Iran stresses Bushehr N-plant safety

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi has dismissed concerns by certain Persian Gulf littoral states about Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) following an earthquake in the country.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has so far not reported any deviations from safety standards in Bushehr power plant,” Abbasi said on Tuesday.

A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the town of Kaki, some 90 kilometers southeast of Bushehr on April 9. At least 37 people were killed and more than 1,050 others were injured.

Following the quake, the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council [P]GCC called on the IAEA to “send a specialized technical team to inspect the Bushehr nuclear plant and investigate potential damage.”

Referring to the demand, Abbasi said, “The request of these countries is a political gesture and propaganda. IAEA inspectors are present in Iran and monitor Iran’s nuclear activities.”

Abbasi said, however, that Iran would welcome any inspection of the Bushehr NPP by the IAEA.

The Russian contractor of Bushehr power plant, Atomstroyexport, has also confirmed that the earthquake had not affected the Bushehr plant.

“The earthquake in no way affected the normal situation at the reactor, personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm,” an official with Atomstroyexport, the Russian company that built the facility, earlier said.

Bushehr NPP officially began its operations in September 2011, generating electricity at 40 percent of its capacity.

The 1000-megawatt plant, which is operating under the full supervision of the IAEA, reached its maximum power generation capacity for the first time in August 2012.

Iran and Russia have assured the international community that the plant is fully compliant with high-level safety standards and IAEA safeguards.