TODAY.AZ / Politics

Baku: Metsamor NPP is huge threat to lives of millions

26 April 2017 [16:23] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan has once again called on international community to pay attention to the serious threat posed by the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) using the same technology as the Chernobyl NPP.

The country, on the day of remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy, expressing solidarity with those suffered from this tragedy in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, reminds that the Metsamor NPP is a huge threat to the lives of millions of people in the region, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said on April 26.

Hajiyev noted that the Metsamor NPP was constructed on the basis of the technology used for the Chernobyl NPP, which suffered a catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986.

“Moreover, no significant overhaul has been carried out there since its construction in 1976. Besides, the NPP is located in the seismically active zone. Armenia doesn’t have funds to maintain the station in line with the technical safety requirements,” added Hajiyev.

A number of international experts have repeatedly urged that due to its deplorable state, the Armenian Metsamor NPP could repeat the fate of the Chernobyl NPP, thus threatening the lives of the Armenians and citizens of adjacent countries. The possible tragedy will also jeopardize the environmental state of the region, and its consequences will be felt in Europe and the Middle East.

Hajiyev reminded that the National Geographic publication named the Metsamor NPP the most dangerous of all existing nuclear power plants.

“Armenia continues to operate the NPP that has exhausted all possible technical resources, thus demonstrating its irresponsible behavior to the world community,” said Hajiyev.

The spokesman noted that instead of trying to draw lessons from the accident at the Chernobyl NPP, the Armenian leadership creates the preconditions for a nuclear catastrophe by its cynical approach, thus threatening the lives of millions of people living in the vast region of the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean seas.

“Such a policy of Armenia is a gross violation of international law,” said Hajiyev, further calling on international community and organizations to multiply efforts to stop the activity of the Metsamor NPP.

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded, creating what has been described as the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen.

The accident caused the largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment ever recorded for any civilian operation, and large quantities of radioactive substances were released into the air for about 10 days. This caused serious social and economic disruption for large populations in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

Chernobyl is not a historical event in Ukraine but a living reality for an unquantifiable number of people.  More than 3,500 people died, and more suffered illnesses, particularly cancers, because of exposure to high levels of radiation.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/160570.html

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