Both Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the damage from the bombings, with fears of radioactive fallout at the site. In his analysis of the safety and security of Europe’s largest nuclear plant, International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi described “seven pillars” for assessing the situation, with a system of colored traffic lights. Mr Grossi led an IAEA team that visited the plant to check how secure it is after it was seized by Russia early in the invasion and the welfare of Ukrainian staff still working there. Speaking in Vienna, Austria, he said six of his UN nuclear watchdog experts were staying and the agency was setting up a permanent presence at the plant, where two would continue their work there. Image: IAEA sets seven ‘necessary pillars’ Putin ‘forced to change plans’ after failure – Ukraine war live updates Here are the “seven pillars”: :: 1. Physical integrity of facilities – “a big red”. There was military activity around the plant. The team has seen impact holes and marks on buildings from bombings. It means the physical integrity of the facility has been breached not once but many times, Mr. Grossi argued. He told reporters: “It is obvious that there is a lot of fighting in the area.” Speaking of an increase in military activity in the area, he said “this worries me a lot”, adding that the shelling began in August and there was a possibility of more physical damage to the plant. :: 2. Safety systems – orange. He said “most of them are up and running relatively well, but there have been outages, some of them related to the physical breakage of cables … and some systems that haven’t fully come back into place.” :: 3. Operating conditions for personnel – orange/red. He said this was one of the main points of concern amid the “unprecedented situation” of Ukrainian operators working at the plant in the presence of Russian nuclear experts and military forces. Mr Grossi said it was not classified as fully red because the plant continues to operate and “there is a professional way of working”. He added: “The plant is working, there is a professional relationship between these experts – they are all nuclear experts, so they know what they are doing, they know what they are talking about. But they are human, so they have sides in a war that affects them and their families.” Image: A Russian soldier stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant :: 4. Off site power supply – orange/red. He said: “If you don’t have off-site power, the cooling systems for the reactors can’t work, and if they can’t work, that could lead to a major accident.” There have been several instances where there have been power outages or outages in one or two lines supplying the plant from outside. Two lines are currently operating, he added. :: 5. Logistics Chains – Green/Amber. This category looks at supplies and things like spare parts, all of which are necessary for a large industrial facility. “We’ve been doing quite a bit of research on this – we’ve been talking to people on the ground – and the impression they’ve given us is that there are no problems,” Mr Grossi said. :: 6. Radiation monitoring and emergency response – green/red. There were some outages, hence the green/red situation, he said, adding that some systems were working well, so “we’re seeing a mix.” :: 7. Reliable communications with regulator – orange. An “operational operation with some difficulties”, according to Mr Grossi. Speaking shortly after Mr Grossi’s announcement, Sky News security and defense editor Deborah Haines said: “He went into the factory despite a number of bombing attacks in the surrounding town yesterday morning, a high risk for the team. , and yet underscoring how critical the mission is, they went ahead. “His assessment was incredibly interesting. He had this diagram where he was trying to document as clearly as possible the different elements of such a complex facility as Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. “Clearly the physical integrity of this plant had this big red color, it has been hit many times by bombing. “It was interesting that he said the violence around the factory has really been a problem in the last month, a sign that the intensity of the fighting is really increasing the risk to the factory itself. “He then noted the various other items, particularly stressing the concern about the power supply to the plant, that is clearly a vulnerability. “He said that the reactors themselves, which are obviously the core of this facility, are very durable, but the facility’s power supplies that provide the cooling mechanisms that are so vital to keeping the plant safe, had they been knocked out by the fighting , that would be a huge problem.”
