The IAEA wants to personally verify the alleged fuel spill at ZNPP
28 March 15:30
IAEA representatives at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP have requested access to inspect fuel tanks where a spill could have occurred.
This is stated in the IAEA report, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
on March 26, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced that a diesel tank at the Zaporizhzhya NPP had been damaged. According to the ministry’s spokesman, Heorhiy Tykhyi, the spilled fuel would have been enough to power the station’s emergency generators for 25 days.
“The Russians have not only stolen the plant, but are also unable to ensure its basic safety,” Tikhiy said.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry passed this information to the IAEA mission to assess the consequences. The occupation administration of the ZNPP told the agency that this was a “fake” and that no spill had been detected.
The occupiers also assure that the plant has enough fuel in its warehouses for at least ten days of operation of diesel generators. These generators are used as an emergency power source when ZNPP loses power from the outside through power lines.
“The IAEA has requested access to the fuel tanks to assess the situation firsthand,” the agency said.
What is happening at ZNPP?
Zaporizhzhia NPP has been under Russian control since March 2022. Due to the security situation, all six reactors of ZNPP were put into a “cold shutdown” state, when the reactor is shut down at low pressure and low temperature of cooling water and does not generate electricity.
The reactor can remain in this state indefinitely if it is connected to the power supply. However, due to shelling at ZNPP, power lines supplying electricity are regularly cut, which requires the use of diesel generators, which have a limited supply of fuel.
