Nuclear emergency response infrastructure near the Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) was damaged in a drone attack over the past week, once again highlighting the persistent risks to nuclear safety and security amid ongoing military activities, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
On 3 May, ZNPP informed the IAEA team at the site that a drone attack had occurred at the External Radiation Control Laboratory (ERCL), situated approximately four kilometres from the plant perimeter. Visiting the facility the next day, the IAEA observed damage to meteorological equipment used to collect real-time environmental parameters in the event of a nuclear or radiological emergency. The IAEA team was informed that the equipment is currently not operable.
“These are examples of damage to nuclear emergency response equipment as a direct result of military activities,” said Grossi. “We cannot afford for the next damage to occur on essential nuclear safety equipment. I once again call on both sides to make all efforts to avoid military activities in the vicinity of nuclear facilities – wherever they are located.”
Also related to emergency preparedness and response, the IAEA team was informed that one of more than 20 drones detected over the operators town of Energodar on 5 May reportedly impacted the building housing the ZNPP’s off-site emergency centre, resulting in broken windows. No damage to the emergency centre itself was reported.
The IAEA team at the ZNPP was further informed of reported drone attacks on the local Raduga electrical substation in the early morning hours of 1 and 2 May. According to information provided to the team, these attacks caused power and water outages in the town of Energodar.
At present, the ZNPP continues to rely on a single off-site power line, the 330 kV Ferosplavnaya‑1 backup line. The plant’s main 750 kV Dneprovskaya power line has been disconnected since 24 March. The IAEA continues to engage with both the Russian Federation and Ukraine in negotiations aimed at establishing a temporary localised ceasefire to enable repairs to off-site power infrastructure.
Alexander Uvarov, a nuclear energy specialist and head of the Atominfo Centre, spoke to MK.Ru about the power supply issues at the plant and why high water levels in the Dnieper River complicate the situation.
“The nuclear power plant is not generating electricity, but it requires external power to circulate water for fuel cooling,” he said. He explained that the two remaining power lines to ZNPP (there used to be six before the conflict) both stretch from the right bank of the Dnieper River (the Kakhovka Reservoir), from territory controlled by Ukraine. The route of the lines goes from transformer substations in the cities of Nikopol and Volnogorsk in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
Currently the main 750 kV Dneprovskaya power line is damaged above the water surface. (The power line passes through the Kakhovka Reservoir via special high-voltage crossings). After destruction of the Kakhovka dam the course of the Dnieper River has changed. “As a result, it is not easy to access the damaged section of the power line,” Uvarov said.
