The director-general of the United Nations nuclear watchdog came in Ukraine on Tuesday for meetings with senior government officials about providing “immediate technical support” to safeguard the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear plants, according to the agency.
Rafael Mariano Grossi’s goal, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, is to “initiate urgent safety and security support” for Ukraine’s nuclear installations. It will send IAEA specialists to “prioritized sites,” which it did not name, as well as “critical safety and security supplies,” such as monitoring and emergency equipment.
Grossi would visit one of Ukraine’s nuclear power reactors this week, according to the report, but it did not specify which one. Ukraine is home to 15 nuclear reactors at four operational power facilities, as well as the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power facility, which was the location of the 1986 nuclear tragedy. Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia, the world’s largest operating power plant, have been taken over by Russian military.
For weeks, the IAEA chief has been urging Ukraine and Russia to reach an agreement on the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power reactors. In Turkey earlier this month, he met with the foreign ministers of both countries.
Ukraine has asked his agency’s assistance, he said Tuesday, and “we will immediately begin giving it.”
In a statement, Grossi said, “The military war is putting Ukraine’s nuclear power plants and other facilities with hazardous material in unprecedented danger.” “We must move quickly to ensure that they can continue to run safely and securely, reducing the risk of a nuclear disaster with serious health and environmental consequences in Ukraine and abroad.”
“Several close calls have already occurred. We can’t afford any more squandering of time “Added he. “This battle has already resulted in unspeakable human suffering and devastation. The IAEA’s expertise and capabilities are required to prevent a nuclear accident from occurring.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency has raised worry about a lack of regular personnel rotations at the Chernobyl site, as well as doubts regarding staff’s capacity to operate without undue stress and power outages. It claims it is not receiving data transfer from its Chernobyl monitoring systems, but is receiving data from Ukraine’s other sites.
Ukraine’s nuclear authority notified the IAEA on Monday that eight of Ukraine’s 15 reactors were still operational, including two in Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia. The others were turned off for routine maintenance, according to the statement.