The IAEA is once again sounding the alarm about the situation in Ukraine. In the south-east of the country, the nuclear safety of the Zaporozhye power plant is in a “precarious state”, warned on Wednesday the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi. “I once again call on all parties to commit to ensuring nuclear safety and protecting the security of the plant,” he asked.
According to the organization, the “last emergency power line” of the plant, damaged since March 1, remains “disconnected and under repair”. However, it allows it as a last resort to ensure nuclear safety, in particular by cooling its reactors. The plant has relied on electricity from a single main external 750 kV line for three weeks, and “any damage (to this line) will result in the total loss of all offsite power to the plant”.
“We are playing with fire”, according to Rafael Grossi
On March 9, the gigantic power station, occupied by the Russian army, had been cut off from the Ukrainian electricity network for 11 hours after a Russian strike. Emergency diesel generators had been switched on to ensure a minimum supply of security systems, according to Energoatom, which had warned of the risk of a nuclear accident. “We are playing with fire,” warned Rafael Grossi.
The high representative of the European Union Josep Borell had abounded, declaring: “This is a serious violation of nuclear security, caused by Russia (…) Zaporozhye is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. And Russia endangers the security of the entire European continent, Russia included.” Without the electricity produced by these generators, the overheating of reactor fuel can quickly cause a nuclear accident, in a scenario identical to that of Fukushima in Japan in 2011.