The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, warned on Thursday of the «drastic reduction» of Ukrainian personnel that has been experienced in recent months at the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant.
According to Grossi at a press conference, this reduction of Ukrainian specialists has occurred since Russia took control of the facilities at the plant, considered one of the largest in Europe and in dispute between Kiev and Moscow since the beginning of the war.
«Normally a facility like this has around 10,000 people working, and now we have 3,000, more or less,» said Grossi, who considers that although the number of employees is in line with the plant’s «low level» of operability, it is still a «cause for concern».
In this context, the top representative of the IAEA has guaranteed the smooth operation of the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant thanks to the personnel that the organization has assigned there, who have also checked the resistance of the safety systems of the facilities.
«Almost a year after the beginning of the conflict (…) we have had very difficult moments when the facilities have been operating in emergency mode and we have seen the resilience of the system», stressed Grossi, as reported by the American news channel CNN.
Finally, Grossi stressed that the organization is «very concerned» about the situation in Zaporiyia because «a nuclear accident or an accident with serious radiological consequences is possible every day».
In this sense, he has once again advocated the implementation of a safety zone around the plant, a matter that he had already expressed his hope on Wednesday that it would materialize «very, very soon».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
