#Russian reactor meltdown heroes how to
#Russian reactor meltdown heroes full

“The question arose of how to ensure security in such situations that are happening now in our country,” he recalled, pointing out that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is also operating in the middle of a warzone. Novikov said not one of the many reports he had read had mentioned the Russian war against Ukraine. Representing the Chernobyl plant as part of a Ukrainian delegation, Mr. While the agency’s main task, since its inception at the height of the cold war in 1957, is to ensure safety at nuclear facilities, it has never encountered the need to operate in the epicenter of intense armed fighting.įollowing the onset of the war in Ukraine, the agency invited stakeholders to discussions at its headquarters in Vienna. “The time has come to respond to crises,” said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. When a country loses control over such facilities and is unable to conduct inspections, it must turn to the international community for support, he said.Ībandoned buildings in Pripyat, two kilometres from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine. Now, IAEA representatives live with our staff, carrying out inspection activities without leaving the plant.” “Inspectors used to come and conduct an inspection for several days or weeks and then leave. “The IAEA made an unconventional decision to organize ‘permanent missions’,” he said, adding that power plant employees and IAEA inspectors alike are constantly present at the facility. The unique situation has called for tailored measures. Until 2022, nuclear facilities had never been captured in the context of conflict, Mr. Workers now travel by bus from 350 kilometres away, work for a whole week, staying in the exclusion zone for the entire period, and then return home, he said. Most live in Slavutych, but railway lines were bombed on the first day the Russia’s invasion, on 24 February 2022. One year after the Russian occupation, employees can no longer take a simple bus ride.

Radiation control has been significantly strengthened we carry it out every day because people live close to the station.” We converted our offices into rest stations, installing showers and washing machines. “I have just arrived on duty and will be here until next Monday. “We are now working as in 1986,” Alexander Novikov, the plant’s deputy chief engineer for technical safety, said. It also brought employees back to 1986 working conditions, requiring compulsory rotational shifts. But, the 2022 Russian occupation raised grave safety concerns. Like all nuclear power facilities, Chernobyl enjoys special protection under international humanitarian law. While he no longer works at the plant, his granddaughter, Tatiana, is an engineer who handles spent nuclear fuel at the facility, where it is stored alongside thousands of tons of radioactive waste.Ĭhernobyl Nuclear Power Station. Since then, each year, on 26 April, residents of the city of Slavutych gather at a monument to the Chernobyl victims, lighting candles and remembering those tragic events, Mr. “The station personnel took all measures to localize the accident’s consequences, but could not prevent it.” “I am 100 per cent sure that the designers could not have foreseen such a development,” he said. Meanwhile, disputes remain about who is to blame, he said. I am surprised that I myself am still alive.” “Very few of my colleagues are still alive. “I feel the consequences on my health even now,” said Mr. In early May, the remaining staff were experiencing serious side-effects, as doctors monitored their health via frequent blood tests, he said, adding that some were taken “out of the zone” to rest. ‘Very few of my colleagues are still alive’ Relatives could neither call, warn them nor discuss the evacuation route, he said, recalling that he found his family had moved out of the area. On 27 April, Pripyat inhabitants were evacuated along with some of the plant’s staff, he said, remembering buses driving across the city, stopping in front of houses to collect evacuees.

#Russian reactor meltdown heroes full

“Water appeared to be flowing endlessly, the system was launched at full capacity, and more and more water was required.” “We prepared the water to extinguish the reactor, walked knee-deep in water, and organized pumping,” he said. As a shift supervisor of 300 employees at Chernobyl’s chemical workshop, his team’s main task was to prepare demineralized water, receive radioactive liquid waste, store it, and process it. Mass evacuationsĪt that point, the scale of the accident was neither expected nor assessed, he said, adding that protocols were not in place because it had been inconceivable that this could happen to the reactors. Evgeny Yashin, a physicochemist by profession, came to work at Chernobyl NPP in 1977.