Ukraine: New bombings at the Zaporizhia plant highlight the risk of a nuclear catastrophe

Recent fighting near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine has once again highlighted the potential risk of a catastrophe, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned on Sunday.

Rafael Mariano Grossi said that the Ukrainian authorities had informed the nuclear watchdog of renewed shelling at the site over the past three days, but claimed that all security systems were still working and there had been no increase in radiation levels.

“The latest bombings have once again highlighted the risk of a possible nuclear accident at Zaporizhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, controlled by Russian forces since the beginning of March, but operated by its Ukrainian personnel,” he said in a statement. .

Incomplete information

Grossi said that Ukraine still did not have complete information on the nature of the damage from the shelling, which occurred on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Zaporizhia plant has six nuclear reactors. It normally has four external power lines, but three were lost early in the conflict, now in its seventh month.

The bombings affected the area of ​​the two so-called special buildings of the plant, located about 100 meters from the reactor buildings, as well as a flyover area.

The buildings house facilities including water treatment plants, equipment repair shops, or waste management facilities. Some water pipes were also damaged but were repaired.

Radioactivity in the normal range

All radioactivity measurements at the site were within the normal range, and there was no indication of any hydrogen leak, Grossi said, citing information from Ukraine.

The nuclear power plant has continued to have access to off-site electricity after temporarily losing connection to its last remaining 750-kilovolt external power line in operation on Thursday.

The connection was restored that afternoon after two power outages and the disconnection of the plant’s two operating reactors from the national power grid.

The two reactor units were reconnected on Friday and are operational again. The other four units were disconnected before Thursday and remained stopped.

Mission efforts continue

Meanwhile, Grossi said consultations with all parties are continuing in efforts to deploy an IAEA expert mission to the plant to help ensure nuclear safety at the site.

The mission will assess the physical damage to the facility, determine whether the primary and backup safety and security systems are functional, assess the working conditions of personnel, and conduct urgent safeguarding activities at the site.

Concern of the Secretary General

The UN Secretary-General has also called for a mission to be deployed “as soon as possible”.

Last week, António Guterres told the Security Council that he remains “gravely concerned” about the situation in and around the nuclear plant.

“The warning lights are on,” he told a briefing on Wednesday, marking the sixth month of the “meaningless war” in Ukraine, as well as the 31st anniversary of the country’s independence.

“Any action that could endanger the physical integrity, safety or security of the nuclear power plant is simply unacceptable. Any further escalation of the situation could lead to self-destruction“.

Guterres said the UN has the logistical and security capacity in Ukraine to support any IAEA mission, as long as both Russia and Ukraine agree.