Ukraine: Zaporizhia nuclear power plant at risk of total blackout

Published on 09/09/2022 at 16:46
Reading Time: 2 minutes

LThe International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday declared a “total blackout” in the Ukrainian city of Energodar, where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located, which “compromises the safety of operations”.

“This is absolutely unacceptable. It cannot continue,” General Manager Raffaele Croci said in a statement, calling for “an immediate halt to the blasts in the area”. For weeks, chaos has surrounded the largest power plant in Europe, occupied by the Russians, which has been hit by several strikes. , in which Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other.

“Strikes at the thermal power plant destroyed the electricity infrastructure that supplies the city, leading to total disconnection of water and electricity,” said Mr. Grossi explained that the U.N. Reported by two experts of the organization. “Due to the intensity of the incessant blasts, it is not possible to restore reliable off-site power to the plant,” said the head of the IAEA, who visited the site. In early September.

“Unsustainable Situation”

Under these conditions, Ukrainian operator Energoatom “plans to close the only reactor in operation”, which currently produces the electricity needed to cool nuclear fuel and protect the site. The Vienna-based company warns that all the plant’s systems will have to rely on diesel-powered backup generators if necessary. In addition, due to these “dramatic situations facing the residents of Enercoder,” the personnel needed to maintain the safety of the site may no longer be available.

A few days after the warning report, Raffaele Croci reiterates his concern: “It is an unsustainable and increasingly fragile situation”. In the press release, he reiterated that a safety zone should be set up around the plant.

Russian troops seized control of the plant in early March with six nuclear reactors of 1,000 megawatts each and produced 20% of Ukrainian electricity before the Russian invasion.