Shelling on Tuesday damaged a backup power line at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, which has already lost all four of its regular power lines, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in a statement on Wednesday, APA reports citing UNIAN.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there was no immediate impact from the damage to one of its three backup power lines because the plant was already disconnected from the grid.
Like all nuclear power plants, Zaporizhzhia needs power to keep cooling the nuclear fuel in its reactors and its spent fuel. Its one operating reactor is supplying power but with each external power line that goes down, it loses a line of defence against potential nuclear meltdown.
"Of the three backup lines between the ZNPP and the thermal power station, one is now damaged by shelling, while the two others are disconnected, senior Ukrainian operating staff informed IAEA experts present at the plant since last week," the IAEA statement said, referring to a nearby coal-fired plant.
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