Nuclear safety and security in Ukraine are under constant threat. This was stated in a report on March 28 by Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), UNN reports .
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It is noted that at ZNPP, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, IAEA experts working at the site have continued to hear explosions at different distances from the plant every day over the past week.
According to experts, several times sounds came from there, presumably from artillery fire.
On the night of March 22 and March 27, small arms fire was heard nearby. In addition, an air raid alarm went off at the site yesterday, postponing the planned visit of the IAEA team to the ZNPP dry spent fuel storage facility until the end of the day.
During last week's inspection, the IAEA team did not observe any nuclear safety-related issues. However, ZNPP still has not provided timely and appropriate access for IAEA experts to all areas important for nuclear safety and security, including some parts of the turbine halls, the isolation gate of the ZNPP cooling pond and the open 330 kV distribution point at the neighboring Zaporizhzhya TPP
The IAEA is aware of social media posts and images related to the presence of troops and equipment in one of the ZNPP turbine halls.
The IAEA experts reported that ZNPP has started draining one of the sprinkler pools of Unit 5 to clean it, which will last about three weeks, after which the sprinkler pool of Unit 6 will also be cleaned. The two units are among the five at ZNPP that are in cold shutdown, and reactor unit 4 is in hot shutdown to generate steam for heating.
In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, a research facility used to produce radioisotopes for medical and industrial use before the war lost external power due to shelling on March 22, Ukraine's nuclear regulator reports. . The facility is now operating on emergency diesel generators. In addition, the IAEA reported that all radiation levels at the site remain normal.
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IAEA experts at the Khmelnytsky, Rivne and South Ukrainian NPPs, as well as at the Chernobyl site, reported that nuclear safety continues to be maintained despite numerous air raids over the past week. Repairs in the turbine hall of Khmelnytsky NPP Unit 2 are going well, and Rivne NPP Unit 4 is undergoing a planned outage. This week, the IAEA experts rotated to the Chornobyl site.
The IAEA has continued to deliver equipment needed to support nuclear safety in Ukraine. This week, the Rivne NPP received a portable X-ray machine for non-destructive testing purchased with funds from the United Kingdom. This was the 42nd delivery of equipment to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, with the total amount of assistance amounting to more than EUR 9 million.