Rafael Grossi noted that he intends to discuss with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the organization of a mission to the territory of the NPP
BERLIN, July 30. /tass/. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi believes that the situation at the Zaporozhye NPP is "unstable". He also noted that he intends to discuss with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the organization of a mission to the territory of the NPP. Grossi said this on Friday in an interview with the German media company Deutsche Welle (recognized in the Russian Federation as a foreign media agent).
Grossi claimed that Russia's occupation of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe during the fighting and subsequent reports by maintenance personnel about the alleged use of violence against them are "a combination of violations of all possible safety rules that can only be imagined." "The totality of all these facts suggests that the situation at the NPP is "unstable," the IAEA Director General stressed.
At the same time, Grossi noted that, despite Russia's permission to visit the Zaporozhye NPP, organizing such a trip in the current conditions is a difficult task. The reason is that the NPP is located in a combat zone, and the mission should be controlled not only by the UN, but also by Ukraine, which, according to the head of the IAEA, is "the only legitimate owner of the NPP." Nevertheless, he intends to discuss the issue of organizing a mission to the territory of the NPP with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and expects the mission to travel soon.
At the same time, Grossi believes that the current events in Ukraine and the reduction of gas supplies from Russia have led to the fact that many people have reconsidered their attitude to nuclear energy. As an example, he cited Germany, whose authorities wanted to turn off the remaining three nuclear power plants in the country by the end of this year, but against the background of current events, they returned to discussing this topic. In addition, the Director General of the IAEA believes that more and more countries will be asking similar questions in the near future. Nuclear power plants, according to him, could help in solving the problem of atmospheric pollution with carbon dioxide, since it is almost not released during their operation.
"We can say that the nuclear energy industry is an industry in which you have an accurate idea of where every last gram of so-called waste will end up, which cannot be said about the rest of the industry," Grossi summed up. - This is an industry in which it is possible to establish control and management."
Earlier it was reported that three Ukrainian kamikaze drones struck the territory of the Zaporozhye NPP. The reactor part of the Zaporozhye NPP is not damaged, the radiation background is normal. As a result of the attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Zaporozhye NPP, 11 employees were injured, four of them are now in serious condition.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said at a meeting of the Board of Governors on June 6 that the agency was working to create conditions for sending an expert mission to the NPP. The Ukrainian company Energoatom opposed the visit of the IAEA experts to the NPP, noting that it had not invited Grossi to the NPP and had already refused him such a visit.
Zaporozhye NPP is the largest in Europe, it produced a quarter of all electricity in Ukraine, its capacity is about 6 thousand megawatts, it consists of six power units. Since 1996, the Zaporizhia NPP has been a separate subdivision of the national nuclear power generating company Energoatom, controlled by Ukraine. In March 2022, the facility was taken under control by Russian forces. Now the NPP is operating at 70% of full capacity, since there is an overabundance of electricity produced in the liberated territory of the Zaporozhye region, in the future it is planned to arrange its supply to the Crimea.
