Ukrainian Nuclear Plant Building That Stores ‘Radioactive Waste’ Damaged, U.N. Watchdog Finds
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday it found the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, to have suffered damage to the building that houses “fresh nuclear fuel and the solid radioactive waste storage facility.”
The plant is the largest nuclear facility in Europe, and experts have warned about the impending threat it poses, given the repeated damage it has endured during the Russia-Ukraine war. It has been under Russian control since March, and Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations about who is causing damage to the building, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky calling the attacks “Russian nuclear terror.”
The IAEA, after visiting the plant onsite, reported damage “close to reactor buildings” including “the special building that houses, among other items, the fresh nuclear fuel and the solid radioactive waste storage facility.”
A picture showed the roof of the building that houses “solid radioactive waste” with a large hole in it caused by shelling.
“The radiation levels in the area remained normal,” the report added.
“The ongoing shelling has not yet triggered a nuclear emergency,” the IAEA stated, but added that it’s a “constant threat to nuclear safety and security” and may lead to the “unlimited release of radioactive materials the the environment.”
On Saturday, the IAEA reported that the nuclear power plant had lost connection to its remaining external power line and was receiving electricity from a reserve line. The plant has previously lost power due to shelling.
The nuclear watchdog recommended that all shelling around the plant stop, and for all relevant parties to agree to “the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around” the plant.
National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby has also said the White House is in favor of establishing a demilitarized zone around the nuclear plant.
