Russian military control of Ukraine nuclear plants cause for grave concern, nuclear energy agency warns

[Mary Wilson]

Update 110 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

OCT 1 2022

After receiving information about the detention of Ihor Murashov, Director General of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been in contact with the relevant authorities and has been informed that Mr Murashov is in temporary detention, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

The IAEA, in line with its nuclear safety and security mandate, has been actively seeking clarifications and hopes for a prompt and satisfactory resolution of this matter, Director General Grossi said. He reiterated that this detention has a very significant impact on at least two of the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars that he outlined at the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

“Such a detention of any member of the plant staff would be a source of grave concern in itself, but also for its psychological impact and pressure on the rest of the staff - which is detrimental to nuclear safety and security”, said Director General Grossi.

Furthermore, the Director General of the ZNPP has the responsibility to ensure the nuclear safety and security of the plant. He ensures that all the plant’s operational procedures are implemented, including the ones related to nuclear safety, radiation safety of operating personnel, and to nuclear security. Additionally, he activates and leads the response to any on-site nuclear emergency.

“His absence from duty in this way also has an immediate and serious impact on decision-making in ensuring the safety and security of the plant,” Director General Grossi added.

Director General Grossi expressed the hope that Mr Murashov will return to his family safely and promptly and will be able to resume his important functions at the plant.

Separately today, IAEA experts present at the ZNPP reported that several explosions were again heard in the vicinity of the plant. As with the previous explosions reported by the IAEA this week, they are believed to have been caused by landmines. The explosions did not result in any direct impact on the safety or security systems of the ZNPP.

Today’s explosions indicate a continued rise in the number of landmine explosions reported this week outside the perimeter fence of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which is controlled by Russian forces but operated by its Ukrainian staff. Director General Grossi remains deeply concerned about the repeated occurrence of such landmine explosions near the plant.

Director General Grossi continues his consultations and other efforts aimed at agreeing and implementing a nuclear safety and security zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible. He is expected to travel to Kyiv and Moscow next week.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine

 

[Mary Wilson]

Update 114 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

08 Oct 2022 164/2022

Vienna, Austria

The nuclear safety and security situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has deteriorated further, with the facility losing all access to external power due to renewed shelling overnight, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The shelling damaged the ZNPP’s last remaining operating 750 kilovolt (kV) power line shortly after midnight, forcing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant to rely on its emergency diesel generators for the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions, Director General Grossi said, citing information from the IAEA team of experts present at the site.

While those generators have fuel for ten days the lack of off-site electricity is a deeply worrying development that underlines the urgent need to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP, the Director General said.

“The resumption of shelling, hitting the plant’s sole source of external power, is tremendously irresponsible. The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant must be protected,” he said.

As part of efforts to agree and implement such a zone as soon as possible, the Director General held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday and he will also discuss the issue in the Russian Federation early next week, before returning to Ukraine.

The protection zone “is an absolute and urgent imperative” in order to prevent a nuclear accident, he said.

A secure off-site power supply from the grid is essential for ensuring nuclear safety. This requirement is among the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars that the Director General outlined at the beginning of the conflict.

Before the conflict, the ZNPP had access to the grid through four high-voltage power lines, but they have now all fallen victim to the fighting. The back-up power lines connecting the ZNPP to a nearby thermal power station are also down. The plant had also previously temporarily lost direct access to the electricity grid but could then still receive power through available back-up lines, or from one of its reactors that was still operating at the time.

The loss of external power comes a day after the IAEA experts at the ZNPP reported that shelling had damaged a power line providing electricity to the plant’s reactor unit 6, which temporarily received power from its emergency diesel generators instead. Yesterday, the nearby city of Enerhodar – where the ZNPP’s staff and their families live – lost electricity after shelling damaged an electrical transformer at the thermal power station, and shelling continued today at the industrial site outside the nuclear power plant site.

After the connection to the 750 kV line was lost early today, all sixteen of the plant’s available diesel generators started operating automatically, providing its six reactors with power. When the situation stabilised, ten of the generators were switched off, leaving six to provide the reactors with electricity. Efforts are under way to increase the available fuel stocks for the diesel generators.

All the plant’s safety systems continue to receive power and are operating normally, the IAEA experts were informed by senior Ukrainian operating staff at the site. Although the six reactors are in cold shutdown, they still require electricity for vital nuclear safety and security functions.

The location of the damage to the 750 kV power line has been identified outside the ZNPP site and it will be repaired by the grid operator, the IAEA expert team reported. A damaged electrical transformer at the switchyard of the thermal power station will also be repaired, but the timing depends on the shelling in the area. The IAEA team was also informed that the electricity connection between the ZNPP’s own switchyard and reactor unit 6 had been fixed.

Senior operating staff at the ZNPP had informed the IAEA team on Wednesday about plans to re-start reactor unit 5 at reduced power to produce steam and heat for the needs of the plant, but those preparations were halted after the plant lost all external power.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pre...tor-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine

 

[Emily]

https://news.yahoo.com/occupiers-build-unknown-construction-near-090405752.html
Occupiers build unknown construction near spent nuclear fuel storage facility at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Ukrainska Pravda

Wed, November 2, 2022 at 4:04 AM

The occupiers are building an unknown construction at the site of a dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) without any permission; moreover, they are not letting the plant’s personnel go to the construction site.

Source: a statement by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine.

Quote: "The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has detected the violation of Ukrainian laws, norms, rules, and standards of nuclear and radiation safety at the site of a dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel (DSFSNF), which is one of the seven nuclear units at the ZNPP.

This particularly refers to unauthorised building of an unknown construction by Russia’s occupation forces at the site of the DSFSNF at the ZNPP, which belongs to the State Entreprise National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom; additionally, this is about the Russians not letting the ZNPP’s personnel access the construction site," the Inspectorate stated...