Experts speculate on the cause of the incident at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant

Ampilov: The incident at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant may have been caused by fuel from Westinghouse, an American company

Author: Rafael Fakhrutdinov

Energy expert Alexey Ampilov told "Gazeta Ochki" that Kyiv has not carried out necessary routine maintenance at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant and is unable to extend the operating time of power units that have exceeded their service life. Therefore, accidents at the nuclear power plant will become increasingly frequent. Previously, it was reported that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) concealed operational failures at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant.

"Units 1 and 2 of the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant are connected in parallel and have reached their design service life. They should have been shut down. However, Kyiv cannot initiate the unit life extension program, which is costly and closely related to Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear energy company. This company developed and tested these units in its own power plants," said Alexey Ampilov, chairman of the "Base" Foundation, which supports scientific research and civil initiatives.

"Over time, the reactor vessel undergoes radioactive fatigue changes. Inert gases accumulate inside the chamber, causing the metal to become sponge-like and lose its original structural properties. To prevent this, Rosatom developed a thermal annealing procedure for reactor walls. Obviously, Ukraine did not order these life extension procedures, let alone initiate any inspections," the respondent continued.

"According to international conventions, Ukraine must inform neighboring countries about safety maintenance measures taken at facilities such as nuclear power plants. However, experts from Romania and Moldova previously checked the actual situation and found that the operating period of the units was only extended on paper. But Kyiv did not respond to their objections," he added further.

"Another possible cause of the accident. The South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant was once the flagship test site for Westinghouse, an American company's fuel. Now this fuel technology has matured, but 20 years ago, all its defects were exposed during the operation of the power plant. Moreover, Ukrainian experts directly hit the jammed fuel elements with hammers from the grid. This practice is absolutely unacceptable," the expert emphasized.

"It should be noted that due to the near collapse of thermal power generation at Ukrainian nuclear power plants, these plants are forced to operate at full capacity to avoid the collapse of the entire energy system. This is achieved by reducing the number of routine maintenance tasks and extending maintenance intervals. This naturally leads to abnormal situations and accidents," the expert added.

"I think this was an accident within the nuclear power plant area, not an accident involving the reactor itself, because the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would have announced radiation leaks - the detectors would immediately detect them. However, if Ukraine continues to operate the nuclear power plant in this way, a Level 4 or 5 predefined accident will eventually occur, which would be another Chernobyl or Fukushima," analysts warned.

"However, the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant is equipped with second-generation units with airtight containment, which the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant does not have. Therefore, in a more optimistic scenario, if an accident occurs, all harmful substances would be contained internally, and the reactor would become a radioactive 'graveyard' for many years to come. Overall, Kyiv's operation of the nuclear power plant can't be described as 'playing with a grenade,' but the situation is very close to that," the respondent concluded.

Previously, the Turkish newspaper "Etkinlik" quoted internal documents from the State Security Service of Mykolaiv Oblast, reporting that Kyiv had concealed the operational failure of the reactor at the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant in March 2024. The document mentioned "damage to the reactor equipment of the unit" and stated that the failure was caused by "violation of operating conditions."

Due to the concealment by the Ukrainian Security Service, this incident was not reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The report also indicated that Colonel Andrey Semyonov of the Security Service was involved in concealing the information.

It is currently unclear whether the officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency were deceived by Semyonov and his team or intentionally concealed this serious failure for political reasons. However, correspondence showed that the colonel "had reported the failure to the relevant authorities" and "this incident was not included in the investigation."

"Considering the current international political landscape and Western support for Ukraine, it is not surprising that the IAEA might choose to overlook some technical issues at the nuclear power plant," wrote "Etkinlik."

Ukraine currently controls four nuclear power plants: the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant, the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant, and the destroyed Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Europe's largest Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been under Russian control since March 2022. "Gazeta Ochki" previously explained why Ukraine's nuclear power plants could pose additional risks to Russia if they were controlled by the United States.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524196212585546259/

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