The head of the IAEA is in Ukraine “to hold talks with government officials” in order to provide “technical assistance” to ensure the safety of nuclear installations, the UN agency said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The military conflict poses an unprecedented danger to nuclear power plants and other sites in the country. We must take urgent steps to ensure that they continue to operate safely and reduce the risk of accidents,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in the statement.
“The aim of the Director-General's visit is to start giving quick support to Ukraine on military installations,” IAEA said.
Within the framework of the trip there will be a “shipment of vital safety and security supplies”, including monitoring materials and emergency equipment.
Grossi indicated that Ukraine asked for assistance and that the organization is responding.
Since the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine, the senior official has repeatedly warned about the dangers posed by this conflict in a country with a vast nuclear network that includes 15 reactors, in addition to the Chernobyl plant, where the greatest nuclear energy disaster in the history of atomic energy occurred.
The IAEA reported Monday that a nuclear research facility has been damaged in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, although the nuclear material has remained intact.
According to its director, Rafael Grossi, the facility had already been hit by bombing during the conflict, although there is no risk to the population because the building has been used for research, development and production of radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications.
“Its nuclear material is subcritical, there can be no nuclear chain reaction, and the radioactive inventory is low,” said Grossi in his latest report, adding that the facility was attacked on Saturday.
“In today's update, Ukraine said that the building, its thermal insulation and the experimental room were damaged, but not the neutron source, which contains nuclear material used to generate neutrons for research and production of isotopes,” he has detailed.
Of the country's 15 operational reactors, the regulator has noted that eight continue to operate normally, including two at the Russian-controlled Zaporiyia nuclear power plant, three in Rivne, one in Khmelnytskii and two in southern Ukraine. The other reactors are closed for regular maintenance.
(With information from AFP and Europa Press)
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