Since the first week of the Ukrainian conflict on February 24, NPP has been under Russian military control. But now, the data from Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant has gone offline, as per IAEA reports.
The threats of nuclear war in Ukraine are increasing following the issues of another nuclear power station on Wednesday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that its safeguards systems at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine reportedly lost remote data transmission.
Russian military took Zaporizhzhia on Sunday, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. It’s worth noting that the power plant is Europe’s biggest of its kind.
The declining state of nuclear power reactors in the war-torn nation is alarming. The IAEA had previously stated that the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant had lost power.
Ukraine reported “power loss” at the Russian-controlled Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday.
The atomic agency said, “the heat load of the spent fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant sufficient for effective heat removal without the need for electrical supply.”Â
This “development violates key safety pillar on ensuring uninterrupted power supply,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Gross.
For the next 48 hours, reserve diesel generators will run the Chornobyl nuclear power station and its infrastructure.
The spent nuclear fuel storage cooling system will thereafter be shut off, posing a risk of radiation leakage,” Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada tweeted.
A “high-voltage line is currently disconnected due to the damage caused by the occupiers,” according to the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection (SSSCIP).
“As a result, the Chernobyl station and all nuclear facilities in the Exclusion Zone are without electricity,” SSSCIP added.Â
Ukraine has informed the EU’s energy commissioner, Kadri Simson, of the current situation, and “backup systems have been deployed,” she said. “We are in constant contact with IAEA to help ensure nuclear safety in Ukraine,” she added.
The decommissioned plant is located within an exclusion zone that also houses deactivated reactors and radioactive waste storage facilities. A total of 2,000 people work at the site to avoid a nuclear meltdown.
Since the first week of the Ukrainian conflict on February 24, NPP has been under Russian military control.