Ukraine nuclear issues draw interest at Waste Management

PHOENIX — More than 100 people showed up and gave a standing ovation March 11 at the conclusion of the first of two presentations here at the Waste Management Symposia on the status of nuclear power plants in Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion.

“We are talking about a sovereign nation that is a member of the United Nations” that was invaded by Russia said Alex Walmsley, with GEL Laboratories in the United Kingdom. Walmsley helped moderate the panel.

Since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, there have been drone attacks and other military actions, “near, in, around and above nuclear installations,” Walmsley said.

Ukraine relies on nuclear power for about half of its electricity. Russia ceased control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine’s largest nuclear facility, early in the war. In February a Russian military drone reportedly struck the structure above Chernobyl’s damaged nuclear reactor, panelists said.

The structure around Chernobyl is okay but the overall conditions there are “really challenging,” Andrii Goroshanskyi with the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine, said during his panel presentation. Goroshanskyi serves as Ukraine’s main contact person with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

During the panel discussion, Walmsley said while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, Russian leader Vladimir Putin has not.

Since the conference, President Donald Trump has spoken with Putin over the possibility of the United States taking over Ukraine’s nuclear plants.