Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant status

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IAEA Director General’s Statement on Serious Situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant

9/9/2022

Today, I have learned from IAEA staff on the site of the serious situation that developed last night at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).

The power infrastructure feeding the city of Enerhodar, home to the NPP’s operators and their families, has been destroyed by shelling of the switchyard at the city’s thermal power plant, leading to a complete power black-out in Enerhodar: no running water, no power, no sewage.

Given the increased and continued shelling, there is little likelihood of re-establishing reliable offsite power to the ZNPP, especially as the shelling continually and repeatedly damages the power infrastructure.

As a result, the IAEA understands that the operator, having no longer confidence in the restoration of offsite power, is considering shutting down the only remaining operating reactor. The entire power plant would then be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators for ensuring vital nuclear safety and security functions. And as a consequence, the operator would not be able to re-start the reactors unless offsite power was reliably re-established.

Furthermore, there are indications that, with the increasingly dire circumstances that the people of Energodar are facing, there is the significant risk of an impact on the availability of essential staff on site to continue to safely and securely operate ZNPP.

This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious. Enerhodar has gone dark. The power plant has no offsite power. And we have seen that once infrastructure is repaired, it is damaged once again.

This is completely unacceptable. It cannot stand.

I therefore urgently call for the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area. Only this will ensure the safety and security of operating staff and allow the durable restoration of power to Enerhodar and to the power plant.

This dramatic development demonstrates the absolute imperative to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone now.

This is the only way to ensure that we do not face a nuclear accident.

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/director-generals…

Ukrainian nuclear power plant operators have been operating and trying to keep these reactors safe even after the Russian military invaded the site and held the Ukrainian operators as hostages. IMO, the Russians hope that Ukrainian operators leave so that they can bring in Russian operators and claim Ukrainians are incompetent. But the Russians know “diddly squat” about these reactors and the supporting systems. It is a dangerous situation. If Russians take over these reactors we may see some cores melting and radioactive materials released to the atmosphere.

Jaak

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Jaak,

This is not in my wheelhouse. Earlier today listening to NPR this was seen as a crisis because the plant needs to cool down over a longer period than the ten days worth of diesel fuel will allow.

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Jaak,

This is not in my wheelhouse. Earlier today listening to NPR this was seen as a crisis because the plant needs to cool down over a longer period than the ten days worth of diesel fuel will allow.

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Of course a nuclear reactor that has been generating electricity needs electricity to power the cooling water pumps for much more than 10 days after it stops generating electricity. The electricity is usually provided by off site power. When there is a loss of off site power, then the only way to power the cooling water pumps is diesel generators. The plant will need much more than 10 days of diesel fuel to cool down a reactor and keep it cool.

Jaak

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Of course a nuclear reactor that has been generating electricity needs electricity to power the cooling water pumps for much more than 10 days after it stops generating electricity. The electricity is usually provided by off site power. When there is a loss of off site power, then the only way to power the cooling water pumps is diesel generators. The plant will need much more than 10 days of diesel fuel to cool down a reactor and keep it cool.

Factoid: The Chernobyl nuclear power plants emergency diesel generators had a minute or two time lag between when power failed and when they kicked in. Obviously, this time lag is a major safety concern. The pragmatic Russians were trying to figure out if they could generate emergency power from the reactor during shutdown mode.

Answer is no.

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Of course a nuclear reactor that has been generating electricity needs electricity to power the cooling water pumps for much more than 10 days after it stops generating electricity. The electricity is usually provided by off site power. When there is a loss of off site power, then the only way to power the cooling water pumps is diesel generators. The plant will need much more than 10 days of diesel fuel to cool down a reactor and keep it cool.

There are things that could be done, if they are creative about it. Just thinking…

  1. They could get some more diesel fuel. Its probably just #2 diesel. It may not meet the high quality fuel specifications they would normally want, but it would work in a pinch. The emergency diesel engines I am familiar with in the US are just converted railroad locomotive engines. Nothing too fancy. They just need to start and run when they are needed.

  2. If they are on the diesel generators with no offsite power, they could off-load the reactor cores into their respective spent fuel pools during those 10 days. Then, once all of the fuel is in the pools, it is just a matter of keeping enough water in the pools to keep the fuel covered. Again, the water may not be the high quality demineralized water they would normally want, but its still water for cooling. The longer the cores are shut down, the lower the amount of heat generated.

