Nuclear safety at the Ukrainian power plant in Zaporijia is in a “precarious state”, warned the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the agency, the plant’s “last emergency power line”, damaged since March 1, remains “off and under repair”. The line allows the plant to ensure nuclear safety as a last resort, namely by cooling the reactors.
For the past three weeks, the plant has depended on electricity supplied by a single main external 750 kilovolt (kV) line, and “any damage [to this line] will result in the total loss of all external power to the plant.”
“Nuclear security inside the plant remains in a precarious state,” said Grossi. “I appeal once again to all parties to commit themselves to ensuring the nuclear safety of the plant,” he added.
On March 9, the power station, occupied by the Russian army, was cut off from the Ukrainian power grid for 11 hours, following a Russian attack.
Diesel emergency generators had been switched on to provide minimal power to the security systems, according to Energoatom, which runs the facility and warned of the risk of a nuclear accident.
“We are playing with fire”, warned Grossi.
EU High Representative Josep Borell agreed: “This is a serious breach of nuclear safety, caused by Russia. (…) Zaporijia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. And Russia is endangering the security of the entire European continent, including Russia.”
Without the electricity produced by these generators, overheating of the reactor fuel can quickly lead to a nuclear accident, in a scenario similar to the Fukushima plant in Japan in 2011.
*With Lusa
