Azerbaijan, Baku, Apr.15/ Trend F.Milad
The rumors surrounding the safety of Iran's only nuclear power plant are unfounded, the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Sunday night.
Talking to Iran's al-Alam news channel, Mohammad Ahmadian noted that the facility has been built to withstand quakes measuring up-to eight on the Richter scale.
Ahmadian was reacting to a statement by some Arab states of the Persian Gulf who'd urged Iran to ensure the safety of the Bushehr power plant.
This comes after a magnitude six point-one earthquake hit a region near the southern city of Bushehr last week.
Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of the temblor. Tehran told the I-A-E-A that the Bushehr facility had sustained no damage and that there had been no radioactive leak.
Ahmadian made the remarks after the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council called on the IAEA to "send a specialized technical team to inspect the Bushehr nuclear plant and investigate potential damage."
The Iranian official said there were systems inside the plant that would disconnect it from the national grid and turn off the reactor in case of a strong earthquake.
Bushehr nuclear power plant 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 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.
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.