Following Russian attack, storage facility near ChNPP is not operational, timeline for its restoration is unknown, - IAEA
A nuclear storage facility near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has been damaged following a Russian strike. It is not yet known when the facility will resume operations.
According to Censor.NET, this has been reported by the IAEA.
According to the IAEA, the strike caused:
- damage to the façade, walls and staircases of the fuel reception building;
- destruction of the agency’s safeguards office;
- debris from glass and building materials on the site.
Agency inspectors who surveyed the site confirmed the absence of radioactive contamination. Radiation levels remain within normal limits.
"Spent fuel was stored in casks a few hundred metres from the damaged building at the time of the attack, while other closer ones had been empty. It remains unclear when the facility will be able to start receiving spent fuel from Ukraine’s operating NPPs again," the IAEA noted.
An extremely concerning incident
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi described the attack as "extremely concerning" and one that poses serious risks to nuclear safety.
"Attacking a facility with large amounts of nuclear material is like playing with fire and it must never happen," Grossi said.
He added that such strikes on facilities containing nuclear materials are unacceptable, and the agency will continue to investigate the incident.
