SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Ukraine's Chernobyl loses power again: operator
Kyiv, March 14 (AFP) Mar 14, 2022
Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986, has once again lost its electricity supply, energy operator Ukrenergo said Monday.

"The line that supplies the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the town of Slavutych was damaged by the occupying forces," Ukrenergo said on Facebook, referring to Russian forces that invaded Ukraine on February 24 and seized the plant in the first days of the assault.

The retired nuclear plant -- enclosed in a giant steel and concrete sarcophagus -- lost power early last week but supply was restored Sunday.

The plant has emergency diesel generators which can temporarily provide the electricity needed to power security systems including the cooling systems for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility, Ukraine's nuclear power inspection body SNRIU said last week.

Ukrenergo said the line was damaged again "before the power supply was fully restored" and that one of its repair crews will be going into "occupied territory" again for more repairs.

The operator added that Chernobyl "cannot be left without a reliable energy supply" and the residents of the nearby town of Slavutych "depend" on it for electricity.

An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 killed hundreds and spread a radioactive cloud across Europe.

Russian forces also shelled and captured the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's biggest atomic power plant, on March 4, causing a fire that raised alarm in Europe over a possible nuclear catastrophe.

bur/rl/bp

Meta


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Interference to astronomy the unintended consequence of faster internet
Russian rocket puts Iran satellite into space: Iran media
Viasat unveils IoT Nano service for global low-power connectivity

24/7 Energy News Coverage
NASA's X-59 moves under its own power
Sri Lanka orders Singapore shipowner to pay US$1 bn over marine disaster
More than 80% of Tuvalu seeks Australian climate visa

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
New MachLab rocket test site launches UK into next phase of space engineering
Ukraine's anti-graft body says new bill restores independence
Iran meets European powers amid threats of UN sanctions snapback

24/7 News Coverage
Australia's mammal megafauna face long-term decline from extinctions and invasive species
Alien life clues may emerge from deep sea volcanic vents on Earth
Seismic signatures reveal fragmentation patterns of fireball meteoroids



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.