Greenpeace raises the alarm: occupiers plan to restart ZNPP, which poses a risk of nuclear disaster
The Russian Federation announced that it plans to restart the operation of the occupied Ukrainian Zaporizhzhya NPP and warned the IAEA about it.
The restart of the occupied Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia NPP could lead to a nuclear disaster at the facility. This was reported by Sean Burney, a nuclear specialist at Greenpeace.
Over the past month, we have seen signals that Rosatom is planning to restart Zaporizhzhia NPP. In a document handed over to the IAEA last week, the Russian government reveals its plans to build a new pumping station at the ZNPP… since the Russians destroyed the Kakhovka reservoir. Water from it cooled the ZNPP.
Sean Burney, Nuclear Issues Specialist at Greenpeace
Bernie noted that currently there are no trained and experienced Ukrainian personnel working at ZNPP, and from time to time the plant is completely de-energized, meaning that there have been no safe conditions at the facility for a long time. And with the restart, the security level will be even lower.
Greenpeace does not trust Rosatom
“A catastrophe can happen very quickly, and the Russians do not have specialists we trust. We don’t trust Rosatom and the Russian regulator, we don’t believe they can work safely in Ukraine,” he concluded.
He emphasized that the Russians plan to restart one of the power units by December this year.
According to Sean Burney, in the IAEA reports on the situation at ZNPP in recent months, the Agency did not take a position against restarting. They say that this may not be a good idea and that security measures should be taken.
The idea is that Rosatom assures us that it will be safe, that they are carrying out repairs at the plant, etc. However, this is a lie,” the expert emphasized.
