Power outages, water shortages impact Ukraine plant
Security watchdogs with the International Atomic Energy Association are reporting continuing issues at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant due to the military invasion from Russia.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said in his weekly briefing on Ukraine that Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant staff experienced another power outage in the nearby city of Enerhodar—where most of the workers live—and a shortage of tap water that has also affected the plant.
In the latest incident, the IAEA team stationed at the Zaporizhzhia was informed this past Wednesday that a military strike damaged a regional substation, cutting electricity to Enerhodar and impacting water supplies. For the second time this week, IAEA experts reported that there was no tap water available in some buildings at the site.
Recent incidents: Residents of Enerhodar have faced several issues in recent weeks, including reports of drone attacks on electrical substations in the city, located several miles from the plant.
“Such incidents clearly add to an already very stressful situation for people working at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We will continue to monitor the situation. The general well-being of staff is a source of concern since it can also have an impact on nuclear safety and security,” Grossi said.
Security intact: Despite the electricity and water supply issues to Enerhodar, the availability of off-site power and cooling water at plant was unaffected, as it continues to receive electricity from two remaining off-site power lines. Eleven groundwater wells continue to provide the water needed to maintain cooling of the six reactors, which are in cold shutdown.
But experts continue to hear explosions and gunfire at various distances from the site. An air raid alarm on July 11 made it impossible for the IAEA team to perform planned walkdowns, even though there were no reported sounds of military activity during that time. On two occasions over the past week, the IAEA team observed smoke in the distance, which Zaporizhzhia officials attributed to forest fires.
As part of their mission to monitor nuclear safety and security at the plant, the IAEA team continues to closely follow ongoing maintenance activities, which are crucial for the current situation and for longer-term nuclear safety at the site. They have reported that safety system maintenance work on Units 1 and 6 and on the main transformer of Unit 3 is making continued headway.
In recent days, the IAEA experts visited the main control rooms of Units 3, 4, 5 and 6, as well as some safety system rooms, and observed simulator activities in the Zaporizhzhia training center.
Elsewhere in Ukraine: IAEA teams at the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear plants and the Chernobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including multiple air raid alarms over the past week.
They have continued to perform regular walkdowns across these sites.
On July 16, Rivne-3 was reconnected to the grid following a 45-day refueling and maintenance outage. However, the unit’s power output is constricted due to grid limitations, since it is impacted by military activities across the country.
Planned maintenance and refueling activities continue at two of the three South Ukraine units.
IAEA aid: As part of the agency’s efforts to support nuclear safety in Ukraine during the armed conflict, it arranged a delivery of equipment to support the energy ministry’s task of ensuring reliable power supplies to and from the nuclear plants. This latest brings the total number of deliveries to 56 since the start of the conflict.
The IAEA organized four shipments over the past few weeks of different kinds of equipment, including aluminum wires, reinforced concrete supports, protection and control microprocessor devices for substations, and switchgears. The procurement was supported with funds from France, Japan, and New Zealand for equipment worth more than €10 million ($10.9 million).
