No power supply at Ukrainian nuclear plant, remains "extremely vulnerable"
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Kyiv: Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine has lost its power supply again. Operators switched it to emergency diesel generators on Monday. This is the seventh time the plant is losing power since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2033.
It is the largest atomic power station in Europe.
The plant has six nuclear reactors that are protected by a reinforced shelter so that they stay safe if a shell or rocket hits the facility. However, a disruption in the electrical supply can disable the cooling systems that are essential. Diesel generators can be unreliable.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a tweet, said that the nuclear safety of the plant is "extremely vulnerable". He said: "We must agree to protect the plant now. This situation cannot continue." The International Atomic Energy Agency has been deployed at the plant occupied by Moscow's forces.
Energoatom, Ukraine's state nuclear company, said Russian shelling is responsible for the loss of the last high-voltage transmission line to the plant, reported AP. The company warned that the facility is on the verge of a nuclear and radiation accident. A representative last week said Russian officials have begun training for a planned evacuation from the plant of 3,100 remaining staff and their families.
The concern of a nuclear disaster has been around since the Ukraine war started because the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 was triggered by one reactor exploding. The radiation contaminated a vast area. Experts have since warned that another nuclear disaster caused by war will be catastrophic for the entire world.
