Geneva — The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday it will shortly inspect three nuclear power plants in Ukraine, as well as the Chornobyl site.
IAEA director general Rafael Grossi said the agency will dispatch teams of nuclear safety and security experts to the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and South Ukraine nuclear power plants at the request of Ukraine.
It will also send a team to Chernobyl, Grossi said.
The IAEA already has a team continuously present at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhya plant, Grossi said.
"From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the IAEA has been doing everything it can to prevent a nuclear accident with potentially serious consequences for public health and the environment," Grossi said in a statement.
"While the world is focused on the precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, we must not forget the other nuclear facilities located in a country at war," he said.
At the Zaporizhzhya plant, off-site electricity was providing for cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions, Grossi said.
The area has seen reduced shelling at the site and in the industrial area near the town of Enerhodar.
"However, our experience shows that this can change at any time and suddenly take a new dangerous turn. This is not the time to relax," Grossi said.
He said there was concern about the decision-making situation at the plant as Ukrainian staff undertake day-to-day operations while Russia has announced it has taken control of the facility, including operational decisions.
"The Ukrainian staff are carrying out their vital tasks under constant pressure. This can have a negative impact on nuclear safety and security and increase the risk of a nuclear accident, and it must stop. Exacerbating the situation, they are now also faced with conflicting instructions on how to run the plant," he said.
©2022 dpa GmbH. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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