Attack on Bushehr nuclear plant could trigger 'radiation emergency' across the Gulf: Analysis

[0:00] now the international atomic energy agency has issued a statement on recent attacks near iran's [0:05] bashir nuclear power plant in a social media post the nuclear watchdog has confirmed recent impacts [0:11] of military strikes near iran's bashir nuclear power plant including one just 75 meters from [0:18] the site perimeter the plant itself hasn't been damaged it says and it warns that continued [0:23] military activity near the plant that's operating with large amounts of nuclear [0:28] fuel could cause a severe radiological accident with harmful consequences for people [0:34] and the environment in iran and beyond let's now go to robert kelly a former iaea inspector [0:42] and he's currently a distinguished fellow with the stockholm international peace research institute [0:47] joining us live now from vienna thank you for speaking to us once again obviously one of those [0:53] topics that's on a lot of people's minds especially in the region and also those [0:58] that advocate for global peace what concerns do we have what can go wrong if we're getting this [1:05] sort of warning at this stage in the war i think the first thing we might look at is that this is [1:12] the second time in the decade that a operating nuclear power plant has been under threat [1:18] and that was considered an unthinkable crime up until the last decade in ukraine we see this [1:23] happening but both sides there want that plant to survive it's a war price it's worth 40 billion [1:29] dollars and they want whoever wins that war wants to keep it but the boucher there's nobody to say [1:36] we need to keep this plant safe and so if the attackers decide to attack it as trump has [1:42] threatened to do tomorrow uh there could be a very severe accident a very severe radiological accident [1:48] and that that certainly is concerning to all of us uh it would there are different ways to hit [1:54] the plant you could just try to knock it offline so it isn't producing electricity [1:59] it's safe or you could go to the extreme and try to break the containment with a bunker busting [2:06] bomb and destroy the core and have everything that's in the core leak out over the countryside [2:12] so there's quite a range of things that could happen one thing that surprises me in this is [2:17] this is i think the fourth attack now in in several days israel has a habit of hitting the [2:23] things they aim at and the fact that they keep shooting at this and not hitting the reactor [2:29] suggests to me [2:30] that maybe they are just sending a message and the message is we can shoot you we can come very close [2:36] but so far we haven't actually tried to hit one of your vulnerable parts now tehran's um foreign [2:45] minister had just a day ago likened the hits on bashir nuclear facility to ukraine's zapariza [2:52] attack does it compare do you think well again in zaparizia there have been very small attacks there [3:01] the attacks there [3:02] have been small drones that do nothing more than leave a scorch mark on the building [3:07] and both sides want the building to survive because they want to keep it [3:11] as a prize at bushir the possibility is you can hit it and and the radiation from it if it were [3:18] say with a bunker busting bomb that the americans have uh could really put a radiation um emergency [3:25] all over the gulf starting probably with bosra and kuwait and then you look at daran and and [3:32] and bahrain the saudis should be very concerned their whole east coast is vulnerable to this [3:38] what we see though is the architect of this war in the u.s has said that his war is against islam [3:46] and he's he's um procuring in the name of his savior so this is an actually a pretty good [3:52] opportunity for the u.s to try to send radiation into the gcc because it's an attack on all of [4:00] islam not just an attack on iran [4:03] you notice the iaea says no radiation released let's say that there was a severe attack and [4:10] some radiation found its way to the gcc i think what you'd be worried about there is a panic [4:16] because the public is just not sure what a little bit of radiation might mean [4:20] and they could be very concerned and actually not be in in very great danger um the great [4:27] danger would be in the immediate vicinity of the plant if it were struck and knocked down and what [4:32] this says about the security of the world there seems to be at least perhaps some double standards [4:39] from the international community and that they haven't come out to condemn these attacks on [4:43] nuclear sites and yet as we were given an example there's a pritzy in ukraine it was a very different [4:48] reaction should we be hearing more i mean seems a little bit um late in the war for the international [4:56] atomic energy agency to be releasing such a statement should this uh shouldn't there be more [5:02] reaction to this you're absolutely correct i mean they should be jumping in there and saying this is [5:09] a war crime it's a serious war crime it's much more dangerous than attacking a coal-fired or [5:15] oil-fired plant and the other thing that the agency should be jumping in and saying is israel [5:20] has been targeting individuals they're targeting people they're targeting scientists they're [5:25] targeting the people who make these plants run and that in itself is is potentially a crime [5:31] because they're singling out those people and and so they're the people that could potentially [5:37] stop a problem or deal with the problem and and the targeting of scientists is is a major concern [5:44] but yes i think the iaea should be much more active in in getting in there and speaking out [5:50] like they did hundreds of times i think about zaparisia um and the other question i wanted to [5:56] ask you for people that are across the region and certainly in iran what does one do if they're [6:01] there is some sort of a radiation leak what can i or any other person do perhaps not just rely on [6:08] their governments but take matters into their own hands there are pills that one can take if you live [6:16] near a site of a reactor accident that put a lot of iodine into your thyroid and your thyroid is [6:22] one of the most vulnerable organs in the body if there's a release from the power plant accident [6:30] and so there should be thyroid pills in [6:33] any place where there's the potential for a reactor to melt down they should just be in the [6:38] stockpiles of the health authorities in any country do they have those pills i don't know [6:43] other than that i think your main thing is distance or in in the case you know to evacuate [6:49] one presumably stays indoors perhaps and you know get to a safe space for example a metro [6:55] oh yes that would be better than nothing uh as long as there's good ventilation uh that keeps [7:03] out any gases that are coming from the reactor and that's a good thing i think that's a good thing [7:04] from this accident yes and there would be some radiation plume passing over i don't think that [7:10] the people in the gcc would expect to have immediate health effects it's not going to [7:16] affect them in the first days but it might be something that in the long run would contribute [7:22] to poor health outcome for the rest of your life certainly in the case of chernobyl most of the [7:28] danger turned out to be in belarus where the wind happened to be blowing toward belarus and the [7:35] health effects the long-term health effects were there all right well hopefully we don't get to [7:39] that stage thank you very much for your expertise there robert kelly okay very glad to talk to you