UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi continues to have a bet each way on nuclear power “safety”

UN nuclear chief says situation at Zaporizhzhia plant is ‘serious’ but it can operate safely for ‘some time’

Guardian, 16 June 23

Rafael Grossi visited the Russian-controlled plant amid concerns for water levels in cooling pools after dam breach

The head of the UN atomic energy agency has said the situation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine is “serious” and that ensuring water for cooling was a priority of his visit, adding that the station could operate safely for “some time”.

Rafael Grossi, of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was inspecting the state of Europe’s largest nuclear plant following last week’s breach in the Kakhovka dam downstream on the Dnipro River. He said IAEA inspectors would remain at the site.

“What is essential for the safety of this plant is that the water that you see behind me stays at that level,” Grossi said in two tweets issued from near the station, including next to a pond that supplies water for cooling.

With the water that is here the plant can be kept safe for some time. The plant is going to be working to replenish the water so that safety functions can continue normally.”

Grossi said the visit, his third to the plant in southern Ukraine since Russian forces occupied it in the first days of their February 2022 invasion, had gathered “a good amount of information for an assessment”.

Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of shelling near the plant, endangering its safe operation. The station’s six reactors are now in shutdown……………

Grossi was earlier quoted by Russian news agencies as saying the situation at the site was “serious”.

“On the one hand, we can see that the situation is serious, the consequences [of the dam’s destruction] are there, and they are real,” he said.

“At the same time, there are measures that are being taken to stabilise the situation.”

Grossi’s trip was delayed by a day for security reasons amid heavy fighting……………………… https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/16/un-nuclear-chief-says-situation-at-zaporizhzhia-plant-is-serious-but-it-can-operate-safely-for-some-time

June 17, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, Ukraine