External protection of Chornobyl NPP compromised after drone strike – IAEA
6 December 13:02
The protective function of the new safe confinement at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was compromised after a drone strike on the plant’s containment in February.
This is stated in a press release from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which last week sent a team of experts to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to assess the safety of the protective structure, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“The mission confirmed that the NSC has lost its basic safety functions, including the ability to localize [radiation], but also found that its supporting structures or monitoring systems have not been irreversibly damaged,” the organization said in a statement.
on February 14, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russian troops had attacked the NSC with a combat drone with an explosive warhead. As a result of the strike, the NSC sustained “significant damage” and a fire broke out, which was quickly extinguished. The Ukrainian president also posted a video showing the drone crashing into a protective structure designed to protect the environment from the spread of radiation. At the time, the IAEA reported that there were no signs of a breach of the Chernobyl NPP’s containment.
“Limited temporary repairs have been made to the [NSC] roof, but timely and comprehensive restoration remains crucial to prevent further damage and ensure long-term nuclear safety,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on December 5.
The Agency recommended further restoration and protective work on the NSC structure, including measures to control moisture and corrosion, as well as to modernize the integrated automatic monitoring system of the Shelter (the old protective structure). Next year, with the support of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), additional repair work will be carried out at the ChNPP to restore the NSC localization functions, the IAEA added.
The NSC is a huge metal “sarcophagus” that was erected over the old protective structure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, damaged by the explosion at Unit 4 in 1986, and was put into operation in 2019. The purpose of the structure is to isolate the destroyed unit from the environment and protect it from the spread of radioactive dust and aerosols.
