The Russian Government says it has introduced additional measures in all its nuclear power plants to safeguard the lives and health of employees and the general public amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alexey Likhachev, Diretor-General of ROSATOM, a Russia’s state-owned Nuclear Energy Corporation, gave the assurance in a statement on Monday in Lagos.
According to him, safety has been our first and utmost priority for decades. Safety is ROSATOM’s key value.
“We have always had contingency plans for any kind of emergency situation, including those related to the health of our employees.
“At present, we have introduced additional measures at all our Russia’s nuclear power plants, including regular health checkups of our personnel.
“We have arranged for as many employees as possible to work remotely and purchased personal protective equipment and hygiene-related products in bulk.
“We are constantly disinfecting our production facilities and vehicles and have essentially cancelled all business trips.
“We are monitoring our employees’ health in close cooperation with the local authorities across our areas of operation,” he said.
Likhachev said ROSATOM has developed a number of additional contingency plans against Coronavirus pandemic that might have an effect on the health of its employees.
He said ROSATOM had also taken similar measures at nuclear power plant construction sites across the globe.
“We are carrying on with all our export new builds in spite of the challenges related to the spread of Coronavirus in a number of countries.
“Of course, the most stringent measures have been put in place at our sites in such countries in order to ensure the safety of personnel,” he said.
According to him, ROSATOM is guided by the recommendations of the disease control services and governments of the countries where it operates.
He said the organisation was fully prepared to strengthen measures to counter the spread of the infection, including quarantine, if said measures were introduced by local authorities.
“ROSATOM is taking all necessary precautions to minimise the negative impact this health crisis has on supply chains and to ensure that we fully meet our obligations to customers according to timelines stipulated in all relevant contracts,” he said.
