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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not yet determined the cause of the fire at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which broke out in a cooling tower in the occupied southern region of Ukraine on Sunday. Experts of the UN agency, contrary to claims by Ukraine or Russian officials, found neither tires nor drone wreckage at the fire site.
Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said IAEA experts inspected the cooling tower area on Monday. He said it was unlikely that the fire had started in the lower part of the power plant’s cooling tower, the German news agency dpa reported.
“While inspecting the cooling tower, the team determined that the damage was most likely to occur at the level of the water manifold, approximately ten meters high inside the cooling tower,” Grossi explained, adding that for safety reasons they did not inspect the level of the water manifold or the base of the cooling tower, but that was still planned.
The fire did not affect nuclear safety
Grossi assured that the fire will not affect the nuclear safety of the nuclear power plant, as the cooling tower is not currently in operation and is not needed as part of the reactor cooling mechanism, and the reactor is in cold operation.
Grossi also explained that they were able to obtain samples from the fire scene, including burning and melting plastics. They also processed the smell produced by the fire. Since it does not contain sulfur, it is speculated that the plastic will catch fire.
Photo: Leonhard Fogh/Reuters
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of being responsible for a fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant on Sunday.
According to the Russian version of events, the fire was caused by a Ukrainian combat drone. On the Ukrainian side, the head of the Nikopol Military Administration, not far from the power plant, cited unnamed sources as saying that the Russians burned car tires in the cooling tower.
According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the IAEA found neither tires nor drone wreckage during its inspection.
Grossi assured that the accident would not affect the safety of the power plant. “The team carried out radiation monitoring in the cooling tower and reactor areas and found no elevated radiation levels,” he said.
Russian forces seized the plant shortly after the invasion began in late February 2022. Although the reactors have been idle and not generating electricity since then, they need to be cooled.
Due to its proximity to the front line, the power plant area has become a target of artillery fire many times.
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