By Chris King • Updated: 21 Sep 2022 • 4:53
Image of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine: Credit: Google maps - Виктор Пятов
The European Union is to donate more than five million potassium iodide tablets to Ukraine. They will subsequently be supplied to the population living in the vicinity of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to help protect them in the event of an increase in radiation levels.
Fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has escalated in the region in recent weeks, and the fear exists that at some point, the facility could even take a direct hit.
In the meantime, as a precautionary measure, the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre has deployed 5.5 million pills, with a value exceeding €500,000. This follows a request made on August 26 by the Government of Ukraine, which has accused Russia of militarising the nuclear plant.
Crisis Management Commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, in a statement, called for an immediate cessation of fighting in the area. “No nuclear plant should ever be used as a theatre of war. It is unacceptable that civilian lives are put in danger”, he said.
Potassium iodide tablets are administered in the event of a nuclear accident. They saturate the thyroid gland and prevent radioactive iodine binding. Studies show that taking them before or shortly after exposure can lower long-term cancer risk .
The intensification of the fighting in the vicinity of the plant keeps the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on alert. It has now deployed a team of experts in Ukraine to evaluate the Zaporizhia nuclear plant.
👷 @RafaelMGrossi and a team of experts & inspectors have set off for the IAEA Support & Assistance Mission to #Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ), to help ensure nuclear safety and security at #Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya NPP and undertake vital safeguards activities.👉 https://t.co/IrcPxHuukI pic.twitter.com/0IzcLDYsxO — IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) August 29, 2022
👷 @RafaelMGrossi and a team of experts & inspectors have set off for the IAEA Support & Assistance Mission to #Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ), to help ensure nuclear safety and security at #Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya NPP and undertake vital safeguards activities.👉 https://t.co/IrcPxHuukI pic.twitter.com/0IzcLDYsxO
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) August 29, 2022
Led by the agency’s director general, Rafael Grossi, the IAEA group is made up of fourteen experts. According to the American news outlet CNN, they were seen this Tuesday, August 30, in a hotel in Kyiv. They are scheduled to depart for the city of Energodar, in the southeast of the country, where the plant – now under Russian control – is located.
It is expected that throughout the week the team will go to the plant, where they will assess the physical damage that the facilities have suffered. Several months of clashes between Russians and Ukrainians have continued in the vicinity of the facility, with both sides blaming the other for the attacks and bombings.
Grossi’s team must also assess the conditions of the personnel operating at the plant, in addition to taking urgent measures to ensure that they can continue to work safely, as reported by 20minutos.es.
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Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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