Russians are building a nuclear installation “Dzherelo neutron”/Regulatory Authority (illustrative photo)
Russian invaders still represent threat to the nuclear security of Ukraine. In particular, they are shelling the “Neutron Source” nuclear installation.
According to the data of the operational organization, the Russians are constantly shelling and bombing the territory of the Institute, where the Nuclear Source “Source of Neutrons” is located. This has been happening since the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.
The Russians are shelling the Neutron Source nuclear facility
They add that the infrastructure of the institute is already very seriously hurt. In particular, the occupiers fired at the Istochnik Neutron YaPU. As a result, the following was damaged:
- the system of external power supply of the facility,
- the air conditioning system of the cooling system of the klystron gallery of the linear electron accelerator,
- buildings (directly nuclear installation, pumping and cooling towers, as well as an isotope laboratory).
Important! Experts note that the Neutron Source nuclear facility, like any other nuclear installation, not designed for operation in combat conditions. Continued bombardment and shelling of the site can lead to severe radiation consequences with contamination of nearby areas.As of April 12, 2022, the nuclear facility was transferred to a deep subcritical state. There is no external power supply. Now there is no way to restore it. Specialists monitor the state of “Neutron Sources” only on a limited level. For example, they cannot:
- measure the temperatures of the coolant at the inlet/outlet of the subcritical assembly tank (SAC) and the neutron-producing target,
- read the indicators of the automated radiation monitoring system, restore level in the subcritical tank, which has reached the lower limit of safe operation for the “long shutdown” mode (effective from February 24)
The indicators of the mobile dosimeter show that the radiation background at the site is within the normal range. However, they warn that the possibility of new damage to the Source of Neutron nuclear launcher remains at a high level. The main reason is the constant shelling of the Russians. Accordingly, new damage may affect the state of nuclear and radiation safety.
