Atomic monitors stationed at a Russian-occupied nuclear plant in southern Ukraine criticized Rosatom Corp. officials for slack safety oversight.
(Bloomberg) — Atomic monitors stationed at a Russian-occupied nuclear plant in southern Ukraine criticized Rosatom Corp. officials for slack safety oversight.
International Atomic Energy Agency observers saw mines placed in a buffer zone surrounding the Zaporizhzhia power plant during an inspection on Tuesday. While it’s not the first time explosives have been observed, their presence onsite at Europe’s biggest atomic power station “is inconsistent” with the IAEA’s safety standards, the Vienna-based watchdog wrote late Monday.
Russia is also continuing to disregard advice from safety regulators to bring all of Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors into a state of cold shutdown, the IAEA reported. Russian operators are planning to heat up unit No. 4 to provide the plant with heat and steam. Agency officials have yet visit the rooftops and turbine halls of reactors Nos. 3 and 4 almost three weeks after requesting access.
In a note circulated among IAEA diplomats last week, Russia said that, between July 11 and July 17, its military stopped 87 aerial attempts to attack the plant. Background radiation at Zaporizhzhia remains within normal limits.
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