Problems in communicating with staff at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, says IAEA
Mar 07, 2022
Kyiv [Ukraine], March 7 : International Atomic Energy Agency informed on Sunday that Ukraine's nuclear regulator has reported problems in communicating with the staff operating at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya, IAEA informed on Sunday.
Earlier, Ukraine authorities have reported to the IAEA that the regular staff continued to operate the plant but the plant management is under the orders from the Commander of Russian forces controlling the site.
According to the official statement by IAEA, Ukraine had also complained that any action of plant management including measures related to the technical operation of the six reactor units requires prior approval by the Russian commander.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi expressed grave concern about the recent development as it breaks pillar 3 of the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security.
Pillar 3 states that the operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure.
Furthermore, Ukraine reported that Russian forces at the site have switched off some mobile networks and the internet so that reliable information from the site cannot be obtained through the normal channels of communication.
With this, the Russian forces breached the seventh indispensable pillar, which states that there must be reliable communications with the regulator and others.
Despite all these problems, the regulator still managed to deliver the updated information to confirm that radiation levels there remained normal.
"The regulator also reported that it was facing problems communicating with personnel at the Chornobyl NPP, which at the moment was only possible with e-mails," the statement added.
Staff at Chornobyl NPP- which is under the control of Russian forces- have been on site since February 23 without being able to carry out their jobs safely and securely.
Director-General Grossi has repeatedly stressed the importance of operating staff being able to rest to carry out their important jobs safely and securely.
On Thursday, Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that Russian forces had taken control of the site of the country's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Ukrainian counterparts informed the IAEA that a projectile had hit a training building in the vicinity of one of the plant's reactor units, causing a localized fire that was later extinguished.
