New alarm for the “possible release of radioactive substances” from the Chernobyl reactor, where on April 26, 1986, when Ukraine was still the Soviet Union, a series of errors led to the most disastrous nuclear accident in history. Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom, which manages the four nuclear power plants across the country, says Chernobyl is without electricity and this could prevent spent nuclear fuel from cooling, leading to the release of radioactive substances.
“No critical impact on safety”, assures for now the International Atomic Energy Agency, which on Wednesday morning however confirmed the loss of “control contacts” with the power plant, or the interruption of the “remote data transmission contact with safeguard systems “.
The power outage at the Chernobyl power plant “will shortly cause the cooling systems of the nuclear fuel storage facility to shut down, making the radiation leak imminent,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba wrote on Twitter, urging the international community to urgently ask Russia to cease fire and allow technicians to repair the electricity grid that powers the nuclear power plant.
Cooling at risk
“The backup diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Thereafter, the cooling systems of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility will shut down, making radiation leaks imminent. Putin’s barbaric war endangers the whole of Europe. It must be stopped immediately, ”Kuleba asked.
Immediate intervention by the Agency, which throws water on the fire. The IAEA points out that it was informed by the Ukrainian authorities of the power cut. “About 20,000 drums of spent fuel are stored in the storage facility and need constant cooling, which is only possible if there is electricity,” Energoatom said in a statement.