The biggest nuclear power facility in Europe is under danger. Although a catastrophe on the scale of Chernobyl is not expected,
For months, Russia’s campaign in Ukraine has been shadowed by the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe.
What would Happen if the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Exploded
Even though Russia has controlled the world’s largest nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia since March, locals’ anxieties were reignited this week when shelling increased in the area.
Concerns about the possibility of a nuclear disaster have been raised in response to the intensifying attacks on the facility, prompting the UN watchdog and international leaders to demand access to the site so they can examine the damage.
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How Serious, then, is the Danger that the Conflict Represents?
Experts in the nuclear industry are quick to defuse some of the more alarmist predictions, noting that the main threat is localised and hence does not warrant notifications across Europe. Since a replay of the Chernobyl tragedy is so improbable, experts are especially suspicious of such analogies.
President of the European Nuclear Society Leon Cizelj told CNN, “It’s not very likely that this plant would be damaged.” “In the extremely remote possibility that it is,” he continued, “the radioactive danger would mostly affect Ukrainians that live nearby,” rather than spreading throughout eastern Europe like Chernobyl did.
Cizelj chimed in, “If we used past experience, Fukushima may be a comparison of the worst-case scenario,” referring to the severe but relatively isolated meltdown at the Japanese plant in 2011. Those living near the facility, which is located on the banks of the Dnipro River south of Zaporizhzhia city, and the remaining Ukrainian staff would be in the greatest danger.
What happened and what it could mean for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor has been laid out here.
Where do We Stand with the Factory in Zaporizhzhia?
According to Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear power corporation, shellfire at the Zaporizhzhia plant in recent weeks has damaged a dry storage facility, where casks of spent nuclear fuel are stored, as well as radiation monitoring detectors.
The head of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that power was cut off and one reactor was unplugged from the grid after a series of explosions occurred near the electrical switchboard on August 5.
A potential Russian Response to the Plant Shutdown.
On Friday, Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-run nuclear power operator, said that Russian forces at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant were “planned to disable the operating power units in the near future and disconnect them from the communication links supplying power to the Ukrainian power system.”
Bob Kelley, a former deputy director at the IAEA, told CNN, “The plant is designed to be shut down and put into a cold state.” In a different scenario, the Russians “might maintain one unit running at reduced power to fuel the plant itself.”
Shutting down the plant would put more stress on areas of southern Ukraine that may be left without power as winter approaches.
If the Plant has Nuclear Reactors, how safe are they?
Zaporizhzhia is just like any other modern nuclear power station in that it has been extensively strengthened to withstand any form of attack, including earthquakes.
James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, “Like all nuclear power facilities, Zaporizhzhia features multiple redundant safety mechanisms, which under normal conditions are quite effective.”
Is there a Worst Case Scenario?
To maintain reactor coolness, nuclear power facilities rely on a variety of backup devices, including diesel generators and external grid links. Zaporizhzhia further makes use of a spray pond, a reservoir used to cool water pumped from the plant’s boilers. If those failed, the nuclear reactor’s temperature would rise rapidly, leading to a meltdown.
According to professionals, that’s the very worst case scenario. They claimed that while it would be catastrophic in specific areas, the repercussions across Europe would be minimal.
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In what ways is Zaporizhzhia dissimilar to Chernobyl?
There have been dire fears that the shelling around Zaporizhzhia could lead to another “Chernobyl,” the greatest nuclear disaster in history.
But experts argue that a replay of the 1986 catastrophe is essentially unthinkable because of the many distinctions between the two Ukrainian power plants.
Graphite-moderated RBMK reactors from the Soviet era were utilised at the Chernobyl plant, which lacked a contemporary containment structure (a concrete and steel dome).
