VIENNA—The Zaporizhzhia Ukrainian nuclear power station, which is the largest energy plant in Europe, is under great threat and its safety is endangered, as well as the guarantee systems in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency's Director General Rafael Grossi said earlier on Monday.
The IAEA is deeply concerned over the exhausting and difficult labor environment in which the Ukrainian administrative and experts are working at the station, Grossi added in a statement before the IAEA Board of Governors, which kicked off its five-day activities earlier at the Austrian capital Vienna.
Supervision and operative responsibility are vital issues for not only the safety and security of this power station, but also to allow IAEA inspectors to continue their normal inspecting unavoidable activities there, he affirmed.
Regarding nuclear power stations in Ukraine, there are fears of shortage in importing of Zaporizhzhia station’s special spare parts, which poses violation to at least five of the main seven pillar in the field of nuclear safety and security at this location.
The Ukrainian authorities informed Grossi of losing control on nuclear substances in the station, which normally undergoes guarantee agreement between Ukraine and IAEA, as well as losing guarantee data that usually arrives to the station from IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
Grossi stressed the importance of a proper security and protection of the Ukrainian nuclear facilities. IAEA will follow up with this issue closely, and overcome the logistic difficulties and any other considerations.
Earlier, Grossi revealed that since February 2021, the agency's inspectors’ activities have been seriously affected by Iran's decision to stop implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the Additional Inspection Protocol.
He criticized the absence of “satisfactory responses” from Iran regarding the presence of nuclear materials at three undeclared sites in the country.
He stated that Iran has more than 43 kilograms of uranium with a purity of 60 percent, while nuclear experts say that about 50 kilograms of this material is enough to make a nuclear weapon if the material is enriched a little higher to 90 percent.
He noted that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful; the agency remains ready to resume dealings with Iran immediately to resolve these issues. — Kuna
