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The IAEA team observes the damage caused by Russian shelling on the roof of the special building at the ZNPP that houses, among other items, the fresh nuclear fuel and the solid radioactive waste storage facility.(Photo: IAEA, Sept. 2022)


Russian Military vehicles on the ground floor of the turbine
hall of Unit 2 of ZNPP (Photo: IAEA, Sept. 2022)

“UN Security Council: IAEA Grossi Calls for Establishment of Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Station,
7 September 2022
By Estelle Marais, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication
Michael Amdi Madsen, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication
Estelle Marais, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication
Michael Amdi Madsen, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication

The establishment of a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Ukraine is urgently needed to ensure that the physical integrity of the plant is not compromised, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the UN Security Council yesterday. Zaporizhzya NPP has been controlled by Russian forces since March but is operated by its Ukrainian staff.

In a session discussing threats to international peace and security, Mr Grossi outlined findings and recommendations from the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ), released on Tuesday in its Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine: 2nd Summary Report.

“We can agree on a very simple, but incredibly necessary protective mechanism to avoid what is happening now, which is the shelling of a nuclear power plant. Let’s seize this opportunity so fundamental for peace, for security and to protect the populations of Ukraine and beyond.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi

Stressing the need for a protection zone, including an end to the shelling around the plant, he explained that the first important safety pillar that exists in any nuclear facility is not to violate its physical integrity. Mr Grossi said that unfortunately “this has happened and this continues to happen,” adding that “we are playing with fire and something very catastrophic could take place.”

Mr Grossi told the Security Council that the IAEA through ISAMZ now has a continuous presence at Zaporizhzya NPP, with personnel on the ground at the plant providing first-hand neutral, impartial and technical information on the site’s status. Pointing out the value of the Agency’s continued presence at the plant, he said this provided the IAEA, and through it, the United Nations and the international community with the capacity to have a direct, immediate evaluation of the situation on the ground as it may happen. 

“This fact is unprecedented,” Mr Grossi said, stating that historically IAEA inspectors became involved after the facts in order to remediate something that had already happened. “We in this case have the historical, ethical imperative to prevent something from happening,” he said.

“We can agree on a very simple, but incredibly necessary protective mechanism to avoid what is happening now, as we speak, which is the shelling of a nuclear power plant. Let’s seize this opportunity so fundamental for peace, for security and to protect the populations of Ukraine and beyond,” he added.

Recommendations for re-establishing the pillars of nuclear safety and security

Mr Grossi stressed that the seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security at Zaporizhzhya NPP must be maintained and detailed the IAEA’s recommendations to address violations of these pillars.

Mr Grossi explained how ISAMZ had observed that operators at the plant were performing important safety and security tasks under extremely challenging circumstances, with military equipment and vehicles present on the site.

With the second pillar stating that all safety and security systems and equipment should be fully functional, he recommended that the military vehicles and equipment on the site be removed so as not to interfere with normal operation of the nuclear safety and security systems.

Under the third pillar, which requires operating staff to be able to fulfil their safety and security duties without undue pressures, Mr Grossi said that this is something that has been addressed time and again during this crisis and especially since the nuclear power plant was occupied last March.  He recommended that the operator should be allowed to return to its clear and routine lines of responsibilities and authorities, and that an appropriate work environment be re-established, including with proper family support for the staff.

Mr Grossi stressed the crucial importance of pillar four, which states that there must be secure off-site power supply from the grid, stating that: “A nuclear power plant without external power supply may lose crucial functionalities including the cooling of the reactors and the spent fuel. Without this we could have a very serious nuclear accident.” He recommended that off-site power supply line redundancy be re-established and available at any time, and said that for this to be possible, “all military activities that may affect the power supply systems must be stopped immediately.”

Referring to the fifth pillar, which requires uninterrupted logistical supply chains and transportation to and from the sites, Mr Grossi explained that the Zaporizhzhya NPP is “a large industrial site requiring a constant flow of spare parts and other equipment — a situation that is of course abnormally interrupted now.”

He recommended that all the parties should commit and contribute to ensuring effective supply chains, highlighting that IAEA assistance and support programmes can help in re-establishing a flow of supplies.

Pillar six refers to the functioning of radiation monitoring systems, and Mr Grossi recommended that the site should continue ensuring this functionality, including by trainings and exercises, which he said the IAEA can help in ensuring.

Finally, Mr Grossi highlighted that pillar seven states that there must be continued and reliable communications with the regulator and with others. “We have seen repeatedly that these lines of communication have been interrupted,” he said. He recommended that reliable and redundant communication means and channels be secured at all times.

Mr Grossi thanked the United Nations Secretary General for his support in the ISAMZ mission to help stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.” Nuclear safety and security, Nuclear installation safety, Nuclear power plant safety, Safeguards and verification, Director General, Division of Nuclear Installation Safety, Division of Nuclear Security, Nuclear Security of Materials and Facilities Section, Department of Safeguards, Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, Security aspects of nuclear facilities
Last update: 07 Sep 2022” https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/un-security-council-iaea-grossi-calls-for-establishment-of-nuclear-safety-and-security-protection-zone-at-zaporizhzhya-npp

“Update 99 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine
138/2022, 7 Sept. 2022
Vienna, Austria
Renewed shelling has damaged a back-up power line between Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and a nearby thermal power station, further underlining significant nuclear safety risks at the facility, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) learnt at the site.

The incident that occurred yesterday did not have an immediate impact on the ZNPP’s current operations as it had already been disconnected from the electricity grid two days ago when another reserve line was switched off in order to extinguish a fire.

But the damage to the 750/330 kilovolt (kV) line once again demonstrated the difficulties and vulnerabilities the ZNPP is facing when it comes to external power supplies. The ZNPP lost the connection to all its four main external power lines earlier during the conflict, the last one on 2 September. Of the three back-up lines between the ZNPP and the thermal power station, one is now damaged by shelling, while the two others are disconnected, senior Ukrainian operating staff informed IAEA experts present at the plant since last week.

In addition to the impact on the power line, shelling had also caused damage at the site’s switchyard, which the Ukrainian operating staff are planning to repair.  The ZNPP is held by Russian forces since early March, but its Ukrainian staff are continuing to operate the plant.

For the last few days, the ZNPP has relied on its sole operating reactor for the power it needs for cooling and other safety functions.  While the plant also has emergency diesel generators available if needed, Director General Grossi has repeatedly expressed concern about the power supply situation.

In a report on nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine that was issued yesterday ahead of his briefing to the United Nations Security Council, the Director General noted that the ZNPP on several occasions “lost, fully or partially, the off-site power supply as a result of military activities in the area”. He recommended that the “off-site power supply line redundancy as designed should be re-established and available at any time, and that all military activities that may affect the power supply systems end.”

Click to access ukraine-2ndsummaryreport_sept2022.pdf

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/un-security-council-iaea-grossi-calls-for-establishment-of-nuclear-safety-and-security-protection-zone-at-zaporizhzhya-npp
A secure off-site power supply from the grid and back-up power supply systems are essential for ensuring nuclear safety and preventing a nuclear accident. This requirement is among the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars that the Director General outlined at the beginning of the conflict.

Last week, after months of efforts, Director General Grossi established an IAEA presence at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant when he led a team of experts across the frontline to the facility. Two IAEA experts remain at the site, providing independent and objective monitoring and assessments of the situation there.

Yesterday, the Director General recommended the urgent establishment of a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone at the ZNPP, and he is having consultations aimed at implementing this plan.” https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-99-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine