IAEA warns of “deterioration” in safety at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned of a deterioration in the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, under Russian occupation and with its reactors shut down since 2022, following the impact this weekend of a drone with an explosive charge near the plant.
“Nuclear power plants are designed to withstand technical and human failures and external events, even extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack,” said the director general of the IAEA, Argentine Rafael Grossi, in a statement.
On Saturday, IAEA inspectors were informed by the Zaporizhia plant of the explosion of a drone near the cooling water spray ponds, about 100 meters from the Dniprovska power line, the only one remaining and supplying power to the plant. Although the detonation did not cause casualties or damage to the infrastructure of Zaporizhia, it did affect the road between the two main gates of the plant, the IAEA said. “Once again we are witnessing an escalation of risks to nuclear safety at the Zaporizhia plant,” said Grossi, urging all parties to “exercise maximum restraint.”
Last week, inspectors also examined a fire in one of the cooling towers that damaged the plant. They are also maintaining their presence at the plants in southern Ukraine, as well as Khmelnitsky, Rivne and Chernobyl, in response to “frequent air raid alerts and drone attacks.”
