VIENNA – Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that shelling damaged a new nuclear research facility in Ukraine's Kharkiv city that produces radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications.
Grossi stated on Monday, citing Ukraine's national nuclear regulator, that the incident that occurred a day earlier did not result in an increase in radiation levels at the site.
"Because the nuclear material in the facility is always subcritical and the inventory of radioactive material is very low, the IAEA's assessment confirmed that the damage reported to it would not have had any radiological consequence," said the Director General in a statement posted on the regulator's website.
The incident on Sunday, "highlighted once again the risks facing Ukraine's nuclear installations during the armed conflict, adding urgency to an IAEA initiative aimed at ensuring nuclear safety and security in the country." Grossi said. "There have already been several incidents that have put at risk safety at Ukraine's nuclear sites," he added.
On February 27, Ukraine reported that Russian missiles had struck a radioactive waste disposal facility in Kiev, but that no radioactive material had been released. This occurred just one day after an electrical transformer at a similar disposal facility near Kharkiv was damaged.
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