2023-07-07 13:17:30
Russia has ignored requests from the Ukrainian authorities and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to completely shut down the last partially operating reactor at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. continuing.
In recent days, Ukraine’s nuclear safety authorities have repeatedly called for the halting of heat and steam production at Unit 5, the only reactor at Zaporizhia that has not entered cold shutdown. A nearby dam was destroyed in June, further straining the supply of cooling water for the nuclear power plant.
The IAEA has also called for a complete shutdown of Unit 5, but Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom has refused, Grossi said on Thursday. While the IAEA supports a complete moratorium, he said it was not “a matter of life and death”.
In an interview in Tokyo, Mr. Grossi said, “The IAEA has expressed its view that the plant should be in a state of cold shutdown,” but he said, “The nuclear power plant administrators seem to have a different view.”
Sergei Kiriyenko, chairman of the Rosatom Supervisory Board and first deputy head of the Russian Presidential Administration, visited the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on Thursday and issued a statement that the site remains safe.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, with six reactors, is the largest in Europe and was designed to provide 20% of Ukraine’s total electricity production. Russian forces have occupied the place since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine. The IAEA has had experts stationed at the plant since September last year, and there are currently four of them, but their participation in decisions regarding access to the premises and the operation of the nuclear power plant is limited.
At the sprawling Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, IAEA teams conduct daily inspections, Grossi said. He also said he would like to add a few more monitoring devices to better monitor activity on the premises. The IAEA requested access to the roof of the reactor building after Ukraine’s allegations that landmines had been planted earlier this week.
Tension over Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, U.S. military aircraft to measure radioactivity
Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine (2nd)
Source: Planet Labs PBC
For more than a year, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been under frequent artillery, drone and missile attacks, with both Ukraine and Russia accusing the other of the attacks.
“The IAEA takes this very seriously,” Grossi said. “But we also see public spaces being used to create panic.”
news-rsf-original-reference paywall">Original title:Russia Is Disregarding IAEA Advice to Power Down Ukraine Reactor(excerpt)
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