IAEA chief Amano to visit Japan
Baku, Mart 17 (AZERTAC). Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Wednesday he will visit Japan, possibly on Thursday, to check the situation at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
“I plan to fly to Japan as soon as possible, hopefully tomorrow, to see the situation for myself and learn from our Japanese counterparts how best the IAEA can help,” Amano said in a statement released by the IAEA.
At a news conference, Amano said of the nuclear power plant, ``My assessment of the situation is that it is very serious,`` adding that ``it is not the time to say things are out of control.``
He also said he would like to dispatch a team of experts to monitor the environment ``as soon as possible.`` Details about locations where the team should be deployed as well as the duration of its stay in Japan are still being discussed.
Details of his trip have yet to be arranged. ``It is like running and thinking,`` he said.
After his trip to Japan, where he intends to stay for one night, he wants to convene a Board of governors meeting in Vienna as soon as possible to report on the situation of the nuclear power plant to member states.
On Tuesday, he told reporters that he would like to obtain more detailed information about the accidents at the nuclear power plant and is urging Japan to keep the agency posted.
``There is a constant flow of information,`` he told journalists Wednesday. ``But there is certainly room for improvement and I would like to address this issue when I go to Japan.``
Japan requested Tuesday the IAEA for assistance in environmental monitoring and the effects of radiation on human health.
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