaporizhia NPP. Small arms fire was heard on the night of March 22 and also on Wednesday. In addition, the day before the air raid alarm went off at the station.
Despite all the difficulties, IAEA experts continued to conduct regular tours of the plant over the past week. No leaks were observed, Grossi said. According to him, during inspections carried out over the past week, the IAEA team did not identify any problems related to nuclear safety.
As a result of the shelling on March 22, Kharkov lost external power supply to the research center, which before the start of the war was used to produce radioisotopes for medical and industrial purposes. The facility is currently running on emergency diesel generators.
IAEA experts at the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukrainian nuclear power plants, as well as at the Chernobyl plant, reported that nuclear safety continues to be maintained despite the air raid alarms that have sounded repeatedly over the past week . This week there was a rotation of IAEA experts at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The IAEA continues to supply equipment necessary to maintain nuclear safety in Ukraine. This week, the Rivne NPP received a portable X-ray machine for radiological monitoring, which was purchased with UK funds. This was the 42nd delivery of equipment to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict; the total amount of such assistance exceeds nine million euros.
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