The Atomic Energy Agency reported that Russia is banning it from access to three reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (Portal/FILE)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) denounced this this Wednesday the Russian army, which has occupied the Ukrainian nuclear power plant since March 2022 Zaporozhye, denies observer the U.N. Access to three reactor rooms.
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“IAEA experts still do not have access to all parts of the facility, and in the last two weeks They were denied entry reactor rooms “Blocks 1, 2 and 6,” the IAEA said in a statement.
“This is the first time that IAEA experts have been denied access to the reactor room of a plant undergoing cold shutdown,” the IAEA Director General added. Rafael Grossi, in the note.
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In addition, access to “some parts of the turbine rooms remains restricted,” the agency added, again calling for “access to the reactor roofs.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi (Portal/FILE)
The IAEA has had observers on site since last year. the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe with six reactors. The reactor core and the spent fuel are in the reactor rooms, Grossi emphasized in the statement.
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Five of the six reactors are in cold shutdown, meaning they are not producing energy, while one is in hot shutdown, producing steam and heat for the nearby city Enerhodarwhere most of the employees working at the plant live.
On the other hand, the IAEA emphasizes that the plant carried out work on its own premises at the urging of its observers electrical transformers Reserve to ensure continuous and immediate power supply.
The UN office stressed that, at the insistence of its observers, the power plant has carried out work on its backup transformers to ensure permanent and immediate power supply (EFE/FILE).
According to Grossi, this is a “significant advance” as it still allows for independence and redundancy in the plant’s energy supply system The situation at the plant remains “extremely fragile”.
In recent weeks, IAEA observers have heard about it periodic explosions at some distance from the facility, “underscoring the risks that remain,” the IAEA Director General’s statement concluded.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and within a few days he conquered the area around the Zaporizhia plant. The complex was attacked by gunfire and lost power eight times. Both Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of wanting to cause a nuclear catastrophe.
(With information from AFP and EFE)