‘Multiple explosions’ head at Zaporizhzhia, say agency teams
Substations on which Ukraine’s nuclear power plants depend for the offsite power needed to cool their reactors have been affected by widespread military activities, compromising nuclear safety and potentially leading to an accident, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Grossi said on his latest update on Ukraine.
In recent months, Ukraine’s operating nuclear stations – Khmelnitski, Rivne and South Ukraine – have several times been forced to reduce power output because of widespread military activities affecting the electricity grid, in which the substations form a key part.
Most recently, Ukraine told the IAEA that the plants temporarily lowered their production on 1 February before returning to nominal power again.
The IAEA said the nuclear plants depend on the substations for reactor cooling and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions and also to transmit the electricity they generate.
“The reason that this is so important, from the perspective of the IAEA, is because of the influence of this situation on the safety of the nuclear power plants’ operation,” Grossi told journalists during a visit to a substation, one of several such facilities that were further damaged and degraded in recent months.
External Power Supply Is ‘Essential’
“This compromises the nuclear safety of a power plant, and it could eventually lead to an accident,” he said, noting the importance of a stable electricity grid for the nuclear safety and security of nuclear plants. “Having an external power supply is essential”.
“The situation is quite dire. We should not, I think, hide the fact. And as you can see behind us, this infrastructure has been degraded,” Grossi said.
IAEA teams based at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants have continued to report on indications of military activities near the sites, constant reminders of the potential risks to nuclear safety and security.
At the Zaporizhzhia nuclear station the team heard multiple instances of explosions on most days, some very close to the plant. There were no reports of damage to the site.
All six units at Zaporizhzhia are in cold shutdown, which reduces the risk of an accident and allows for an “additional response margin of several days before the cooling of the nuclear fuel in the reactor might be challenged”, Grossi said.
After a visit to Moscow last week Grossi said on social media: “Completed interagency consultations in Moscow with Russian delegation led by Rosatom’s [Aleksey] Likhachev. After 3 years of talks on ZNPP nuclear safety and security, these are more critical than ever. The IAEA stands fully engaged to prevent a nuclear accident.”
