The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported the destruction of the ZNPP external radiation monitoring station, which is currently under Russian occupation.
Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi stated that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) had informed the IAEA that the external radiation monitoring station was destroyed by shelling and fire last week, further reducing the effectiveness of its off-site capabilities to detect and measure any radioactive releases during an emergency.
He stressed that this had further reduced the ability to detect and measure any radioactive releases during a possible emergency at ZNPP.
Communication with the monitoring station located about 16 kilometres southwest of the plant was lost on June 24 afternoon. Due to shelling, the IAEA team was unable to access the site to confirm the damage.
The IAEA noted that of the 14 radiation monitoring stations in the 30-kilometre zone around the plant, four were completely lost, and some others were not working at various times due to damage.
Grossi pointed out that the operation of external radiation monitoring equipment was an important part of nuclear safety around the world.
“The loss of one radiation monitoring station does not have a direct impact on safety at the ZNPP, but it forms part of a continuous erosion of a range of safety measures during the war that remains a deep source of concern,” he said. (Ukrinform)