Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the disaster in 1986. Photo Copyright: IAEA Imagebank Photo Credit: USFCRFC
Kyiv/Vienna: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant were lost. The Agency said it was looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and would provide further information “soon”.
The handling of nuclear material at the Chornobyl NPP has been put on hold for the time being, the Ukrainian regulator was quoted by IAEA as saying. The site, located in an Exclusion Zone, includes decommissioned reactors as well as radioactive waste facilities. The regulatory authority had said it could only communicate with the plant via e-mail.
Regarding the status of Ukraine’s operational nuclear power plants, the Ukrainian regulator said eight of the country’s 15 reactors were operating, including two at the Zaporizhzhya NPP controlled since last week by Russian forces, and that the plants’ personnel were working in shifts. Radiation levels at the sites were normal, it said.
The Minister of Energy of Ukraine claimed today that the staff of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant were being tortured by Russian occupiers and were also forced to film fake video messages for the purposes of Russian propaganda.
The Office of the President of Ukraine stated today morning (local time) that the loss of connection of the occupied Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant with the monitoring systems of the IAEA “is a dangerous situation threatening the nuclear safety in Europe”.
By today noon the Ukrenergo National Power Company, which is managed by the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, claimed that the nuclear power plant was fully disconnected from the power grid and had no electricity. “Repairs are currently impossible due to enemy fire and military presence. Slavutych city is also left without electricity,” it stated. It may be mentioned that Slavutych was purpose-built for the evacuated personnel of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the April 26, 1986 disaster at the No. 4 reactor in the Nuclear Power Plant.
At around 15:15 hours (local time), the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine warned that the reserve generators of the nuclear plant can provide the plant with power for 48 more hours after it currently lost electricity due to the Russian fire. “After this, the cooling system for the reservoir with depleted nuclear waste will turn off. This may lead to a radiation leak,” it warned.
Earlier, the IAEA Director-General Grossi had stated that Ukraine informed the IAEA that it was becoming increasingly urgent and important for the safe management of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to rotate some 210 technical personnel and guards who had been working there since Russian forces took control of the site almost two weeks ago. The same shift had been on duty at the nuclear plant since February 24, 2022, when the Russian military entered the site.
The Ukrainian regulator added that the staff had access to food and water, and medicine to a limited extent. However, the situation for the staff was worsening. It asked the IAEA to lead the international support needed to prepare a plan for replacing the current personnel and for providing the facility with an effective rotation system.
“I’m deeply concerned about the difficult and stressful situation facing staff at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the potential risks this entails for nuclear safety. I call on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there,” Grossi said.
To help protect the country’s nuclear facilities, the Director-General expressed his readiness to travel to the Chornobyl NPP, or elsewhere, to secure the commitment to the safety and security of all Ukraine’s nuclear facilities from the parties of the conflict.
– global bihari bureau
