Concern for the safety of the nuclear power plant
Minister: Staff in Zaporizhia are being tortured
3/9/2022 7:13 am
The situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has been confusing for days. The Russian occupiers had recently severely restricted contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Now the Ukrainian energy minister is making serious allegations.
According to Ukraine’s energy minister, Russian forces are “torturing” the staff at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant to force them to make a public statement. Herman Halushchenko claims in a post on Facebook that the operating staff has been held hostage for four days. “There are about 500 Russian soldiers and 50 units of heavy equipment in the station. The station employees are physically and mentally exhausted,” said Halushchenko.
At the weekend, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was concerned about developments in Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. Ukraine had informed the IAEA that the nuclear power plant would continue to be operated by regular personnel, but that the plant management was now under the command of a commander of the Russian armed forces, whose approval was also required for all measures related to the technical operation of the six reactor blocks. This contradicts the safety concept for nuclear power plants, said IAEA boss Rafael Grossi. The staff must be able to carry out their security tasks without pressure.
In addition, according to information from Kyiv, the Russian armed forces severely restricted communication with personnel by shutting down the Internet and some mobile networks. “Reliable communication between the regulator and the operator is a critical part of overall nuclear safety and security,” Grossi said. However, he also pointed out that all radiation values are currently in the normal range and that operations are running smoothly. Recently, a fire broke out in an outbuilding on the site of the nuclear power plant in the course of fighting, which was quickly extinguished.