In News:

• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for fighting to be halted in a security zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

What’s in Today’s Article:

• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
• News Summary

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

• The IAEA is the international centre for cooperation in the nuclear field.
• It is widely known as the world’s “Atoms for Peace and Development” organization within the United Nations family.
• The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.
• It was created in 1957 in response to the deep fears and expectations generated by the discoveries and diverse uses of nuclear technology.
• Headquarter – Vienna, Austria

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

• 
• This Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world.
• It was built by the Soviet Union on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper River.
• In March 2022, Russian forces, after invading Ukraine, seized this nuclear plant. Since then, the plant is operated by Ukrainian staff, under Russian control.

Background:

• Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia facility has sparked fears of a nuclear disaster as both sides trade blame for shelling the site.
• Regular shelling and drone attacks around this area continues to represent a constant threat to nuclear safety and security with potential impact on critical safety functions.
  • It has raised fears of a disaster that could affect all of central Europe for decades, like the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown.
  • Another danger at nuclear facilities are the pools where spent fuel rods are kept to be cooled.
    • These are more vulnerable to shelling and which could cause the release of radioactive material.
  • If fighting interrupts power supply to the nuclear plant, it would be forced to use diesel generators to provide emergency power to operating cooling systems.
  • This, in turn, would stop the water circulation needed to cool the spent fuel pool. This could lead to a disaster similar to that of Japan’s Fukushima plant.
    • In 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed cooling systems of Fukushima plant, triggering meltdowns in three reactors.
• Against this backdrop, IAEA team visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to assess the safety of the site amid artillery shelling.

News Summary

• IAEA team had found extensive damage at the plant and it called on for fighting to be halted in a security zone around Europe’s biggest nuclear power station.
  • IAEA urged Russia and Ukraine to agree a demilitarized perimeter around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plan
• The report, by IAEA, did not ascribe blame for damage to the nuclear power plant, which Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling.
• The report further said that the ongoing shelling has not yet triggered a nuclear emergency. However, it continues to represent a constant threat to nuclear safety.