International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi speaks during a news conference in Vienna, Austria, April 28, 2022. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)
IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said past experience suggests that such wildfires could only lead to "a very small increase of radioactive concentration in the air," and the IAEA has agreed with Ukraine's assessment that the fires do not pose a danger to human health.
VIENNA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Wildfires near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant do not pose a radioactive threat, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Thursday.
The Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog said in a statement that it had been informed by Ukrainian authorities that the gamma levels in the vicinity of the Chernobyl plant do not exceed reference levels.
A ferris wheel is seen near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Nov. 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Bai Xueqi)
IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said past experience suggests that such wildfires could only lead to "a very small increase of radioactive concentration in the air," and the IAEA has agreed with Ukraine's assessment that the fires do not pose a danger to human health.
Grossi added that spontaneous fires often occur in the area at this time of year, as the area is still contaminated by radioactive material from the 1986 nuclear accident.
A dog wanders around the new protective cover over the destroyed Chernobyl nuclear reactor No.4 in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 5, 2017. (Xinhua/Chen Junfeng)
Located some 110 km north of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, the Chernobyl plant was the scene of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history in April 1986. ■
