“This will finally allow us to see what is happening on site, what are the operating conditions of this plant”reacts Monday, August 29 on franceinfo Karine Herviou, Deputy Director General of the Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety, while a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency is on its way to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The IAEA director announced it on Twitter.
>> War in Ukraine: four questions about the attacks around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which worry the international community
The day has come, @IAEAorg‘s Support and Assistance Mission to #Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) is now on its way. We must protect the safety and security of #Ukraine‘s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility. Proud to lead this mission which will be in #ZNPP later this week. pic.twitter.com/tyVY7l4SrM
— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) August 29, 2022
Since March 4, the plant has been occupied by Russian forces. “The work of these teams” from the IAEA “will be to discuss with the operator, the personnel of the plant, to see if he is able to perform his function, that is to say to maintain the systems and the safety of all the systems of the centralexplains Karine Herviou, who recalls that the plant is operated by Ukrainian personnel, occupied by the Russian army. One can imagine that the personnel are under great pressure, on the battle line, so their families may also be affected by the fighting. We imagine that they are in very difficult conditions.”
The plant was disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid last week. Karine Herviou recalls that it is absolutely necessary to restore “either a power supply line or refueling the plant”. “A nuclear power plant needs electricity to continue cooling the reactor core once it is shut down”, she continues. In the meantime, there are about twenty emergency generators, which can supply the reactor cooling circuits for seven to ten days.
IAEA observers will be able to tour the equipment around the plant, including reactivity sensors. “For the moment, the beacons, which make it possible to identify if there is a radioactive release in progress, show no sign of activity in the atmosphere, so there is no accident at the plant. right now”she specifies, before adding that the risk of a bombardment was not taken into account during the construction of the plant. “The reactors have a certain robustness, but not everything is covered”she concludes.