IAEA does not exclude risk of accident at Zaporiyia plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is awaiting a visit by its experts to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant at Zaporiyia, which is in Russian hands, and given the situation with the two sides, does not rule out the risk of an accident.

Its director general, Rafael Grossi, pointed out in an interview with the French daily Le Monde that, although "we should not be alarmist", neither should we trivialise "a situation that is not", in reference to what is the largest nuclear complex in Europe, the object of cross accusations by Kiev and Moscow in the vicinity of the complex.

"The facility is functioning, but with difficulties, so that in the current circumstances the scenario of an accident cannot be excluded. There are continuous interruptions in the power supply, problems with the fuel used...", he says.

Grossi acknowledges that he is "uneasy" because although nuclear safety has advanced "enormously" since the Chernobyl accident in 1986, "in the middle of a war, safety is never absolute".

He also said that different possibilities of nuclear incidents had been considered, but not that a large complex like the one at Zaporiyia would be in the middle of a conventional conflict like that of the two world wars, with tanks, troop movements and trenches.

The director general, who was received in Paris on Thursday by French President Emmanuel Macron to make progress in organising an IAEA mission that would be accepted by the parties, insisted that the objective would be the safety of the facility, i.e. "its normal and unimpeded operation".

He pointed out that he has no mandate to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, but that his role is limited to a mission "of a technical nature" to prevent an accident.

If the visit were to take place, the experts would begin with an examination of the situation at the plant, before repairing the transmission systems that have been damaged.

They would also inspect the spent fuel pools and address "the sensitive issue of electricity supply, which is essential for cooling the reactors".