IAEA director general to visit Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant next week
Photo: Twitter/Rafael Grossi
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, will visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) next week.
The IAEA official website reports this.
As noted, Grossi intends to personally assess the nuclear safety situation at the ZNPP and emphasize the urgent need to protect the plant during a military confrontation.
This will be his second trip to the power plant captured by the russians.
I've decided to travel again to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to see for myself how the situation has evolved since September and to talk to those operating the facility in these unprecedented and very difficult circumstances. I remain determined to continue doing everything in my power to help reduce the risk of a nuclear accident during the tragic war in Ukraine," Director General Grossi said.
He emphasized that despite the constant presence of IAEA experts at the power plant for seven months, the situation at the ZNPP is unstable.
" The nuclear safety and security dangers are all too obvious, as is the necessity to act now to prevent an accident with potential radiological consequences to the health and the environment for people in Ukraine and beyond. I'm therefore continuing to work on a proposal to protect the plant," Grossi emphasized.
The IAEA Director General added that his trip to Ukraine is also aimed at ensuring support for the regular rotation of the Agency's mission at the ZNPP, given the very difficult circumstances encountered during the previous rotation in February, which was postponed for almost a month.
Grossi will be accompanied by a new – seventh – group of IAEA experts who will work at the ZNPP.
For reference:
On March 2, 2023, a rotation of IAEA inspectors took place at the ZNPP. It was supposed to be held in early February, but the invaders blocked it.
russian troops seized the ZNPP on the night of March 4, 2022. The invaders placed military equipment and ammunition on the site of the station. They are constantly shelling the surrounding area and the station itself, destroying power lines and causing external power outages.
There are about 500 russian invaders at the ZNPP site.
On September 1, the IAEA mission arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
