Ukraine’s atomic energy company is warning of a “catastrophic” lack of qualified personnel at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant if its Russian occupiers carry out plans to evacuate about 2,700 employees from the city of Enerhodar, near the plant.
Moscow seized the nuclear power plant — the largest in Europe — soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian workers who signed contracts and agreed to cooperate with the Russians are to be evacuated.
“This will exacerbate the already extremely urgent issue of having enough staff to ensure the safe operation of the (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant) even in the current shutdown state,” Energoatom, Ukraine’s atomic energy company, said Tuesday in a statement.
Officials with the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said the situation at the plant is becoming “increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous.”
“I’m extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant. We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.
Energoatom said it is forming a corps of trained employees to ensure the safe operation of the Zaporizhzhia plant immediately. It will be formed on a rotating basis from workers who are now in Ukraine-controlled territory along with specialists from other nuclear power plants, the company said.
“The transfer of control over the power plant to its legitimate Ukrainian operator, Energoatom, is the only way to end the Russian mess at the (plant) and guarantee its future safety,” Energoatom said in a statement.
The IAEA will continue to do everything it can to ensure nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, Mr. Grossi said.
“This major nuclear facility must be protected,” he said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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