IAEA: So far, Zaporozhye NPP does not pose a threat to safety

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant does not currently pose a security threat, although it continues to be bombed.

IAEA director Rafael Grossi told a UN Security Council meeting in New York Thursday that IAEA experts had given an initial assessment that there was no “immediate danger” to plant safety from bombing or other military action.

“However, this could change at any moment,” Grossi added.

He urged Moscow and Kyiv to allow international experts into the station as soon as possible and stated: “I am personally ready to lead such a mission.”

“Recently, the situation at nuclear facilities, in particular in Zaporozhye, has become alarming due to the damage caused by the bombing last week,” he said.

“I remain very concerned about the situation in Zaporozhye… I repeat, any hostilities that threaten nuclear security must be stopped immediately, because such hostilities near such a large nuclear facility can have serious consequences,” he said.

He explained that the IAEA experts will assess the physical damage in Zaporozhye, determine whether the main and backup security and protection systems are working, and also assess the working conditions of the control room personnel.

In this regard, he stated that since February 24, the IAEA has been closely monitoring the situation at nuclear facilities, as well as activities related to radioactive sources and nuclear materials in Ukraine, with particular attention to the implications for security, protection and nuclear safeguards.

The station, the largest in Europe, has been under Russian control since early March, and the Russian Defense Ministry recently announced that Ukrainian forces had bombed the vicinity of the station.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency.

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