Warning that Ukraine's nuclear plant is extremely dangerous

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, switched to diesel generator backup power on Monday after losing its external power source for the seventh time since the Russia-Ukraine war began, the head of the UN atomic watchdog said.

In a Twitter post, Rafael Grossi, president of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said: “The nuclear safety situation of this nuclear power plant is at an extremely dangerous level.”

“We must agree to protect the plant immediately, this situation cannot continue,” he said in a request to avoid bringing fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces to the area of the nuclear power plant. IAEA staff have been deployed to the nuclear plant, which is under Russian military control.

The plant’s six nuclear reactors are protected by a reinforced casing that can withstand a stray shell or missile. But a disruption in the power supply could disable the cooling systems needed to keep the reactors safe. Diesel generators can be unreliable.

Attacks around the power plant, especially artillery strikes, have raised concerns about a nuclear disaster similar to the Chernobyl incident in 1986. At that time, a nuclear reactor exploded and leaked deadly amounts of radiation, contaminating a large area in the world's worst nuclear disaster.

Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear company, has accused Russia of destroying the last high-voltage power line to the nuclear power plant in the Russian-controlled southern part of Ukraine, some 500km from Kyiv, with the claims unverified.

Energoatom has warned that the facility is “on the brink of a nuclear and radiological accident”.

This is the seventh time the power plant has lost external power supply since the conflict with Russia broke out in February 2022, Mr. Grossi said.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is one of the 10 largest nuclear power plants in the world.

According to an Energoatom representative, Russian officials have begun training for the 3,100 employees and their families to evacuate the plant. The plant was staffed by 11,000 people before the fighting broke out, and 6,000 of those employees have remained at the plant or in the surrounding town of Enerhodar.

The representative, who requested anonymity because of security concerns, told the AP that multiple Russian military units were present at the site and were exploiting it.

Nguyen Quang Minh (AP News)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/canh-bao-nha-may-nguyen-tu-cua-ukraine-dang-vo-cung-nguy-hiem-a609196.html