Iran denies radiation leak at Bushehr plant

Tehran: Iran has dismissed as baseless media reports suggesting a possible radiation leakage at Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) after last week’s earthquake. “Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has been constructed to withstand an eight Richter magnitude earthquake,” Xinhua quoted Mohammad Ahmadian, deputy of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), as saying Sunday. He said the “Bushehr NPP has been designed based on the most advanced and strict international regulations”, Ahmadian said. Top officials and experts from all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries held an urgent meeting in Riyadh Sunday to discuss the repercussions of the recent magnitude-6.1 temblor in Iran’s Bushehr province, which left 37 people dead. It is close to the Bushehr nuclear plant. In a statement following the meeting, GCC officials urged Iran to ensure the safety of its nuclear establishments and called on the IAEA to inspect the nuclear plants in Bushehr to examine possible radiation leaks. Ahmadian said given the magnitude of the recent earthquake and the roughly 100km distance between the epicentre of the quake and the site of Bushehr nuclear facility, “it is natural that the quake would not create any problems for the Bushehr NPP”. Iran’s Nuclear Safety System Centre, which is under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has overseen the safety of the power plant during its construction, he added. Source: Gulfnews.com