IAEA observes anti-personnel mines at Zaporizhia NPP

12:41, 25.07.2023 1 min read

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have discovered anti-personnel mines at the site of Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has said.

It is noted that during a walkdown on Sunday, July 23, the IAEA team saw some mines located in the buffer zone between the internal and external perimeter barriers of ZNPP site.

The experts were in a restricted access area – on the territory where the station staff does not enter.

"The IAEA has been aware of the previous placement of mines outside the site perimeter and also at particular places inside. Our team has raised this specific finding with the plant and they have been told that it is a military decision, and in an area controlled by military," Grossi said.

However, Grossi said the presence of such explosives on the site is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff.