The Director General of the IAEA -the UN nuclear agency-, Rafael Grossi, made a dramatic warning this Friday about a possible accident at the Ukrainian nuclear plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by Russia, after a bombardment last night cut the external electrical connection with the plant.
“Because of the increase and continuity of the bombardments, there is little chance of reestablishing a reliable supply of energy outside the facilities of the atomic power plant,” assured the head of the International Energy Agency (IAEA), who described the situation as “completely unacceptable”.
(Also read: Zaporizhia nuclear plant: UN says that ‘integrity of the plant was violated’)
“This dramatic event demonstrates the absolute necessity of establishing a nuclear safety protection zone now. It is the only way to guarantee that we do not face a nuclear accident,” Grossi concludes his written statement, which is accompanied by a video message.
“Let me be clear, the shelling around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant must stop and a nuclear safety and protection zone must be agreed upon immediately,” the director said in that video message.
“A nuclear power plant must never be an instrument of war. Its fate must not be decided by military means. The consequences of such actions are too serious. The IAEA is in the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and can facilitate the implantation of the area. There is no time to lose,” he concluded.
A nuclear power plant must never be an instrument of war
Since the beginning of the week, the IAEA has had two of its experts located at the Ukrainian plant, who report to the agency on what is happening there.
(You can read: Ukraine: they will donate 5 million iodine pills due to radiation risk)
“The electrical infrastructure that feeds Enerhodar, where the nuclear power plant operators and their families live, has been destroyed by the bombing of the city’s thermal power plant, which has caused a total blackout in Enerhodar: there is no running water, no electricity, no sewerage,” Grossi explained.
As a result, warns the director general, “the IAEA understands that the (Ukrainian) operator, no longer having confidence in the restoration of external power, is considering closing the only remaining reactor in operation.”
According to the IAEA, the plant would then rely entirely on emergency diesel generators to ensure vital nuclear safety and security functions.
As a consequence, Grossi’s note adds, “the operator would not be able to restart the reactors unless off-site power is reliably restored.”
On the other hand, he warns that thousands of the plant’s Ukrainian employees live in Energodar.
The poor conditions there increase the risk that the availability of essential personnel to continue operating the plant safely will be affected.
“This is an unsustainable and increasingly precarious situation. Enerhodar has gone dark. The plant has no external power. And we have seen that once the infrastructure is repaired, it is damaged again,” Grossi warned.
(Also: Disconnection of the Zaporizhia plant could cause an atomic accident)
“Therefore, I urgently call for an immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area“, he demanded.
“Only in this way will it be possible to guarantee the safety of the operating personnel and allow the lasting restoration of energy in Enerhodar and in the power plant,” assured Grossi, who did not identify the perpetrators of the bombings.
Since March 4, the Russian army has occupied the Zaporizhia plant, the largest in Europe, with six reactors and some 10,000 employees, who operate it, and for a month Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of the attacks around the central.
arbitrariness against staff
This Friday, the president of Energoatom, the control agency of the Ukrainian nuclear sector, also denounced that Russian forces controlling the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine killed two staff members and tortured and harassed dozens.
“A regime of police harassment of personnel was established” from the beginning of the occupation, denounced the official, Petro Kotin.
The situation, according to Kotin, is currently “very difficult” and there are cases of “torture, beatings and kidnappings.”
Two people were “beaten to death” by Russian forces, some 200 staff members were detained and several are missing, it said.
“We do not know the fate of a dozen people, because they were taken and since then we have no information about them,” he said.
“The Russians look for pro-Ukrainians on the spot and chase them. People are psychologically broken,” Kotin explained in kyiv.
(Keep reading: G7 asks Russia to withdraw from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine)
A regime of police harassment of staff was established
The Zaporizhia plant, the largest in Europe, and the surrounding region, in southern Ukraine, suffer regular bombardments of which kyiv and Moscow accuse each other.
“Two people, a man and a woman, were injured during the shelling of the plant,” said Kotin, dressed in a military-style jacket.
Plant staff tried to find safe corridors to leave or evacuate relatives in the face of constant attacks, he revealed.
“But the staff understand that the nuclear safety of the plant depends on them, so they return to Energodar [la ciudad donde está la central] and continue to work on the installation,” he said.
*With information from EFE and AFP
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