International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi will pay a visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) next week, the agency said on Saturday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2023) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi will pay a visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) next week, the agency said on Saturday.
"The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, travels to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) next week to assess first-hand the serious nuclear safety and security situation at the facility and underline the urgent need to protect it during the ongoing military conflict in the country," the statement read.
This will be Grossi's second visit to the ZNPP and the first since he established a permanent presence of IAEA experts at the site on September 1, 2022, the agency said.
"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," the IAEA chief was quoted by the agency as saying.
Despite the seven-month presence of IAEA experts, the situation at the ZNPP "is still precarious," the senior official added.
"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 said.
His upcoming visit to Ukraine is also aimed at ensuring that the regular rotation of IAEA experts to and from the nuclear facility is maintained and improved after the expert faced "very challenging circumstances" during a rotation in February, which had been delayed by nearly a month. Grossi will be accompanied by a fresh group of IAEA experts, the seventh such team present at the site since the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) was established.
