To protect the Zaporizhzhya NPP, a realistic and feasible alternative proposal must be given, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, who visited Japan on July 4-7, said in an interview with the Japanese NHK television channel.
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“If an accident occurs at the Zaporozhye NPP, who will be to blame? We can only blame ourselves. Because it will be an artificial accident. It will happen due to the fact that some people could not prevent others from making something happen ” Grossi said.
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He noted that in the event of an accident, this would be the fundamental difference from the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant.
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“Whether we like it or not, there really is a war going on and there is a nuclear plant… Therefore, we must come up with an alternative realistic and feasible plan to protect the plant. Some people ask me why I do not evacuate the plant. I would like to. I tried create a defensive zone. However, a counter-offensive has begun, and the military command cannot accept the fact that there will be territory where they cannot go. This is absolutely unacceptable,” Grossi said.
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Rafael Grossi was in Japan on a visit in connection with plans to release weakly radioactive water from the accidental Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant into the ocean. During his four days in the country, he visited the station, spoke with residents, fishermen and administrations of Fukushima Prefecture, and held two extensive press conferences. In their course, he, in particular, touched upon the topic of the ZNPP, stating both on July 4 and July 7 that IAEA experts did not find any explosives or signs of mining.
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The Agency has requested additional access needed to confirm that there are no mines or explosives on the site. In particular, it was about access to the roofs of reactor blocks No. 3 and No. 4, as well as parts of the turbine halls and some parts of the station’s cooling system. On Friday, Grossi said that some progress had been made in obtaining a permit, and although the experts have not yet hit the roofs of the power units, he is confident that such a permit will be obtained.
