Ukrainian Chernobyl staff have begun to rotate after four weeks

Workers Ukrainians from the old Chernobyl nuclear plant, in northern Ukraine and controlled by Russian troops, have begun to rotate after almost a month has passed without leaving the facility, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Sunday.

In a statement, the agency UN responsible for ensuring the peaceful use of nuclear energy specifies that half of the staff of Chernobyl could”Finally” return to their homes and be replaced “by other Ukrainian personnel.”

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The staff at that plant, where the biggest nuclear accident in history took place in 1986, had been working tirelessly since February 23, the day before the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the day Russian troops attacked and took control of the old plant.

After having expressed in recent days his concern about the situation of the operators of Chernobylthe general manager of IAEARaphael Grossi, “welcomed the news of the partial rotation of staff”, which started this morning, the note states.

Grossi highlighted the importance of the tasks that these workers were carrying out in the management of radioactive waste from the damaged plant, “under immensely stressful and exhausting conditions, in the presence of foreign military forces and without adequate rest.”

The “difficult situation” Chernobyl staff have faced in recent weeks”it has endangered one of the seven essential pillars of nuclear safety” presented by Grossi at the beginning of the month, and which establishes that “Operating staff must be able to fulfill their safety and security duties, and have the ability to make decisions without undue pressure.”

The Director General continues to hold consultations to agree on an IAEA assistance framework to ensure the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, the note said.

With regard to the situation of the central Zaporizhiain the south of the country, the repair of two electrical connections has made it possible to progressively increase energy production until reaching two thirds of its maximum capacity, of about 1,000 megawatts of electricity.

Like Chernobyl, this plant, the largest in Europe, is controlled by Russian forces (since March 4), while the personnel working there are Ukrainian.

Zaporizhia It now has three external high-voltage power lines, including a standby, and the country’s regulator reiterated that its security systems are “fully operational.”

The situation is normal in the other three operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine.

“Eight of the 15 reactors in the country are still operating” and radiation levels at all plants are “in the normal range”, specifies the IAEA.

Regarding the remote data transmission of the surveillance system, the IAEA points out that the situation is the same as on Saturday, namely that it has still not received the data from Chernobylwhile transmission is regular from the four operating plants.

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Source: Elcomercio

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