IAEA: Attacks On Iran's Nuclear Power Plant Could Trigger Radioactive Disasters

UNSPLASH/Ilja Nedilko ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The attack on Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (PLTN) could cause far more radioactive pollution than nuclear explosions, although the reactor inside could not explode.

This was stated by Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mikhail Chudakov to RIA Novosti on Wednesday (18/6) on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia.

"Based on my experience and common sense, not a single power plant in the world is protected from war... If you fire a missile at the reactor, you will see pollution in the region. You will not see a nuclear explosion," Chudakov said. from Sputnik-OANA, Thursday, June 19.

He emphasized that incidents related to nuclear activity had been anticipated by modern reactor technology. Such incidents last occurred at the Chernobyl PLTN in 1986.

According to Chudakov, PLTN can't explode like a nuclear bomb, but it can damage and spread radiation to the surrounding area.

"Unfortunately, there will be more (radioactive) pollution in such events than from nuclear explosions," he said.

IAEA data shows Iran currently has a nuclear power reactor at the PLTN Bushehr (BNPP)-Unit 1, which started commercial operations in 2013 and accounted for nearly 1.7 percent of total national electricity production in 2023.

PLTN Bushehr is about 1,200 kilometers south of Iran's capital, Tehran.

Its construction began in 1975 by German companies, but the project was halted after the Iranian Revolution erupted in 1979. The PLTN was also hit by bombs several times during the Iran-Irak War (1980-1988).

In 1995, the contract to complete the PLTN was signed by Iran and the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy. The PLTN started producing electricity in September 2011. Its opening ceremony was attended by a number of Russian officials.