“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
MAY 18, 2024
There have been IAEA staff on site at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine since September 2022 (Image: IAEA)
LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Friday, (05/17/2024)
Why do we continue on with the concept of building new nuclear power plants and rehabilitating old ones when we are at the same time faced with the possibility of a nuclear war in which nuclear power plants will inevitably be included as war weapons of mass destruction. The concept is happening already in the Russia/Ukraine war at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Are we really that ignorant and foolish that we would, “cut off our noses to spite our faces?” — to quote an old saying. There are much safer, quicker, easier, cheaper, and better ways to meet our electricity needs.
The following short article is remarkably understated (as might be expected by a go-between agency), but still the extreme danger is recognized. There have been dozens of critically dangerous attacks by Russian military for many months, some of them putting other European nations at risk of radiation poisoning. ~llaw
Read on . . .
IAEA staff observe emergency drill at Zaporizhzhia
17 May 2024
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The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi says that regular drills and exercises at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant “are especially important in view of the extraordinary risks it is currently facing”.
In his latest update on the situation at the six-unit plant, which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, IAEA Director General Grossi said: “The IAEA will remain present at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) for as long as it is needed. The nuclear safety and security situation at the plant remains extremely precarious and challenging. Thanks to our experts at the site, we can inform the world about developments there. We will continue to do everything in our power to keep this major nuclear facility safe and secure.”
Each team of IAEA staff spend roughly a month at a time there. The latest changeover – the 19th since the first team arrived in September 2022 – took place on Thursday, with the journey for those arriving and leaving involving crossing the frontline of Russian and Ukrainian forces.
Grossi said that over recent days the members of the team performed walks within the perimeter of the plant and other buildings to monitor adherence to the UN-backed principles that nuclear power plants should not be fired at, or from, or be used as a base for heavy military weaponry and equipment.
The update said: “They did not observe any heavy weapons or indications that drones could have been launched from the ZNPP. However, the IAEA experts are still not permitted to access all areas of the ZNPP.”
On Wednesday, the IAEA experts at the plant observed an emergency drill take place, based on the scenario of damage to a pipe connected to one of the sprinkler ponds providing cooling water to cool unit 1 and its safety systems. The exercise involved plant staff pumping water into the sprinkler pond and repairing the damaged pipe while also ensuring safety systems and back up generators remained operational. “The IAEA team’s opinion was that the exercise was well organised and that the personnel responded effectively,” the update said.
Grossi added: “It is essential for all nuclear facilities to have effective emergency preparedness and response arrangements. For this purpose, regular drills and exercises are necessary. Clearly, for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, they are especially important in view of the extraordinary risks it is currently facing.”
IAEA teams at the other nuclear power plants in Ukraine reported nuclear safety and security being maintained, although the team at Rivne NPP reported that attacks on the energy infrastructure elsewhere in Ukraine “had resulted in instability in the back-up power lines connected to the plant”.
Researched and written by World Nuclear News
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