Addressing an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors, Chief Executive Rafael Mariano Grossi revealed he remained gravely concerned about the “unprecedented situation” in the country.

IAEA Director General @RafaelMGrossi calls for restraint, reiterates the need to ensure the safety of #Ukrainenuclear facilities and their personnel. https://t.co/S3daFmYy0u pic.twitter.com/2f0CIdYYnp

— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) March 2, 2022

“This is the first time that a military conflict has taken place at the facilities of a major, established nuclear program, which in this case also includes the site of the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,” he said.

Ask for help

Ukrainian regulators have written to the UN-backed atomic watchdog asking for help in securing the Chernobyl power plant and other nuclear facilities in the country.

Mr. Grossi called for restraint in any action that could compromise the security of nuclear installations and nuclear and radioactive materials, because “any such incident could have serious consequences, increasing human suffering and causing damage to the environment”.

The IAEA has been monitoring the situation in Ukraine since the start of the Russian military offensive on February 24.

The sites “operate normally”

The four nuclear power plants that produce half of the country’s energy “are functioning normally”, Grossi said.

He reported that Russia informed the agency on Tuesday that it had taken control of the territory around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s largest.

Six of the country’s 15 operational nuclear reactors are housed there.

“It is of crucial importance that the armed conflict and activities on the ground around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and any other Ukrainian nuclear facility do not in any way interrupt or endanger the facilities or the people there. are working,” Grossi said. .

Russian forces have also taken control of all facilities of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, located in the exclusion zone. No casualties or destruction were reported.

“While increased levels of radiation were initially measured at the site, likely due to the movement of heavy military vehicles disturbing the ground, the IAEA estimated that they remained low enough not to pose a hazard to the public” , said Mr. Grossi.

Potential serious consequences

Earlier this week, Russian missiles hit the site of a radioactive waste storage facility in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. No damage was reported and there was no indication of radioactive release.

Previously, an electrical transformer at a similar disposal facility near Kharkiv in the northeast suffered damage, with no radioactive releases reported.

“These two incidents highlight the risk of facilities containing radioactive materials being damaged during the armed conflict, with potentially serious consequences,” Grossi said.

He added that “The best action to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and its people would be to end this armed conflict now.”

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