IAEA makes statement on Russian drone strike on Chernobyl NPP

The International Atomic Energy Agency has issued a statement on the consequences of a Russian drone strike on the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, noting that despite significant damage, the radiation level at the facility has not changed. This was reported by UNN with reference to the IAEA website.

Details

On Saturday, February 15, Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that Ukrainian firefighters were working around the clock.

Ukrainian firefighters worked around the clock in frigid weather to completely extinguish small fires still smoldering after a drone strike on Friday on a building containing the remains of a reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster

It is noted that the IAEA team based at the scene received unrestricted access to the explosion site and conducted a detailed inspection to assess the damage to the facility, whose arch was attacked by a Russian drone.

Despite the significant damage caused by the drone strike, the IAEA team was informed that the radiation levels at the site had not changed. This was also confirmed by the team's own measurements, which showed normal dose rates in the vicinity of the NSC compared to those recorded by the IAEA since it established a permanent presence at the site just over two years ago

"It was certainly a very serious incident when a drone hit a large protective structure at a major nuclear facility and damaged it. As I have repeatedly stated during this devastating war, an attack on a nuclear facility is absolutely unacceptable, it should never happen," said Grossi.

This is of particular concern as we have also seen an increase in military activity in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The IAEA remains committed to doing everything possible to help prevent a nuclear accident. Judging by recent events, nuclear safety remains under great threat

The IAEA recorded that the drone strike and subsequent fire affected a large area.

In addition, the agency's team confirmed that both the outer and inner lining of the facility's arch had been damaged, resulting in a hole approximately six meters in diameter, as well as damage to some equipment and electrical cables.

However, it appears that the structural beams did not sustain significant damage," the statement added.

The IAEA team was also shown some of the drone's wreckage that remained at the scene, including parts of the wings. The damaged drone was removed by Ukrainian experts and taken for further analysis

The team was informed that the plant plans to install additional sensors to measure dose rate and aerosol concentration near the area affected by the drone. However, this task cannot be completed until the remaining fires are completely extinguished to avoid damage to the sensors.

Recall

On the night of February 14, a Russian attack drone with an explosive part damaged the protective shelter at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. The fire was extinguished, the radiation background did not change, but the damage to the shelter is estimated to be significant.

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