– There is more and more bad news and in the last 24 hours there have been new battles and skirmishes there again, she says to news. On both Saturday evening and Sunday morning, powerful explosions were reported at the Russian-occupied power plant, which is Europe’s largest. Liland says that they are closely monitoring the situation at the power plant, which has been subjected to repeated attacks from Russian forces since the invasion. Preparedness Director Astrid Liland at the Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety. Photo: The Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety – Any attack inside the fence is really unheard of and very worrying in that respect, she comments. – What is clear is that there have been very systematic attacks against the facility. We are very worried because they will hit the nuclear reactors themselves, and thus risk the release of radioactive substances. So we are following it very closely. It is a very worrying situation there, she says. IAEA: Urgent action The management at the nuclear power plant has reported some damage to buildings, systems and equipment. So far, they have not affected the safety of the facility, and no one is said to have been injured. – What was destroyed now has not been critical for maintaining nuclear safety, but all incidents that happen at such power plants are very undesirable and can lead to other things going wrong, says Liland. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi on Sunday described the explosions as “totally unacceptable”. There have been several explosions at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday. Photo: TELEGRAM/ETO_ZP He demands that they stop immediately. – Regardless of who is behind this, it must stop immediately. As I have said many times before: You are playing with fire, the statement from Grossi says, among other things. He emphasizes that it is urgent to take measures to prevent a nuclear accident. Russia has accused Ukraine of being behind the attacks on the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant, while Ukraine, in turn, has accused Russia of being behind the explosions. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi. Photo: Andriy Andriyenko / AP – Could last for decades The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is located in southeastern Ukraine. It is so far away from Norway that an incident at the nuclear power plant will not have immediate consequences in Norway. However, the long-term consequences can be serious. – We know that it will cause problems with food production. There can be problems which, in the worst case, can persist for several decades, says Astrid Liland. – There is still some pollution from the Chernobyl accident, she points out. This picture is supposed to show the damage after the attack on the power station on the night of Saturday. Photo: TELEGRAM/ETO_ZP Pay close attention to the wind direction The Chernobyl accident in 1986 is so far the most serious nuclear accident in history. One of the four nuclear reactors in the nuclear power plant exploded, and Norway was the country outside the Soviet Union that received the most radioactive fallout after the accident. The direction of the wind is therefore important for the directorate when they monitor the situation at several vulnerable nuclear power plants in Ukraine. After the Chernobyl accident, the wind was against Norway, and it also rained a lot. The radioactive fallout over Norway was greatest where rainfall occurred in the days following the accident. – We are very keen to follow the weather and wind and which direction it is blowing. We have daily cooperation with the Meteorological Institute about what the weather is like. – The worst scenario is if there is a direct hit by artillery on the reactors themselves or if they lose power and do not have enough diesel for emergency generators. In the worst case, it could lead to a large radioactive release that could spread with wind and weather in Europe, says Liland.
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