8/27/2022
Imagine that you are a Ukrainian engineer working at ZNPP. You've been there 10 years or so, along with 15,000 other employees. It takes a lot of people to service the biggest nuclear plant in Europe, with 6 reactors.
All goes smoothly. The reactors are contained in concrete thick enough to withstand an airplane crash, or a few artillery shells. Everyone is extra careful, remembering Chernobyl, the Ukrainian nuclear plant that experienced a meltdown and explosion in 1986 due to worker error.
In March 2022, the Russian invaders start shelling ZNPP and quickly capture it. Suddenly you are working at gunpoint, with 500 soldiers supervising your every move. Gradually, Russian nuclear technicians filter in and tell you what to do, even though they are unfamiliar with the design of this plant.
Forty percent of the plant workers leave pretty quickly. Now you are understaffed. You are being harassed. Essential monitors, that connect ZNPP to the International Atomic Energy Agency - IAEA, are broken. Four of the six reactors that supply power to the Ukrainian grid are shut down, but still need to be serviced.
The nearby town where your family lives, Enerhodar, is captured by the Russians. All signs are in Russian, all media spout the Russian version of the war.
By June, the Russians are moving heavy equipment into the plant, trucks that block access to fire engines should an accident occur. The Russians claim to have planted mines and are using ZNPP for nuclear blackmail. You are aware that they have stashed barrels of flammable motor oil here and there.
Now they are bringing artillery and explosive ammunition onto the grounds and are using the plant as cover to shell surrounding areas. There is returning fire, which the Russians claim is Ukraine's doing, and vice-versa. In any case, shells are landing, a couple of workers are killed. More workers leave, fearing for their lives. You stay, despite the difficulties. No more Chernobyls.
Three of the four major power lines to the plant are cut, by fire, by shelling or deliberately. Now there is concern that if the fourth line is cut, the cooling water which prevents meltdown will stop circulating. There are backup diesel pumps, but less that 24 hours' worth of diesel fuel on site. This actually happens on August 25th, but you and your fellow heroes are able to reconnect ZNPP to the grid in a few hours.
You fear that you will be asked to participate in a transfer of energy outflow from ZNPP away from Ukraine to Russian controlled areas such as Crimea. You don't want to abet the theft of energy from your country but what choice will you have? If you don't cooperate, you may be tortured and killed.
The Russians are beating and torturing some of the workers, suspecting them of passing information about Russian emplacements to Ukrainian armed forces. Even reporting the conditions under which you labor is punished. You work in an atmosphere of fear. This has been going on now for 6 months. You become extra cautious lest you make a fatal mistake.
You send your family away, fearing for their safety if a disaster takes place. The Ukraine government starts making plans to evacuate surrounding areas. You remain at your post, faithfully tending the reactors to prevent another Chernobyl.
You are a hero.
Here are some articles from August 2022 that tell more about the current conditions for workers at the plant.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
