The IAEA has secured the agreement of both Russia and Ukraine for a localised ceasefire to enable repairs on the last remaining backup power line to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a localised ceasefire to allow for repairs on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has secured the agreement of both Russia and Ukraine for a temporary ceasefire, enabling repair work to commence on the last remaining backup power line to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), confirmed IAEA director general Rafeal Mariano Grossi, reports the Express..
In the coming days, technicians from Ukraine’s electrical grid operator are set to start repairing the 330 kV line, which was damaged and disconnected due to military activity on 2 January. This disconnection has left Europe’s largest nuclear power plant reliant on its only functioning 750 kV main power line, according to an official IAEA statement.
At Ukraine’s Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant site, one power line was disconnected in the past week after military activity damaged an electrical substation crucial to its power supply. This incident further highlights the importance of reliable electrical grid infrastructure for nuclear safety, added Grossi.
“The IAEA continues to work closely with both sides to ensure nuclear safety at the ZNPP and to prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict. This temporary ceasefire, the fourth we have negotiated, demonstrates the indispensable role that we continue to play”, Grossi stated.
The team also verified that winter safeguards have been put in place to stop water freezing in the groundwater wells, which provide cooling water for safety systems that cool the reactors and spent fuel pools. The ZNPP told the team that the pumps working in the unit pumping stations of the six shutdown reactors would keep functioning even if ice formed on the surface of the inlet channel, and that at present no ice had been spotted in that location.
He added: “A deterioration of Ukraine’s power grid from persistent military activity has direct implications on the nuclear safety of its nuclear facilities. The IAEA will, as a priority, continue to assess the functionality of these critical substations.”
IAEA teams reported military activities or air raid alarms at all five nuclear sites in Ukraine over the past week. The teams at the Chornobyl site and at the Khmelnitsky NPP were informed that military objects flying within five kilometres of the sites had been observed on 11 and 15 January, respectively.
At ZNPP, the team continues to hear a large number of explosions, including some within the vicinity of the site. The team at the South Ukraine NPP has reported multiple air raid alarms each day over the past week and were informed that a military flying object had been observed approximately 10km from the site.
An IAEA team has left Vienna to travel to the frontline in order to observe the repair works.
