Chernobyl nuclear plant loses power, again prompting fears of a radiation leak

Power to the Chernobyl nuclear plant in northern Ukraine was unexpectedly severed amid Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, prompting fears that radioactive substances could be released because they said the plant needs power to cool its spent nuclear fuel.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, however, said it poses “no critical impact on safety” because there is enough water to cool the material without electricity.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator, said that the Chernobyl plant “was fully disconnected from the power grid” and that Russia’s ongoing military assault meant “there is no possibility to restore the lines.”

Ukrenergo said that emergency diesel generators at the plant had been turned on, but that fuel will last for only 48 hours.

Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, has been closed since the 1986 meltdown. But it still contains nuclear fuel that could pose a radiation threat.

If not properly cooled, Ukrenergo said, the warming of the fuel could result in the “release of radioactive substances into the environment,” which “could be carried by wind to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Europe.”

However, the IAEA, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency, said that “in this case” it sees “no critical impact on safety.”

“Heat load of spent fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water” at Chernobyl is “sufficient for effective heat removal without need for electrical supply,” the IAEA wrote.

Late last month, Russian forces took control of the area near the Chernobyl site. At the time, the IAEA said it was of “vital importance that the safe and secure operations of the zone’s nuclear facilities should not be affected or disrupted in any way.”

Last week, a fire broke out at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, after Russian troops shelled it, prompting fears of a Chernobyl-like disaster.

Russia seized control of the area around the plant, but the IAEA said the plant’s staff was continuing to ensure its operations.