Ukraine issued a dire warning Wednesday that Russian forces have cut off electricity to the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant — “making radiation leaks imminent’’ without immediate intervention.
The system’s operator said that without electricity, the apparatus necessary to cool the site’s radioactive fuel will halt at the plant, where the world’s worst nuke disaster occurred in 1986.
“Reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the Chornobyl NPP,” tweeted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent.’’
The plant is defunct but still requires more than 2,000 employees to constantly manage its radioactive legacy to prevent another nuclear disaster.
Kuleba pleaded with international leaders to pressure Russia to “cease-fire and allow repair units to restore power supply.
“Putin’s barbaric war puts entire Europe in danger. He must stop it immediately!” the foreign minister demanded.
System operator NPC Ukrenergo said in a statement that “because of military actions of Russian occupiers, the nuclear power plant in Chornobyl was fully disconnected from the power grid,” according to Interfax Ukraine.
“The nuclear station has no power supply. The military actions are in progress, so there is no possibility to restore the [power] lines,” NPC said.
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“As a result [of] the temperature in the spent fuel, radioactive substances [could be released] into the environment. By wind, a radioactive cloud can be transferred to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Europe,” the company said.
Ukrainian authorities do not know what the current radiation levels are at Chernobyl, Ukraine Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said Wednesday.
UN International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi “indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost,” the agency said in a statement.
“The Agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon,” it added.
The IAEA uses the term “safeguards” to describe measures it employs to nuclear material and activities — with the objective of deterring the spread of nuclear weapons via early detection.
More than 200 workers and guards remain trapped at the site, where the situation for the staff “was worsening,” said the IAEA, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator.
The agency called on Russia to allow the plant’s bleary-eyed staffers to at least rotate shifts — because rest and regular work intervals are vital to the site’s safety.
“I’m deeply concerned about the difficult and stressful situation facing staff at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the potential risks this entails for nuclear safety,” Grossi said.
“I call on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there,” he added.
The plant has been under Russian control since day one of Russia’s invasion Feb. 24.
On Tuesday, the IAEA said it lost contact with the plant’s safeguards monitoring system.
Last week, Russia also seized Europe’s largest atomic power plant, in Zaporizhzhia, drawing accusations of “nuclear terror” from Kyiv.
Zaporizhzhia has six reactors of a more modern, safer design than the one at Chernobyl.
The IAEA said two of those reactors were still operating, the plant’s personnel were working in shifts and that radiation levels remained stable.
With Post Wires
