The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team based at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) this week confirmed significant damage to a fire station in the nearby city of Enerhodar that plays an important role in supporting the plant’s emergency response capability, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

​

The IAEA team was informed that the Enerhodar fire station was struck by drone attacks on 30 June. During a visit to the site on 1 July, the team observed damage to the building and several fire-fighting vehicles, which has significantly reduced the station’s operational capacity. Minor injuries were also reported.

​

The facility provides important back-up support to the ZNPP’s own fire brigade in the event of a large-scale emergency at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

​

“Any attack that undermines nuclear safety and emergency preparedness is unacceptable,” Director General Grossi said.

​

Meanwhile, the IAEA team at the ZNPP continue to monitor maintenance and repair activities affecting safety-related equipment at the site, including those on valves associated with the essential service water system and the cooling system of a unit transformer. The transformer supplies electricity needed for essential nuclear safety functions, including reactor and spent fuel pool cooling. The team confirmed that all repair work was completed promptly and the affected equipment was restored to service.

​

“The repeated need for repairs to key plant equipment is a clear reminder of the fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the plant, and of the need to keep all essential systems fully operational at all times,” Director General Grossi said.

​

In addition, while repairs to the 750 kilovolt (kV) Dniprovska power line on the ZNPP side of the frontline have been completed, the line remains unavailable because the associated substation, located more than 100 kilometres northwest of the plant, is still not operational. As a result, the ZNPP continues to rely on a single 330 kV back-up power line for the external electricity it needs to support nuclear safety functions.

​

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA team at the Chornobyl site reported continuing wildfire control activities on the left bank of the Prypiat River, with ongoing fires affecting approximately 130 hectares as of 1 July. No increases in radiation levels were reported. The site also reported the presence of six drones within their monitoring zone during the past week. The South Ukraine NPP also reported detecting three drones in their monitoring area, with the closest being four kilometres from the site.

​

Also this week, under the IAEA’s nuclear safety and security assistance programme for Ukraine, electronic dosimeters were delivered to the National Scientific Center “Institute of Metrology”, while portable power stations were provided to State Enterprise USIE Izotop. Under the Agency’s medical assistance programme, power generators designed to provide emergency electricity during blackouts were delivered to the National Research Center for Radiation Medicine.

​

These latest deliveries were made possible with funding from Japan, Sweden and the European Union. 

​

Since the beginning of the armed conflict, the IAEA has completed more than 240 deliveries in response to emergency requests from nearly 50 entities across Ukraine.

​

Text Courtesy, IAEA