The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a subsidiary of the United Nations, recently issued an assessment report stating that the large steel structure protective cover located above the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which was used to prevent the leakage of radioactive materials, was attacked by a drone in February this year and caused a fire in the outer cladding.
The structure, known as the New Safe Confinement, covers a concrete "sarcophagus" built after the 1986 accident.
However, the IAEA emphasized that although the outer cladding of the shield was damaged, there was no permanent damage to the load-bearing structure and monitoring system. The radiation level on site was "similar" to that before the attack, and no increase in radiation levels has been observed so far. An agency spokesperson said via text message that existing monitoring data does not indicate a direct radiation threat to the public. Nuclear experts from the environmental organization Greenpeace pointed out that if a radioactive material release occurs inside the bunker in the future, since the external sealing has been damaged, there is a theoretical possibility of radioactive material leaking to the external environment. However, the original "sarcophagus" body has not been dismantled at present, so the short-term risk is still considered limited.
The IAEA said in a statement that only limited temporary repair work has been carried out for the damaged part of the protective roof. To ensure long-term nuclear safety, "timely and comprehensive repairs" must be carried out to prevent further aging and deterioration of the structure. The agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, reiterated that the IAEA has a permanent presence at the Chernobyl site and will continue to do its best to assist Ukraine in restoring and strengthening the nuclear safety and security of the facility.
Pictures of the scene released by the media showed that the fire caused by the attack left obvious black marks on the shell of the protective shield, further highlighting the importance of this structure to the safety of the Chernobyl site. The shield is considered to be the largest movable land structure in the world. Construction started in 2010 and was officially completed in 2019. Its design life is 100 years. The goal is to provide an additional barrier for the old "sarcophagus" on a century-long scale to control the spread risk of residual radioactive materials.
The project, with a total investment of approximately 2.1 billion euros, is jointly funded by more than 45 countries and organizations through the "Chernobyl Shelter Fund" and coordinated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It is regarded as the largest cooperation project in the field of international nuclear safety to date. This drone attack occurred against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and is generally viewed by the outside world as a new round of indirect threats posed by the war to nuclear security. Although the current monitoring data does not show radiation leakage, the IAEA and nuclear safety experts have reminded that restoring the integrity of the shield and avoiding any long-term structural weakening are important tasks related to regional and even European nuclear safety in the next few years.