Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis

IAEA mission observing shell damage to a building housing solid radioactive waste and fresh nuclear fuel in September 2022

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has become the center of an ongoing nuclear safety crisis, described by Ukraine as an act of nuclear terrorism by Russia.[1]

The plant, which is the largest of its kind in Europe, has seen destruction of its infrastructure via shelling, damage to its power lines, amounting to what Ukrainian authorities call the largest situation of its kind in history. A potential disaster may exceed the scale of previous disasters at nuclear power plants.[2][3]

According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), "The situation in Ukraine is unprecedented. It is the first time a military conflict has occurred amid the facilities of a large, established nuclear power" program.[4] Nuclear safety expert Attila Aszódi said that an event similar in type and scale to the Chernobyl disaster is technically and physically not possible in the Zaporizhzhia plant, while calling for urgent steps to ensure the safety of the plant.[5] The Bellona Foundation called the crisis "something the world nuclear energy community never thought it would see — and thus never prepared for."[6]

  1. ^ "'Russian nuclear terror': Ukraine atomic plant attacked again". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  2. ^ "Російські військові обстрілюють ЗАЕС, щоб знищити її інфраструктуру та відімкнути від енергосистеми України". Енергоатом. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Місія МАГАТЕ на Запорізьку АЕС має вирушати з Києва, але має бути згода України та Росії ‒ Ґутерріш". Радіо Свобода. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  4. ^ "U.N. nuclear watchdog calls for a 'security protection zone' around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant". NBC News. 7 September 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  5. ^ Diaz-Maurin, François (2022-09-02). "A nuclear safety expert's view on the crisis at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  6. ^ "The Radiation Risks of Seizing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant". Bellona.org. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2024-01-26.