It should also be remembered that IAEA inspectors are on-site. Those people are in contact with outside agencies in the UN and other organizations. If they wanted to helicopter in some diesel fuel in barrels, I bet it could happen. If the Russians shot down the helicopter, well that is escalation, and I am not convinced they want escalation of that sort. What are the real Russian (Putin) motives at this point? I don’t know. Does Putin want to intentionally cause a major meltdown scenario? That would potentially contaminate a large area of Ukraine farmland, which is supposedly one the things Putin wants to control.

Too many scare stories are being spread by the usual fear-mongers. Its a serious situation, but try to keep some perspective.

  • Pete
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waterfell,

  1. Of course the logical and simplest fix is to bring in diesel fuel.

  2. I would not start unloading the fuel because the plant is only operating on diesel generators. All the cranes, ventilation, lights and systems required for fuel unloading would take away power needed to cool fuel in the reactors. Also I am not sure that 1) the diesel generators can by aligned for powering the fuel unloading equipment and systems and 2) do the diesel generators have the capacity to do this work.

In a meltdown scenario, the contamination will most likely spread to the East (Donbas) and Russia by prevailing winds.

Jaak

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I would not start unloading the fuel because the plant is only operating on diesel generators. All the cranes, ventilation, lights and systems required for fuel unloading would take away power needed to cool fuel in the reactors.

The power requirements for lights and operating the refueling machine are small compared to the pumps and other emergency equipment that the diesels would normally be designed to supply. As long as the plants are normally shut down, many of the emergency loads would not be required. As I recall, the diesel generators are somewhere in the 2 to 5 MW range in the US.

There are ways to cross-tie electrical buses together, either with existing equipment, or with temporary cables, if they need to. If it means keeping the plants safe, the operators will do what they need to do. As I wrote earlier, the IAEA is there to support, as needed. I don’t expect the IAEA inspectors to know much about the specifics of VVERs, but they can probably contact people who do know about such things.

  • Pete
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There are ways to cross-tie electrical buses together, either with existing equipment, or with temporary cables, if they need to. If it means keeping the plants safe, the operators will do what they need to do. As I wrote earlier, the IAEA is there to support, as needed. I don’t expect the IAEA inspectors to know much about the specifics of VVERs, but they can probably contact people who do know about such things.

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We will see if they really do open up the reactor and unload the fuel from the reactor. If they do, then the control room, containment and auxiliary building ventilation and cooling systems must operate on the diesel generators in addition to all the control room I&C systems and other safety related loads.

There are rules about connecting safety grade and non-safety grade equipment and systems on the emergency diesel generators. They would not want to damage any safety grade equipment and systems with non-safety grade equipment and systems.

IAEA inspectors do know many of the specifics of VVERs. But IAEA inspectors will not personally operate any equipment or systems at the reactor plants or fly in diesel fuel.

Jaak

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We will see if they really do open up the reactor and unload the fuel from the reactor.

I am not saying I think that is what they will do. As a matter of fact, I think it unlikely they will do that. I was just offering some possibilities of what could be done. There are other scenarios for ensuring adequate cooling of the core fuel.

A larger question, in my opinion, is why are the Russians shelling a power plant on land that the Russians supposedly currently control? If they want to seize productive agricultural land from Ukraine to feed the Russian people, why would Putin want to radiologically contaminate that land?

There are several scenarios involving bluffs, that I don’t need to get into here. Our real knowledge is actually very limited, no matter how much people enjoy speculating.

  • Pete
5 Likes
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There are several scenarios involving bluffs, that I don’t need to get into here. Our real knowledge is actually very limited, no matter how much people enjoy speculating.

  • Pete

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I do not know what scenarios involving bluffs you are making up in your mind. The IAEA is very clear on what is happening at the plant and it is not good. The Europeans need the Russian military to leave the plant and make the area a non-combat zone.

Jaak

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The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant now has three separate outside electrical supplies. This greatly cuts down on the need to run the emergency diesel generators.

From the IAEA…
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-102-iae…

Ukrainian engineers have made further headway in repairing vital power infrastructure in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), providing the plant with renewed access to a third back-up power line, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed at the site today.

The 150 kilovolt (kV) back-up line was made available to the ZNPP again after the repair of an electrical switchyard at a nearby thermal power plant, a few days after it was damaged by shelling that also plunged the city of Enerhodar into darkness.

This means that all three back-up power lines to the ZNPP – Europe’s largest nuclear power plant – have been restored over the past few days. One of them, a 750/330 kilovolt (kV) line, is now providing the ZNPP with the external electricity it needs for cooling and other essential safety functions. The 330 kV and the 150 kV lines are being held in reserve.

  • Pete
7 Likes