More of 100 workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history in 1986, have been trapped there for more than 12 days, unable to leave after Russian forces seized the plant on the first day of the invasion.
Others 200 Ukrainian guards who were in charge of security at the time of the assault, are also being held.
Workers continue to carry out their duties and it seems that the atmosphere is calm, but the BBC has been informed that conditions inside are difficult, with limited food and medicine.
There is also growing concern that stress may be affecting the ability of workers to carry out their duties safely at the nuclear site.
“Complicated and tense situation“
Russian soldiers are now inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone, which has 32 km, and have surrounded the perimeter of the plant.
Russia says that it has secured the site together with the Ukrainian national guard, but Ukraine denies this and assures that Russian troops are in full control.
The relative of one of the workers trapped in the plant – whom we did not name for security reasons – told the BBC that the Russian side was willing to let them change shifts, but that they could not ensure their safety on the journey home, nor that of the workers traveling to take their place.
The train between Slavutych and Chernobyl travels briefly through Belarus, an important ally of Russia .
Although no longer a functioning power plant, Chernobyl was never completely abandoned and still requires constant management. In fact, after reactor number four exploded ago 36 years, its other reactors continued to operate for a few years and an entire city, Slavutych, was built to house the workers who were evacuated after the accident.
These days, about 2.36 people still work on site: scientists, technicians, cooks, doctors and other support staff, as well as members of the national guard.
In normal times, workers would board a train from Slavutych at the beginning of their shift and return home afterwards. But for the employees who were there when the Russians invaded, everything suddenly changed: they were forced to live on the spot.
“The situation it is complicated and tense,” Yuri Fomichev, mayor of Slavutych, tells the BBC. “It is difficult for them morally, psychologically and physically”.
The workers have some food on site but since they do not know how long they will be there, they limit themselves to one meal a day, prepared by cooks who are also trapped. Testimonials indicate that it is a very basic diet, mainly composed of bread and oatmeal.
On Sunday, the Russian staff offered a food delivery, but the Ukrainian workers refused it saying it was a propaganda trick.
The facilities are not prepared to sleep in them, so temporary dormitories have been created; some workers sleep on folding beds and tables, and others on the floor.
In order to have some downtime, workers have been divided into shifts, with one group working while another rests.
For the families of employees in nearby Slavutych, it is a difficult time.
“Some of the workers they need medicines that are limited in the plant and that adds additional concern to the families”, assured Fomichev.
“We have to tell them that currently we do not have a safe way to get the workers out of there” .
Is the Chernobyl site at risk?
With workers feeling the physical and psychological effects of spending nearly two weeks stuck at work at a decommissioned nuclear power plant, there are fears that the stress may be affecting their ability to carry out their duties in a safe way.
“Under these conditions, the concentration of workers is getting worse and worse and that is a threat to security,” warned Mayor Fomichev.
“It may not be a working power plant, but it still requires a lot of attention to make sure that all the systems work normally”, he added.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has repeatedly insisted on the the need for staff to rest in order to carry out their work safely. In an interview for the BBC he said that he has been in contact with the Russians to give them that message.
However, nuclear experts maintain that because this is not it is an active nuclear power plant, the danger to public health is limited.
“It is not good that people do not change shifts and that they are surrounded by Russian soldiers, but it is not I see a great danger”, says James Smith, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Portsmouth, in the United Kingdom, who has been studying Chernobyl for years and has visited the site on numerous occasions.
“ The last reactor was shut down in the year 2000 so the nuclear fuel spent it no longer generates much heat.” The expert explained that this makes a significant release of radioactivity extremely unlikely.
Radiation levels increased in the region when the power plant was seized, as heavy military equipment removed contaminated dust around the site. However, Professor Smith said that they did not increase to levels of concern.
Exhaustion and despair
The risk of a major nuclear catastrophe may be low, but for the workers trapped inside and their families, the emotional cost is very real.
“Everything the staff is super exhausted and desperate. They doubt that anyone cares about them. Right now they don’t see anyone doing anything to rescue them,” said the relative of one of the trapped employees.
Through an interview for the BBC, called on the IAEA to intervene so that the current workers can leave safely and another group take over.
The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said he was in contact with the Ukrainian and Russian sides in an attempt to manage security both at Chernobyl and at Ukraine’s active nuclear power plants, where experts say the consequences of open conflict could be more serious.
Nothing definitive has been agreed yet.
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