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UN nuclear watchdog chief meets with Ukrainian officials to discuss safety assistance

Posted at March 31, 2022 » By : » Categories : News » Comments Off on UN nuclear watchdog chief meets with Ukrainian officials to discuss safety assistance

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog met with government officials in Ukraine yesterday to discuss about providing assistance to keep nuclear facilities safe in the midst of the war with Russia.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) yesterday to review and deliver IAEA’s technical assistance immediately for the safety and security of the country’s nuclear plants.

He held “detailed discussions” with Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko, head of the nuclear regulatory body Oleg Korikov, head of operating company Energoatom Petro Kotin and the NPP Director Igor Polovych regarding the matter.

Mr Grossi said: “It is vital to be on the ground in order to provide effective support to Ukraine in these extremely difficult times.

“The IAEA’s onsite presence, where needed, will help prevent the danger of a nuclear accident that could have severe public health and environmental consequences in Ukraine and beyond.”

He reassured the team that the IAEA is ready to support “in whatever way and form we can”, insisting “nothing that happens here will go unnoticed”.

He also thanked staff at the South Ukraine NPP for their “endurance and resilience during these extremely difficult times.

The Director General added: “You are protecting the essential infrastructure of your country at a time of great difficulty.

“The supply chain is not working as it should be. We are going to start working on methods to re-establish that. We are going to be working on some concrete actions in the area of safety and security, radiation monitoring. And we are going to try, in our conversations, to establish a rapid reaction mechanism.

“As far as we are concerned from the IAEA, for us, we treat this as a major crisis. This is not business as usual. And we will continue discussing this issue until there is a solution. We are not going to let go.”

Equipment, including for emergency and monitoring radiation, is expected to be delivered to Ukraine, in addition to the IAEA sending experts to the country’s nuclear facilities.

Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2022/03/31/un-nuclear-watchdog-chief-meets-with-ukrainian-officials-to-discuss-safety-assistance/

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