IAEA says shelling at Zaporizhzhia NPP caused no 'immediate threat to nuclear safety'

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety after the shelling incident that occurred on Saturday near the dry spent fuel storage facility at the country’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). As per the statement issued by the UN nuclear watchdog, IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi informed that while the shelling caused some damage, radiation measurements showed normal levels at the site.

Ukraine has accused Russian forces of launching missile attacks at Zaporizhzhya NPP, resulting in the destruction of buildings and damage to the communication cables that were part of its radiation detection sensors. On the other hand, Russia has accused Ukraine of launching a series of targeted attacks hitting the sensitive nuclear plant area.

On August 7, the military-civilian administration of Energodar city, located in the north-western part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in Ukraine, accused Ukrainian forces of launching a 220 mm Uragan rocket with a cluster warhead. The Russian officials said that the Ukrainian strike damaged the station's administrative buildings and the repository’s adjacent territory. The Ukrainian military bombarded the Zaporzhye NPP on August 5 and 6, claimed local authorities.

IAEA chief says shelling at Zaporizhzhia NPP caused no 'immediate threat'

IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi stated, "Based on the information provided by Ukraine, IAEA experts assessed that there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety as a result of Saturday’s incident."

"The shelling incidents on Friday and Saturday at the ZNPP breached virtually all the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars that the Director General outlined at the beginning of the conflict," read the statement on the IAEA's website.

Grossi said, "Saturday evening's incident showed how the war had also compromised nuclear safety security pillars related to emergency preparedness and response arrangements as well as communications." He further noted, "After the incident, the plant staff restricted access to the ZNPP’s on-site crisis centre, potentially impacting response activities in case of an emergency even if access to an off-site centre remained possible." The Ukrainian regulator informed the IAEA that communications with ZNPP were "very limited and fragmentary".

Expressing grave concern over the shelling incident, Grossi asserted, "Any military action jeopardising nuclear safety and security must stop." He emphasised the need for an IAEA expert mission to go to the power plant and help stabilise the nuclear safety and security situation.

(Image: AP/Representative)