Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), visited Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). The IAEA issued a special communiqué describing the results of the visit, reports Komersant ukrainskyi
The visit was aimed at assessing the damage caused by a fire in one of the cooling towers last month and analysing the overall nuclear safety situation at the facility, the agency said.
It said that Grossi personally inspected the inside of the damaged cooling tower, “climbing to a height of about 15 metres”. He noted significant damage to the interior walls, the presence of debris and blackened surfaces.
According to Grossi, the damaged cooling tower may need to be demolished. The IAEA will continue to investigate the situation “to determine the causes and consequences of the incident”.
Although the fire did not pose a direct threat to nuclear safety, it highlighted the ongoing risks faced by ZNPP due to the military conflict, the IAEA said.
Grossi also assessed the situation with the availability of water for cooling after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June 2023. The water level in the ZNPP cooling pond has dropped by more than 2 metres since mid-2023.
On the eve of Grossi’s visit, the only backup 330 kV transmission line was disconnected, leaving the plant dependent on a single 750 kV line. The line was restored three days later.
The IAEA communiqué does not mention that the plant is occupied by the Russians and that Russian military equipment is located on and near the plant, let alone make any reference to the occupiers. The IAEA’s reports do not explain why ZNPP is in this difficult situation.
The only thing that Grossi stressed was the need for the IAEA’s permanent presence at ZNPP to prevent a nuclear accident in the context of the ongoing conflict.
“The IAEA’s presence at the site remains indispensable as long as this devastating war continues. The IAEA will continue to play its indispensable role in preventing the threat of a nuclear accident,”
– grossi said.
reported that while visiting ZNPP, Grossi happily hugged Russian representatives of the occupation administration.
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ZNPP
Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the third largest in the world by total capacity. Located in the Zaporizhzhia region near the city of Enerhodar, it consists of six nuclear power units of 1 GW each. Construction began in 1981, and the first unit was commissioned in 1984. The last unit, the sixth, was commissioned in 1995.
ZNPP produced about 40 billion kWh of electricity annually, which was about 20% of Ukraine’s total power generation. It is also the first nuclear power plant in the country to have a dry spent fuel storage facility.
The Russian army seized ZNPP on the night of 4 March 2022, having previously shelled the nuclear facility. Russia has also occupied the city of Enerhodar, near which the plant is located.
Since the beginning of the Russian occupation, Zaporizhzhia NPP has experienced eight full blackouts and one partial blackout, with emergency diesel generators and safety systems being launched. According to Energoatom, their failure threatens to cause an emergency.
The last time the plant faced the threat of blackout was on 23 August this year.