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Russia may attempt to cover up the real situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — Energoatom
The President of Energoatom Petro Kotin states that the fact that representatives of the the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring mission are not allowed to enter the reactor halls where the reactor active zones are located and spent nuclear fuel is contained, may be an attempt to hide the real situation at the ZNPP.
Information about this issue was earlier published in IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine.
“This is the first time that IAEA experts have not been granted access to a reactor hall of a unit that was in cold shutdown,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency claims.
Five of the ZNPP’s six reactors are in cold shutdown, while unit 4 is in hot shutdown to produce steam and heat. For the past two weeks the IAEA experts have not been able to access the reactor halls of units 1, 2 and 6 as well as some parts of the ZNPP’s turbine halls and reactor rooftops.
Kotin emphasizes that the only legitimate operator of Europe’s largest nuclear facility, Zaporizhzhya NPP, is Energoatom, therefore only returning the station under the full control of Ukraine can guarantee its nuclear and radiation safety.
“The only way out is complete demilitarization and de-occupation of ZNPP and surrounding area. This is a key prerequisite for restoring not only nuclear safety, but also respect for international law,” says the head of National Nuclear Energy Generating Company on their official Telegram channel.
Since August, Russians have regularly shelled the ZNPP and Energodar, resulting in 8 complete power cuts and profound concerns for safety.
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