Alarm Sounded Over Danger Of Ukraine Nuclear Plant

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which Russia captured during their invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has been the subject of “tense” discussions between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Russian authorities.

The issue is about safety.

The facility, situated close to the battle lines in southern Ukraine, needs a steady flow of water and electricity to avoid a meltdown that may have devastating consequences. Russian and Ukrainian forces are still fighting near the station, accusing one another of bombarding it, and the facility was damaged by fire during the takeover in March 2022. The IAEA has been attempting to establish a safety system to forestall mishaps.

Eight times in the last 18 months, Zaporizhzhia has been cut off from all external power lines, leaving the region to depend on diesel generators to carry out vital tasks like cooling the fuel in its reactors. The situation at the facility is dangerous, even if one of its major power lines is currently running. For nuclear safety reasons, such as processing liquid radioactive waste in storage tanks, one of the six reactors at the facility must be maintained in a hot shutdown state to generate the steam necessary.

Enemy shelling damaged the final high-voltage overhead power line, PL-750 kV Dniprovska, and cut electricity to the Zaporizhzhia NPP for the first time on August 25, 2022. The Russian military persisted in striking the plant’s power cables and open distribution devices during attacks, despite many comments made by Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator, warning of imminent dangers.

Last year, Ukraine expressed concern that the plant would run out of water for cooling purposes due to the destruction of a massive dam downstream, which reduced the level of the nearby reservoir. Last month, a decrease in shelling around the facility allowed for wells to be checked to see whether there was enough water for cooling.

The Russian government maintains that the plant’s six reactors, which are now offline, have sufficient personnel to resume operations.