Ukraine continues repairs to Chornobyl confinement structure after drone attack – IAEA

Ukrainian engineers and construction workers are carrying out temporary repairs of the Chornobyl site's New Safe Confinement (NSC) that was severely damaged in a drone attack earlier this year, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on April 30.

"The drone strike on 14 February pierced a big hole through the roof of the large confinement structure built to prevent any radioactive release from the reactor destroyed in the 1986 accident and protect it from external hazards. It took several weeks to completely extinguish the fires and smouldering caused by this strike," the IAEA said.

The IAEA team based at the Chornobyl plant in northern Ukraine visited the NSC in recent days to discuss ongoing efforts by the site to assess the building's structural integrity following the attack almost three months ago and to observe repairs of the inner and outer cladding to prevent water ingress.

"The site is now focusing its efforts on assessing the full extent of the damage while also carrying out short-term repairs. It is clear that the confinement structure – constructed at huge expense and with major international support – suffered extensive damage," Grossi said.

He reiterated, however, that there has not been any radioactive release as a result of the damage, and that the NSC is able to continue to perform its protective function.

As reported earlier by Oleh Korikov, head of Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, on February 17, the New Safe Confinement structure over Reactor No. 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant is unable to perform its primary containment function due to damage from a Russian drone strike and its consequences.

However, on February 15, Grossi stated that radiation levels at the site had not changed, despite significant damage. This was confirmed by on-site measurements conducted by the IAEA team.