Ukraine notifies IAEA that power line repairs have begun at Chernobyl
UN watchdog says work to continue despite ‘the difficult situation’ outside decommissioned nuclear plant, which was seized by invading Russian forces
BERLIN — Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday that technicians have started repairing damaged power lines at the decommissioned Chernobyl power plant in an effort to restore power supplies, the UN nuclear agency said.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said that Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, was knocked off the power grid, with emergency generators supplying backup power.
The Ukrainian nuclear regulator said Friday that workers repaired one section of the lines, but there still appears to be damage in other places, the IAEA said.
Repair efforts would continue despite “the difficult situation” outside the plant, which was taken by Russian forces early in the invasion, it added.
The Ukrainian regulator said additional fuel was delivered for generators, but it remains important to fix the power lines as soon as possible. The IAEA reiterated that the disconnection “will not have a critical impact on essential safety functions at the site.”
The Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog said that it still isn’t receiving data from monitoring systems installed to monitor nuclear material and activities at Chernobyl, but transmission from the Zaporizhzhia plant — Ukraine’s biggest, which Russian forces seized last week — has been restored after being lost earlier this week.
On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine and seized the defunct plant, site of a 1986 disaster that killed hundreds and spread radioactive contamination west across Europe.
The defunct plant sits inside an exclusion zone that houses decommissioned reactors as well as radioactive waste facilities.
More than 2,000 staff still work at the plant as it requires constant management to prevent another nuclear disaster.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Tuesday called on “on the forces in effective control of the site to urgently facilitate the safe rotation of personnel there.”
He also repeated his offer to travel to Chernobyl or elsewhere to secure “the commitment to the safety and security” of Ukraine’s power plants from all parties.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.