Serbia has a plan in case of Zaporozhye accident, Velinov: Citizens should not be stockpiling one item

Photo: Mateja Beljan

Director of the Serbian Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Security Directorate (Srbatom) Sladjan Velinov has said that due to the current situation in Zaporozhye, measurements are being taken and what is happening in the environment is being monitored daily. He also said that the Serbian agency has a plan, in case of an accident.

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"The moment anything serious happens, we will react, we will advise citizens, we have a plan in case of an accident," noted Velinov and added that people should not be stockpiling iodine.

The International Atomic Energy Agency based in Vienna has warned that a protective zone should be urgently created around the Zaporozhye nuclear plant.

The head of the agency confirmed that consultations on this issue have started with representatives of Ukraine and Russia.

Serbia is a member of the agency, which includes 175 countries and monitors all the events related to nuclear safety.

All decisions and regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency as well as its activities are implemented by Srbatom.

Velinov told RTS that Serbia is measuring radiation levels.

"We measure with annual monitoring, but because of the current crisis, we measure and monitor what is happening in the environment every day," Velinov said.

He explained that European measuring stations show us if something is happening and that in that case the Serbian agency reacts instantly.

"If there is power outage, anything else in the station in Zaporozhye itself, we will monitor the surrounding stations that are within a few kilometers and then we will see if anything is happening," Velinov explained.

Asked how many measuring stations Serbia has and whether results are available to the public, Velinov said that the results are available on their website, and that Serbia has nine stations.

"We received a project from the European Commission, and at the beginning of next year we will receive another 33 stations because our goal is to cover all major cities in Serbia, to restore the entire system and to modernize it precisely because of safety, which is necessary also for monitoring the entire system," he said.

Velinov says that if there is an accident in Zaporozhye itself, it will be far from us, and there is no need to worry.

"At that moment, if something happens, we will correct, we will control the food coming from the area and we'll control water, otherwise there is no need to buy iodine, it (the plant) is over 2,000 kilometers away," said Velinov.

He added that this year they introduced a new system that shows if there is any radiation with meteorological data inserted to see where a cloud is moving, what is happening, it gives all aspects of what can be expected and how to behave.

Velinov explained that the first step in the procedure in case of a nuclear accident is to follow verified information.

"In case of any nuclear incident, just listen to our information. That is basic and important, because we are the only ones who have the right information regarding such things," underlined Velinov.

Velinov said that in Vienna, they are having bilateral meetings with the signatories of agreements from the surrounding countries.

"Tomorrow I will have meetings with the Hungarians and we will know exactly what is happening with them in Paks. They will see what our measurements are like in terms of radioactivity, they will also give us comprehensive monitoring (data)," said Velinov.

He added that he will have a multilateral meeting with representatives of the countries of the former Yugoslavia with the aim of speeding up border cooperation.

Velinov told the citizens that there is no need to worry.

"We monitor everything, when real information comes it will come from us, the moment something serious happens, we will react, we will issue advisories, we have a plan in case of an accident," concluded Velinov.

(Telegraf.rs)