Ukraine warns of Chernobyl radiation risk after power connection was severed
Chernobyl could be 48 HOURS from leaking radiation, Ukraine warns, after power is cut off, making it impossible to cool spent nuclear fuel
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Ukraine has said Chernobyl could be 48 hours away from leaking radiation, and called on Russia to observe an urgent ceasefire to allow for repairs to be made.
The country’s nuclear company Energoatom earlier warned that radioactive substances could be released if an electricity outage at the site continues any longer, as it makes it impossible to cool spent nuclear fuel.
Russian forces captured the plant and cut the power in the early days of the invasion. It has not been possible to make repairs at the plant since.
The French government said it was in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and was urging Russia to co-operate.
‘Reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the Chornobyl NPP,’ Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a warning on Twitter.
‘After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent.’
Ukraine has warned that radioactive substances could be released from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Pictured: the giant protective dome built over the sarcophagus covering the destroyed fourth reactor
Energoatom has said that work to repair the connection and restore power to the plant – the site of the world’s biggest nuclear disaster in 1996 – has not been possible because fighting is under way in the region.
The company said there were about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies at Chernobyl that could not be kept cool amid a power outage.
Their warming could lead to ‘the release of radioactive substances into the environment. The radioactive cloud could be carried by wind to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Europe,’ it said in a statement.
Without power, ventilation systems at the plant would also not be working, exposing staff to dangerous doses of radiation, it added.
Russia took control of the defunct atomic plant on the first day of the invasion and has since captured a second nuclear site, the biggest in Europe.
Energy operator Ukrenergo also said their power has been entirely cut to the plant and its security systems.
The plant ‘was fully disconnected from the power grid,’ Ukrenergo said in a statement on its Facebook page, adding that military operations meant ‘there is no possibility to restore the lines’.
France on Wednesday said it was in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as it seeks to assess the situation at Chernobyl.
‘We are trying to clarify these reports together with the International Atomic Energy Agency,’ said government spokesman Gabriel Attal, who added that France was asking Russia to co-operate.
A German environment ministry spokesperson had said on Wednesday that Germany had no knowledge of radiation leaking from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron had urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to ensure the protection and security of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, during talks between the two over the weekend.
Systems monitoring nuclear material at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl in Ukraine have stopped transmitting data to the UN’s nuclear watchdog
On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine and seized the defunct plant, site of a 1986 disaster that killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination west across Europe.
On Tuesday the UN atomic watchdog IAEA said that the site was no longer transmitting data and voiced concern for staff working under Russian guard.
The situation for the staff ‘was worsening’, the IAEA said, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator.
The defunct plant sits inside an exclusion zone that houses decommissioned reactors as well as radioactive waste facilities.
More than 2,000 staff still work at the plant as it requires constant management to prevent another nuclear disaster.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Tuesday called on ‘on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there.’
Russian forces surrounded and seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant last month just days after their invasion of Ukraine began, and have since refused to let some 210 staff members leave the site (Russian soldier is pictured guarding Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, Feb 26, 2022)
He also repeated his offer to travel to Chernobyl or elsewhere to secure ‘the commitment to the safety and security’ of Ukraine’s power plants from all parties.
‘The Director General indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chernobyl NPP had been lost,’ the IAEA said in a statement yesterday.
Safeguards keep track of nuclear material and waste products generated by nuclear power plants.
The IAEA urged Russian authorities to allow the 210 staff members who are being held captive at Chernobyl to leave, arguing that although radiation levels in the area are relatively low, it is necessary to ensure a ‘safe rotation’ of staff.
It comes after the Vienna-based UN body said Ukrainian authorities reported an attack on a nuclear facility in Kharkiv on Sunday – though no increase in radiation levels had been reported at the site.
