The protective shield built around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site in Ukraine can no longer do its job, reports claimed on Sunday.
The UN nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was quoted by ANI as saying that the main barrier constructed to contain radioactive material at the Chernobyl nuclear accident site can no longer fully perform its task after a drone strike earlier this year.
The agency noted that the New Safe Confinement (NSC) was “severely damaged” during a February attack and has “lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability.”
Russian drone strike responsible?
Ukraine alleged that Russian forces were responsible for the February 14 incident, while the Kremlin rejected the charge.
The strike triggered a blaze and damaged exterior panels of the structure, originally installed to stabilise conditions at the site decades after the world’s worst nuclear power plant disaster.
No permanent damage
According to Reuters, the International Atomic Energy Agency said an inspection last week of the steel confinement structure completed in 2019 found that the drone impact in February had degraded the structure.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement that the inspection “mission confirmed that the (protective structure) had lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability, but also found that there was no permanent damage to its load-bearing structures or monitoring systems.”
The IAEA has called for extensive repairs to the steel enclosure, which was built to support clean-up operations and maintain safety almost 40 years after the 1986 reactor explosion.
“Limited temporary repairs have been carried out on the roof, but timely and comprehensive restoration remains essential to prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
Grossi stated there had been no lasting impact on support elements or monitoring equipment at the facility.
The IAEA, which has personnel based at Chernobyl, will “continue to do everything it can to support efforts to fully restore nuclear safety and security,” he added.
Chernobyl, a flashpoint amid Russia-Ukraine war
Chernobyl has remained a flashpoint during Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The 1986 Chernobyl explosion had sent radiation across Europe and prompted Soviet authorities to mobilise vast numbers of men and equipment to deal with the accident. The plant’s last working reactor was closed in 2000.
Russia occupied the plant and the surrounding area for more than a month in the first weeks of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine as its forces initially tried to advance on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
The NSC is a large arch-shaped installation covering the damaged No. 4 reactor to contain hazardous material. Work commenced in 2010 and concluded in 2019.
Designed to remain functional for a century, the structure is considered the world’s biggest movable land-based construction and has been vital to securing the site.
The project cost about 2.1 billion in European currency and was funded by more than 45 international donors through the Chernobyl Shelter Fund, which development banks described as one of the most significant joint nuclear safety initiatives ever undertaken.
The April 26, 1986 explosion in the No. 4 reactor, then part of the Soviet Union, sent radioactive material across large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and beyond.
Over 30 people died in the nearby city of Pripyat, and many more have suffered long-term health effects due to radiation exposure, with elevated rates of cancer and birth defects still reported in affected regions, according to global health organisations.
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