Power Outages at Occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Raise Nuclear Accident Risks

On September 23, at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, a repeated breach of safety conditions was recorded: the main power supply is absent. This development creates a risk of a nuclear accident if the occupying forces do not take appropriate measures.

Power is currently provided by emergency diesel generators – these are safety systems, and they are operating. This state of the plant is called an emergency situation. It is a violation of safe operating conditions of the plant, in which no accident has yet occurred. But the next step, if nothing is done, could be a nuclear accident with consequences

The Russian occupiers at the plant site have not restored the last 750 kV power line or the 330 kV backup line, which threatens further escalation and dependence on a foreign energy system.

According to the expert, inaction could repeat the Fukushima scenario: diesel generators run for a certain period, but prolonged load could lead to emergency situations with a high risk to the active zone and to the population.

Create conditions under which they could, by connecting to the Russian grid, activate powerful pumps that would heat the water of the first and second loops, reach normal parameters, and this would allow them to go to full power, bringing the reactor installation of one or perhaps two units to power with the aim, again, as experts call it, to ignite the active zone, i.e., the fuel, so that the chain reaction of fission would restart and again radioactive elements would accumulate in the active zones, which when compacted could release into the surrounding environment and pose a threat to humanity

Oleh Dudar also stressed that the Ukrainian management of Zaporizhzhia NPP and Energoatom representatives have yet to approach the national regulator to request increased international pressure regarding the blackout at the plant.

They believe that if the national operator stays silent, if the national regulator stays silent, then everything is fine. And the Russians also say nothing, because this suits them; they do their business, they fully control the situation, and this is unacceptable. We must, we have to take control of the situation. And therefore this raises a lot of questions

Context of the Zaporizhzhia NPP blackout and its consequences

According to experts, September 23 marked the tenth blackout since the start of the occupation. Nuclear energy expert Olha Kosharna notes that the outage occurred in the context of Russia’s plans to connect the plant to the Russian power system.

Loss of the last power line of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP on September 23 was caused by deliberate sabotage by Russian troops

The head of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate Oleh Korikov emphasized that ignoring nuclear safety requirements and attacks on power lines may lead to events under the worst-case scenario, since diesel fuel reserves for the generators are unknown.

Ignoring the occupiers’ nuclear safety requirements and attacks on power lines may lead to events under the worst-case scenario, since diesel fuel reserves for the generators are unknown

The overall situation at Zaporizhzhia NPP remains a topic of international discussion: the plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and its control has global implications for the stability of the region’s energy system.