2023-07-07 03:00:19
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky once more saidthat the Russian military had installed objects similar to explosives at the power units of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, and warned that Russia was preparing a provocation at the captured plant. The fact that these objects really exist was confirmed by the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty and the Schemes investigative project: on Planet.com satellite images taken on the morning of July 5, new objects are really visible on the roof of the 4th power unit, which were not there for two more days back. It was regarding the mining of this block by the Russian army on Tuesday that the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. According to the headquarters, the roof of the 3rd power unit of the station was also mined.
The Russian side, namely the representative of Rosenergoatom, while statementsilt on the air of the federal TV channel “Russia-24” that the station might be attacked by Ukraine on the night of the fifth of July. The Ukrainian authorities categorically deny this intention and compare the current situation with the one that arose in connection with the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station on June 6. Then Russia also mined the dam, but blamed Kyiv for the attack on the station.
What is happening at the Zaporozhye NPP and what is the probability of a nuclear catastrophe? The ex-deputy minister of fuel and energy of Ukraine, the former chief engineer of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant told the present time regarding this Nikolai Shteinberg.
The expert told what is the probability of a nuclear catastrophe at the ZNPP
– Some objects are visible on satellite images on the roof of the fourth power unit. If you’ve seen these pictures, do you understand what it might be?
“I’m not an expert in these matters. Anything: a piece of material, a bucket painted white.
– Image resolution is not very high. Therefore, it is really difficult to make out what it is. But anyway, if Zelensky and Ukrainian intelligence are right, and if it is explosives, what is under the roof of these power units? What’s below?
– These are machine rooms, below there are turbines: the turbine hall of the fourth block, the turbine hall of the third block. It’s on the roof of the turbine shops. There are no radioactive materials in these rooms.
– If the Ukrainian General Staff talks regarding mining these roofs of two power units, explosions on roofs – is it dangerous from the point of view of radiation safety?
– I say once more: there are no radioactive materials specifically in these rooms. But there is enough oil, hundreds of kilometers of cables that will burn. It is completely pointless to discuss what, where is mined or not mined.
In accordance with the laws of Ukraine, with the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Installations – this is a global Convention that has been signed by almost 200 states – the station has been in a state of continuous terrorist attack since March 4, 2022. As soon as the physical protection of the station is violated and at least one person appears on the territory who is not allowed there in accordance with certain procedures, this is called a terrorist act. Today, the station has been in this state for almost a year and a half. And it will remain in this state, regardless of whether there are explosives or not, until the station is once more placed in full under the physical protection of Ukraine.
SEE ALSO: “Everything around is mined”. Nuclear safety expert on the worst-case scenario in the explosion at the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
– Can the IAEA achieve this?
“We have to win the war in order to achieve this. It is impossible to achieve this in other ways. Here is the real situation.
The most dangerous situation, from my point of view, was from March 4 to mid-September last year, when the units were working at full capacity, they lost external power supply several times, and then the units were on the verge of a severe failure. That’s when we might have a scenario like Chernobyl or Fukushima. Today such scenarios cannot exist. Yes, today there can be serious consequences if radioactive waste storage facilities, fuel storage facilities and so on are blown up somewhere. It’s possible, but it’s a radius in kilometers, not tens or hundreds of kilometers. A certain volume of radioactive products can pass downstream of the Dnieper, flow into the Black Sea. But these are not the quantities that should be attributed to catastrophic consequences. But the station itself is in a permanent state of terrorist attack.
– If all of a sudden Ukrainian intelligence is not mistaken, in terms of danger to power units, what kind of danger do the actions of the Russian military pose? Undermining the power units themselves is possible?
– I don’t know what they have in those trucks that are in the turbine halls. From a technical point of view, everything is possible. Who is there to stop them from doing what? Every person with a weapon on the territory of the station, if he does not belong to the physical protection service, is a terrorist by definition. And what he carries with him – no one knows. There is heavy equipment. What’s in this technique?
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– Among other things, we saw footage with equipment right on top of the power units, in the turbine halls.
– No, I didn’t see the power units from above, but in the turbine halls there are KAMAZ trucks closed, loaded with something. Or maybe they are empty, or maybe there are explosives. Nobody knows. Therefore, there is this psychological struggle with each other, which is covered by the umbrella of the Director General of the IAEA, who has been playing his provocative role since the first days of this catastrophe. Here is the real situation today.
The world is still looking at all this through half-closed eyes: it was not even surprised by the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. And this is a violation of the same Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Vienna Protocols to it of 1977, which categorically prohibit the conduct of hostilities in the area where powerful dams and nuclear facilities are located, since this can lead to catastrophic consequences for the population.
– And if we talk regarding the explosion in the engine room, is this already a radiation hazard?
– No, there is no radiation hazard. Well, fragments can fly somewhere, catch something. Guys are walking around with guns. What do they have in their pockets? What’s in these boxes? Hard to say. The engine room is the hardest problem in terms of severe fire. There’s too much oil in there.
– But can nuclear fuel be damaged?
No, there is no nuclear fuel there. There is no nuclear fuel or radioactive waste in the turbine halls.
– If we talk regarding damage, for example, to the control center? Does it pose risks?
– Undoubtedly. The control center is therefore called the control center. From there comes the management of the entire station, there is a shift management team, and control systems themselves. At the station, everything presents a certain risk. This is a power plant, plus a nuclear one. Everything there is a risk. Therefore, the staff of the highest qualification works there – we were convinced of this in a year and a half. Therefore, there is such a powerful physical protection, which is protected by international conventions. No stranger, not checked at the entrance every time, can appear there. And hundreds of armed people from another state roam there.
SEE ALSO: “Nuclear plants were never built with military threats in mind.” About Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant Safety – Nuclear Energy Expert
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