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Part 1 of 2 Parts
I have been monitoring the Russian occupation of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants in Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Since the situation is rapidly evolving, I decided I needed to revisit the subject.
For the first time in the sixty-six-year history of commercial nuclear power, operators must manage the exacting safety systems of a massive nuclear power plant under the guns of an occupying army that is bombarding civilian targets. The stress on the staff of Ukraine’s shuttered Chernobyl nuclear facility and the operating Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, both of which are under Russian control is a serious, growing issue according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. IAEA director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, “I remain gravely concerned about the extremely difficult circumstances for the Ukrainian staff there.” The IAEA is currently receiving status reports from Ukraine’s nuclear regulator which is continuing to operate three of Ukraine’s four functioning nuclear power plants.
Two of the six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant were operating yesterday. They are under the direction of Russian operatives which includes representatives of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation (RSNEC) .
The operators of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant faced new challenges when the plant lost access yesterday to a third high-voltage line connecting the plant to the Ukrainian power grid. The nuclear plant has four high-voltage lines and a backup line. Two of the connections were damaged earlier in the Russian attack. One line and a backup remain connected, and the safety of the power plant is not threatened according to the IAEA. However, the plant had to reduce power production to adjust to the power line outages. If all electrical power is lost, vital reactor cooling processes will depend on emergency diesel generators which have limited fuel.
In the case of Chernobyl, two hundred and eleven technicians and guards are virtual prisoners inside the plant. They are working without relief “under enormous stress without the necessary rest,” says the IAEA. The Chernobyl plant was destroyed by an explosion in 1986 and is now encased in a steel dome as staff work to dismantle it and safeguard its spent nuclear fuel.
Grossi said that in order to assure the safety of the occupied plants, the “operating staff must be able to [fulfill] their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure.”
A report this week in the Wall Street Journal based on text messages exchanged with Chernobyl’s Ukrainian staff and other accounts describe a tense “hostage” situation that has deteriorated since the Russian troops took over the plant on Feb 24th. The article reported that workers during brief phone calls, told members of their families about headaches, dizziness, and extreme fatigue.
Adam Stein is an associate director for nuclear innovation at the Breakthrough Institute, which advocates for nuclear power. He said, “I am very concerned about the operators’ health and well-being. I consider that to be the primary risk at these plants at the moment. Due to undue stress and poor working conditions, the operators are definitely not able to perform their functions as well as normal. What happens if reactor operators decide they are not going to work because of the conditions at the plant? That’s speculative, but it’s a concern.” He also mentioned that there are concerns about workers’ ability to maintain facilities and make repairs.
Please read Part 2 next