The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, announced on Sunday that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which houses “fresh” nuclear fuel and solid radioactive waste, is temporarily disconnected from the grid.
Ukraine told the IAEA that a backup power line connecting the country’s ZNPP and a nearby thermal power station was intentionally disconnected to extinguish a fire on Monday, but the line itself was not damaged, the agency reported.
The 330 kV reserve line was used to deliver electricity from the ZNPP to the grid after the ZNPP’s connection to its last remaining operational 750 kV line was lost late Friday.
The plant’s emergency protection systems had been activated following the disconnection of two operating reactor units after power lines were damaged in late August. The backup system allowed the power plant to produce electricity again, reported The Dallas Express.
Ukraine blamed the damage to the reserve line on Russian shelling, while Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukrainians had sabotaged it.
Ukraine informed the IAEA that once the fire was extinguished, the backup line would be reconnected, according to IAEA.
The ZNPP continued to receive the electricity it needed for safety from its single operational reactor. One of six, the reactor continued to generate power for the plant’s cooling and other nuclear safety functions and will be connected to the grid once the 330 kV line is reconnected.
After several days of critical nuclear safety, security, and safeguards work, IAEA said four of its experts left the ZNPP on Monday as planned. Two others will remain at the site to ensure an ongoing IAEA presence, allowing the agency to monitor the situation and provide independent assessments.
“The IAEA experts on the ground have been assessing the physical damage at the ZNPP, determining the functionality of the main and backup nuclear safety and security systems, and evaluating the staff’s working conditions as well as the plant’s current emergency response capacities, among other important activities,” the IAEA said.
“Over the past few days, safeguards inspectors have also performed urgent safeguards activities on the site,” it added.
Russian troops initially stormed the nuclear power plant near Enerhodar, on the banks of the Dnipro River in the country’s southeast, shortly after invading neighboring Ukraine on February 24. The Ukrainian workers were left in place to keep the plant running, which supplies electricity throughout the war-torn country.
“Ukrainian staff operating the plant under Russian military occupation are under constant high stress and pressure, especially with the limited staff available,” IAEA said on September 4, reported Reuters. “This is not sustainable and could lead to increased human error, with implications for nuclear safety.”
