BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 16. The level of radioactivity outside Iran's Natanz nuclear site has remained unchanged and at normal levels, said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi as he addressed the IAEA Board of Governors, Trend reports.
He noted that the agency’s Incident and Emergency Centre has been operating around the clock since the beginning of the crisis. “We are ascertaining the status of Iran's nuclear facilities and the level of radiation at relevant sites through constant communication with Iranian authorities,” he stated. “The IAEA is ready to respond to any nuclear or radiological emergency within an hour.”
According to Grossi, the above-ground section of the pilot fuel enrichment plant at Natanz was destroyed in the attack. This section was one of the locations where Iran was producing uranium enriched up to 60% U-235.
In addition to the enrichment facility, the attack also destroyed key elements of the facility’s electricity infrastructure, including “an electrical substation, a main electric power supply building, an emergency power supply, and backup generators.” However, Grossi said there is “no indication of a physical attack on the underground cascade hole containing part of the pilot fuel enrichment plant and the main fuel enrichment plant.” Still, he cautioned that the loss of power to this area “may have damaged the centrifuges located there.”
Importantly, Grossi confirmed that “the level of radioactivity outside the Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels,” indicating that “there is no external radiological impact to the population or the environment from this event.”