The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, warned of the “increasingly tense military situation” in the area around the Zaporijia nuclear power plant, in southeastern Ukraine.
Grossi said in a statement that an area near the town of Enerhodar, where most of the factory’s workforce lives, was hit by artillery fire on Friday.
IAEA experts present in Zaporijia reported that the facility was untouched, “but its proximity has once again underlined the lingering dangers to nuclear safety at a time of growing speculation about future military operations in the region,” Grossi explained.
The director-general of the IAEA said he was determined to negotiate with all parties to protect the plant and help avoid the risk of a serious nuclear accident on the European continent.
“It’s very simple: don’t shoot the plant and don’t use it as a military base. It should be in everyone’s interest to agree on a set of principles to protect the plant during conflict.”said Grossi.
Since the start of the fighting, the number of staff working at the plant has plummeted, with staff and their families having faced “extremely difficult and stressful conditions on a front line” during the conflict, the statement said.
Earlier this month, IAEA experts noted a reduction in essential personnel. Despite the return of some workers on Monday, the workforce in Zaporijia remains well below pre-Russian invasion levels.
“At the moment there is enough staff for a plant whose reactors have all been shut down. However, it remains clearly insufficient to carry out the necessary maintenance and other regular work,” Grossi warned.
The director described the situation as “unsustainable” and warned that “the longer the center has this reduced workforce, the greater the risks to safety and nuclear protection”.
The Zaporijia plant currently has only one working 750-kilovolt power line to provide the external electricity needed to lower the reactor temperature and other essential safety and security functions.
In March, one of the four power lines in use before the conflict was damaged and has yet to be repaired.
Source: DN
