Hydrogen Leak Threatens Nuclear Plant in Ukraine

Ukrainian nuclear power operator Enerhoatom has urged the world to act quickly to force Russia to give back control of Europe’s largest nuclear power facility.

In a statement on its Telegram channel, Enerhoatom said: “Ukraine is calling on the international community to take immediate measures to force Russia to release the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and hand over the power plant to the control of Ukraine for the sake of the safety of the whole world.”

A hydrogen leak at Zaporizhzhia NPP is threatening Ukraine and all the world with a nuclear disaster.

Last week’s shelling of the plant by Russian troops caused a serious risk to the plant’s safe operation.

The result is that Zaporizhzhia NPP is operating with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety regulations. “There are still risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances, and the danger of fire breaking out is also high,” Enerhoatom said on its Telegram channel on August 11, 2022.

It added that the Ukrainian staff at the station continue to work and make efforts to safeguard nuclear and radiation safety and to eliminate the consequences of damage caused by shelling. However, the nuclear plant is still occupied and controlled by the Russian military.

Zaporizhzhia NPP has been held by Russian forces since March, when it was captured. They have placed military equipment and ammunition on the plant’s site.

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On August 5-6, Russian forces shelled the plant’s infrastructure, attacking a dry storage facility holding nuclear waste, where 174 containers are stored, each containing spent nuclear fuel.

Three radiation monitoring sensors around the ZNPP site were damaged by the Russian rocket attacks. Therefore, timely detection and response in case of deterioration of the radiation situation or leakage of radiation from containers of spent nuclear fuel are currently impossible.