Abstract
Projectiles launched by Russian troops at Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear facility and the active Zaporizhzhia complex have caused international angst (Bugos, 2022) and raised the fear that a nuclear catastrophe was imminent in Eastern Europe (Laine, 2022). The radioactive waste storage sites at the active Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) have been occupied by the Russian military and the Ukrainian government responded that they were sheltering an offensive position and endangering civilians living in the region. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, argued for the ZNPP campus to be declared a demilitarized zone (Ahmed, 2022). The inactive Chernobyl nuclear power plant (CNPP) was seized by the Russian military on February 15, 2022 and Ukrainian safety workers and engineers were held captive (Ryan, 2022). Under these stressful conditions workers can experience impaired decision-making and reduced concentration, factors which affect fitness for duty (Suh & Yim, 2020).
Why are these locations so important to environmental scientists and occupational safety personnel? The ZNPP used older and outdated nuclear reactors at the time of installation and have been vulnerable from an engineering perspective for some time (Fernández-Arias et al., 2020). The ZNPP facility was in need of more radiation-hygienic monitoring before the Russian-Ukraine conflict started (Khomenko & Zakladna, 2019). As for Zaporizhzhia, any munitions fired could release radionuclides into the atmosphere from the soil and endanger plant employees. In the case of Russian soldiers, they developed acute radiation sickness in March of this year (i.e., nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea), after digging in the area (Jensen & Vasko, 2022).
In recent weeks, the IAEA installed independent inspectors to survey the workers’ ability to monitor Zaporizhzhia facility to see whether the facility can be safely operated. It is our opinion that the region should not be used for political purposes by either side and that the threat of radiation hampers the safety of all workers, engineers, and emergency personnel. While the larger concern is the negotiation of military activities in battlefields near nuclear plants, we believe ionizing radiation is a serious and immediate threat for fire and safety personnel in Ukraine who are already preoccupied with rescuing civilians caught in munition exchanges. Projectiles near any NPP in Ukraine essentially means these workers will be exposed to radiation.
This conflict also poses some fundamental questions about the safe operation of NPP in times of war. The workers’ cognition and attention can be compromised under the duress of war-time conditions. Are relief workers allowed to enter the facility so that fatigued workers can be rotated out as needed? The environmental threat to clean-up workers can last for decades and result in increased cancer rates, respiratory diseases, and hematological maladies as we have learned from 9-11 rescue workers (Cleven et al., 2021). We should also consider the need for emergency physicians and nurses trained in the symptoms of radiation illness (Fong & Johnson, 2022). Are clinicians trained adequately in decontamination and do they have adequate protective equipment for personnel who enter a radiation field? While the IAEA was recently allowed to inspect the Zaporizhzhia plant, we recommend that the campuses of all NPPs in Ukraine be demilitarized immediately. Military equipment and personnel should vacate the premises and munitions should not be exchanged near nuclear reactors. Any individuals planning to assist in relief work at or near any nuclear facility in Ukraine should be trained in decontamination procedures. Our obligation as occupational health professionals is to draw attention to these hazardous conditions and advocate for preventive measures for relief agencies that may enter the area.
