Operators at a Russian-occupied nuclear reactor in Ukraine may soon have to draw on their last line of defense to prevent a nuclear accident, according to the most dire warning yet issued by International Atomic Energy Agency monitors.
Continued shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has cut power cables and rendered layers of safety-backup systems ineffective, the U.N. agency said in a lengthy statement from director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi.
Now, power systems in the nearby city of Enerhodar, where most of the plant operators live, have been destroyed by shelling, resulting in a complete loss of power, water and sewage operations.
The IAEA called the situation “increasingly dire” and reiterated calls for both sides to erect a safety and security zone around the station. “This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious,” Grossi said.
Europe’s largest atomic power plant, occupied by Russian forces since March but still mostly operated by Ukrainian nuclear engineers, has effectively become a war prize and bargaining chip for President Vladimir Putin. Grossi called it “a pawn of war.”
“The IAEA understands that the operator, having no longer confidence in the restoration of off-site power, is considering shutting down the only remaining operating reactor,” Grossi said in his statement, accompanied by a YouTube video.
“The entire power plant would then be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators for ensuring vital nuclear safety and security functions,” he said.
Only an “immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area” will enable repairs to be conducted on damaged infrastructure, Grossi said.
Grossi led a team of IAEA monitors to Zaporizhzhia last week, and two investigators from the agency have stayed on to observe the situation.
Attacks on Zaporizhizhia have been increasing into almost-daily occurrences since July. Ukraine and Russia have each blamed the other for the strikes.
While agency monitors didn’t assign blame in a 52-page report published on Tuesday that incorporated findings from Grossi’s team, they did demand an end to the assaults.
Nuclear power plants require a constant flow of electricity to prevent fuel from melting down and causing a radiological incident. They have multiple lines of defense, starting with redundant electricity grid connections and ending with diesel generators.
In recent days, Zaporizhzhia’s unit No. 6 had been its only operating reactor, kept running to supply electricity for plant safety systems. Losing that supply of power would require a reliable supply of diesel fuel to keep the backup generators operating.
“The Ukrainians have been making noises about the unavailability of diesel for the generators,” Robert Kelley, a former nuclear-emergency response official at the US Department of Energy, told Bloomberg News on Thursday.
“That is a serious concern but may be a bargaining chip,” Kelley said during a TOPLive Q&A on nuclear risk in Ukraine. “Planned shut down and an extended outage until the war is resolved is the safest course of action.”
