The IAEA views with concern the situation of the personnel of the former Chernobyl nuclear plant, who has stopped performing maintenance and repair work of equipment due to the situation of stress and fatigue in which it finds itself. The director general of the UN nuclear agency, Rafael Grossi, has assured that the staff of the plant “no longer carried out repair and maintenance tasks of safety-related equipment, in part due to their physical and psychological fatigue after working non-stop for almost three weeks“.
The UN has been alerting this situation since the Russian army will occupy and control the old plant on February 24located north of Kiev, and the scene of the greatest nuclear catastrophe in history in 1986. The agency insists: the staff, made up of 210 employees, has not been able to leave the plant from the start of the invasion. In fact, he has not even been able to rotate shifts to give himself time off, accumulating hours of work and fatigue.
The situation worsened even more when last week the power cut was added to work fatigue. Kremlin shelling in the vicinity had caused Chernobyl to lose power, fueling fears of a possible radioactive leak. Various specialists had managed to restore electricity to the nuclear power plant, but according to the Ukrainian company Ukrenergo, new attacks perpetrated in the vicinity by Russian forces have once again caused power outages.
Sandro Pozzia journalist from laSexta, already explained in Al Rojo Vivo that, in principle, there should be no leakage even though the electrical reserve is depletedsince the heating of the nuclear power plant fuel does not pose a risk due to the lack of water pumping.
Ukraine has some of the most important nuclear plants in Europe. A situation highlighted by the IAEA, which is carefully watching what is happening in the vicinity of Chernobyl and Zaporizhia, also occupied by Russian troops. However, the organization ensures that so far they have not detected abnormal levels of radiation in any of the facilities.
What is the situation in Zaporizhia?
The situation is no less worrying in Zaporizhia. According to the IAEA, Russia has allocated 400 soldiers to control the nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. Its objective, explains the organization, is to establish “permanent control” of the plant. In a letter sent to the IAEA, the head of operations of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, Petr Kotin, has indicated that the Army has settled around the plant to solve “all problems” generated, forcing the station management to do so.
However, unlike Chernobyl, the staff at Zaporizhia are maintaining rest and rotating shifts. According to Kotin, a “regular rotation” is taking place of the employees of the nuclear power plant. In addition, the expert has reported that a few days ago they arrived at the plant Russian specialists intending to assess the radiation situation.
A situation that, in the opinion of Rafael Mariano Grossi, “it is clearly contrary” to one of the principles that establishes that “operating personnel must be able to carry out their security responsibilities and protection and to be able to make decisions without undue pressure”. For its part, Russia denies that his troops have taken control operation of the plant, and has ensured that both the Zaporizhia and Chernobyl nuclear power plants “are in charge of the Ukrainian operational staff” and that a group of several Russian experts “only” advises them.
Last March 4, Ukraine told the IAEA that Russian forces had taken control of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which houses six reactors.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
