IAEA Vows To Continue Decommissioning Chernobyl NPP 35 Years After Disaster

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue to help decommission the disabled Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Director General Rafael Grossi said on the 35th anniversary of the nuclear tragedy in then-Soviet Ukraine

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2021) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue to help decommission the disabled Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Director General Rafael Grossi said on the 35th anniversary of the nuclear tragedy in then-Soviet Ukraine.

"During my official visit to #Ukraine, I reiterated to President [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] that the @IAEAorg will continue working tirelessly in addressing decommissioning, radioactive waste and environmental remediation related with #Chernobyl accident," Grossi tweeted.

The visiting IAEA chief also met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

The sides discussed safeguards, nuclear energy and safety, as well as healthcare and the IAEA's Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) to prevent pandemics.

The Chernobyl power plant was destroyed in a meltdown on April 26, 1986. Nearly 3,000 square miles of territory in northern Ukraine and parts of Belarus have been depopulated, with 1,000 square miles considered an exclusion zone due to elevated levels of radiation. The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered the worst nuclear accident in history.