SPECIAL REPORT | CHRONICLE OF A TRAGEDY
V each of the “hosts” demanded the mission travel only through the territory under its control. Nonetheless, at the end of August, the mission arrived in Kyiv, then at the regional centre of Zaporizhzhia, and on 1 September moved towards the station. From the Russia perspective a desirable outcome of the
mission would be to confirm that the station was doing just fine under the “new conditions”. Some attempts were made to disrupt the mission – on that day, shelling began on the line of movement of the mission. The station was shelled – one unit was scrammed, one unit remained in operation, and the 330 kV line was damaged. Early in the morning, terrible shelling of the city began again – in the same district that had been hit three days previously. By noon, when it became clear that Grossi’s team would
persist and not give up the goal of getting to the station, the shelling stopped. This required a ceasefire guarantee from the Russian military at the highest level. The mission stayed at the station for about three hours. The Russians showed the territory and even the turbine halls with their military vehicles, supposedly intended for chemical protection. Grossi issued a statement saying “we managed to collect a lot of important information.” Later, the IAEA issued a report in which it demanded the creation of a security zone around the territory of Zaporizhzhia NPP. Grossi has started negotiations to reach this goal but it is clear that such negotiations can take years. Reactor operators are under incredible strain, while artillery shells fall on the reactor site and the operating unit has been scrammed, the city is also being shelled. Where the operator’s home and family sleep bombs explode and windows fly out. There are many such stories and many citizens have not survived this horror. Following this pounding a new wave of a mass exodus from the city began. After all, what happened twice will definitely happen the third time. And if today a shell hit a neighbouring house then tomorrow it could hit yours. For the citizens of Energodar, this IAEA mission will always be associated with the terrible shelling of the city.
Disconnection of the station and complete blackout The stress associated with the mission subsided but the life of the nuclear staff has not become much calmer. Periodic shelling of the station has continued. During one occasion,
the unit transformer, the auxiliary transformers, and the line of connection with the switchgear were all damaged. This resulted in a power outage at the unit and another start cycle for the diesel generators. Units were disconnected more than once due to cut power lines. To keep the last operating unit at minimum power, the personnel were even forced to start up the station mechanisms, such as, for example, the pumps of the cooling pond were switched to their maximum output. Taking into account the basics of nuclear safety and the
necessary conservative approach, the station had to be shut down as the threat of further military action loomed.. But what seems rational for one reactor is not so clear for
a large nuclear power plant that provides a quarter of the electricity of a large country. Zaporizhzhia is also perceived by many as an important symbol of military resistance. In early September, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said he would not consider a controlled shutdown of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, given that as winter approaches, it provides energy to two regions of Ukraine. But gradually came the understanding that the huge efforts to connect units to the grid are not justified – a disconnection can occur at any moment. Repair of lines involves significant risk to personnel and is not warranted. Considerations of real safety and technology have become more important than considerations of completely unreliable power generation. Military and political considerations also receded into the background – after all, the occupied nuclear plant, which operated for Ukraine for six months, was a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. On 11 September, the last operating unit of Zaporizhzhia
nuclear plant was disconnected from the grid and transferred to a cold state. The plant was shut down and turned from a powerful electricity producer into a consumer. Another page of its sad, at this stage, history turned. Of course, a cold shutdown is a much safer state than
operating a plant at full power. Nuclear professionals worldwide are no doubt breathing a sign of relief, but it’s still a very depressing story. Only the world-famous stories from 1979, 1986 and 2011 were worse. Technically, the station is still alive. The cold state is,
in the current conditions, like an artificial coma but there is a huge amount of nuclear fuel in all six reactors and at the near-reactor spent fuel pools. All this fuel continues
Right: War has come to a nuclear site Photo credit: Energoatom
22 | November 2022 |
www.neimagazine.com
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