The head of the UN nuclear agency on Thursday warned of the danger of repeated blackouts at the Zaporijia plant, in Ukraine, after another Russian missile strike left it with diesel generators.
Electricity is essential to run pumps that circulate water to cool reactors and fuel pools.
“Every time this happens, we roll dice”IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told the agency’s board of directors. “If we allow this over and over again, our luck will one day run out”he added.
Grossi has been trying for several months, together with Ukraine and Russia, to establish a buffer zone around the nuclear power plant, but the negotiations seem to have stalled.
“We have to work to protect the safety of the plant and we have to work now. What we need is action. This is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant,” he said.
Grossi noted that this was the sixth time that Zaporijia’s facilities had been disconnected from the power grid since Russia took control of the nuclear plant a year ago.
“This can’t go on like this. I’m amazed at the complacency. What are we doing to prevent this from happening?” he asked.
The attack on Zaporijia came amid a renewed wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine, which led to the deaths of at least nine people and power outages in several regions of the country.
“The last high-voltage lines between the occupied Zaporijia power station and the Ukrainian electricity system have been cut as a result of rocket attacks,” operator Energoatom said.
“Currently, the plant (…) is in ‘blackout’ for the sixth time since occupation, the reactors of units 5 and 6 are shut down,” Energatom added.
The operator of the power station stated that 18 emergency generators guarantee the minimum supply of the power station.
“They have enough fuel for 10 days. The countdown has begun,” he underlined.
“If it is not possible to renew the external electrical supply of the plant, an accident with radioactive consequences may occur,” the operator warned.
The Russian army occupied this huge nuclear complex in the south of Ukraine on March 4, 2022, nine days after the start of the invasion.
The plant, which produced 20% of Ukraine’s electricity, continued to function despite bouts of bombardment in the first months of the invasion. Production was halted in September.
Since then, none of the six VVER-1000 reactors, dating back to Soviet times, have produced energy, but the plant remains connected to the Ukrainian energy system and uses the electricity it produces for its needs.
Earlier, the Ukrainian nuclear operator had warned that the shutdown of the plant would lead to “a possible deterioration of all control systems and equipment”, with Energatom raising concerns about the “risk of a nuclear accident” in the event of a rupture of the nuclear plant . last high-voltage line connecting the plant to the Ukrainian energy system.
Source: DN
