IAEA chief: Efforts called to forestall further harm to environmental protection and human health

VIENNA - The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for efforts on Monday to forestall further harm to environmental protection, food safety and human health.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remarks when he met Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna.

He said the IAEA had taken note of the concerns of relevant parties within the Board with mounting global attention to this matter, and the Agency will actively advance its work on the assessment and monitoring activities in an impartial, objective and scientific-based manner.

In the process, the agency will enhance communication with China and all other relevant stakeholders, said Grossi.

Wang pointed out that a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday expressed concerns over Japan's nuclear wastewater disposal plan.

Expressing China's support for the IAEA to play a vital role in the assessment and monitoring work, Wang said it is legitimate for China as a neighboring country, along with all other stakeholder countries, to be involved in the Agency's work on this front.

Earlier on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that China had expressed grave concerns through diplomatic channels about Japan's decision to dispose of radioactive water at Fukushima by releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.

The world is watching with deep concern the upcoming decision by the Japanese side on the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the ocean. There is also strong opposition in Japan. It cannot turn a deaf ear to this, said Zhao.