IAEA donates ambulance, medical equipment for Ukraine’s nuclear workforce
The United Nation’s nuclear watchdog delivered emergency medical supplies to Ukraine last week as part of ongoing aid to the country since its conflict with Russia began in 2022.
The International Atomic Energy Agency delivered a new ambulance and other medical equipment to help provide adequate health care for the personnel operating Ukraine’s nuclear power plants in challenging conditions during the military actions, IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi noted.
“Nuclear safety and security require a well-functioning workforce that has timely access to medical services, including mental health support,” Grossi said in an April 3 news release. “The personnel of these facilities have been working in extremely difficult circumstances for more than three years now, enabling the continued safe production of much-needed electricity. Their physical and psychological wellbeing is of paramount importance for nuclear safety and security.”
A closer look: IAEA officials delivered the ambulance—the third to be donated thus far—to Ukraine’s state-run utility Energoatom during a 12-day mission to review medical capabilities at the nation’s three operating nuclear power plants, the shuttered Chernobyl site, and at health care facilities near plants.
In addition to the ambulance, the IAEA coordinated the delivery of an ultrasound system for specialized care in the city of Netishyn, close to the Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant.
The agency’s mission trip to Ukraine gave IAEA medical and procurement experts an opportunity to discuss the impact of supplies delivered so far through its Medical Assistance Program for operating personnel at the plants. The IAEA team also visited the National Research Center for Radiation Medicine.
The team visited to better understand the challenges medical professionals face daily in the region. “Based on the team’s findings, we will be able to direct our medical support to where it is most needed,” Grossi said.
For example, Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital recently received ultrasound and radiographic equipment as part of an IAEA initiative to support the delivery of equipment using nuclear or isotopic-based techniques, especially to areas severely affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in 2023. More deliveries are planned in the coming months, the release said.
Other help in Ukraine: USIE Izotop—a state enterprise that helps manage radioactive material intended for medical, industrial, and other purposes—received vehicles to support its daily field activities in nuclear and radiation safety and security.
The recent deliveries were supported by Canada, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Malta.
Concerns remain: Even with foreign assistance, the general nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine remains precarious, based on IAEA team assessments.
At Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, for example, IAEA teams continue reporting the sounds of military activities at varying distances away from the site. The team continues to monitor nuclear safety and security, conducting walkdowns of the reactor buildings of units 1, 3 and 5 and of the turbine halls of units 1 and 2.
With six reactors—all currently shut down—Zaporizhzhia is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. It is located on the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine fighting areas.
In other parts of Ukraine, IAEA teams based at the Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear plants report hearing air raid alarms, explosions, and drones flying in the areas. At Chernobyl, a drone struck the protective shell over the former nuclear plant on February 14. Major repairs will be needed to restore the structure.
