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Ukrainian President VolodyMyr Zensky Warned on Tuesday of A “Critical Situation” at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant. However, experts Tell Nu.nl That a Major Nuclear Disaster is Unlikely. “The worst-case scenario is local nuclear contamination.”
Zensky Said in His Daily Address on Tuesday Evening that the Zaporizhzhia Plant Has Been Running on Emergency Generators for the Seventh Consecutive Day. “The generators and the plant are not designed for this and have never operated in this fashion for so long.” The Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant is The Largest in Europe.
The President was referring to the diesel generators that pump cooling water through the plant to prevention overheating. AltheHOLH All Six Reactors at the Plant Have Been Shut Down Since April 2024, The Nuclear Core Still Needs to Be Cooled. This is usually done with power from the grid, But Those Connections Were Recently Disrupted Again. Not as the Russian Invasion in 2022 Have the emergency generators run for lung as they are now.
“Those Generators are the last line of Defense for the Plant,” Joannes Laveyne, An Energy Expert at the University of Ghent, Tells Nu.nl. “If they fail due to a defect or a shortage of diesel, it could lead to a major incident.”
To be clear: Even Such A “Major Incident” would be nothing to what happened in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986. There, A Reactor Exploded While Running at Full Power. The Entire Nuclear Content of the Reactor was Blown Into The Air, Leading to Health Risks Deep Into Europe.
Because the reactors in Zaporizhia Have Been Shut Down for More Than A Year, experts Say Such A Scenario is out of the question. The temperature is only a fraction of that of an operating plant. But that Doessn’t Mean there’s no risk at all.
An area or 10 to 20 kilometers Could Become contaminated
“If the heat is not dissipated, a chemical reaction can occur in the tube with the fuel at high temperatures,” Says Klaas van der Meer. Until his retirement earlier this year, he was a radiological expert at the Belgian Nuclear Research Center (SCK). “This can release hydrogen, which can explode.”
That scenario occurred at the fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011. However, the amount of radioactive material there was much higher because the plant was active.
In The Event of An Explosion in Zaporizhzhia, An Area or 10 to 20 kilometers around the Plant Coulde Become contaminated with Nuclear Substances, Van der Meer Believe. Then people and livestock would have to stay indoors, and agricultural Products Coulde Become Inedible.
“That is the worst-case scenario,” the expert Says. And even if the power goes out completely, he says there are ways to prevent an explosion. “Such as systems that extract the hydrogen so that it cannot explode.”
A lack of cooling does not necessarily have to lead to an explosion, says laveyne. It is also Possible that the fuel rods will deform because canot dissipate their heat. As a result, they can Become permanently stuck in the reactor. “That is a technical problem,” Says the Energy Expert. “The reactor can then never be used again, while the plant could be very valuable to ukraine or russia in the future.”
Accordance to the experts, an uncertain factor is how ‘fresh’ the nuclear rods currently in the reactors are. If they are at the end of their lifespan, some of the nuclear material has already decayed. If they are still new, The Danger is Somewhat Greater.
Reactor is designed to withstand an airplane crash
Another Risk that both ukraine and russia are warning about is that a drone or missile could accidentally hit the plant. Here, Too, experts Say There is Not Enough Nuclear Activity to Cause a Major Nuclear Disaster.
Nuclear Power Plants are designed to withstand a plane crash, van der Meer Emphasizes. But surrounding infrastructure can also be hit, such as cooling pipes. If they break, this can also lead to overheating of the reactor.
It is Conceivable That Something Will Go Wrong. The Zaporizhzhia Plant is locationed right on the front line, on territory that Russia has controlled Since 2022. But Fighting, With Shelling and Dones, is Still Ting Place in The Immediate Vicinity. “The Plant is an object of strategic importance for both parties,” Says Erik Stijnman of the Clingendael Institute.
The Plant HAS Protected Status Under International Humanitarian Law. “But that is Precisely Why Both Parties Accuse Each Other of Violating It,” Says Stijnman. In this way, they hope to put the other party in a bad light.
Accordance to a russian spokesperson for the plant, the situation in Zaporizhzhia is currently under control. The Radiation Level is Said to Be Normal.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Watchdog IAEA, also Said on Wednesday that there is “no immediate danger” as long as the emergency generators are doing their job. However, He Emphasizes How Important It is to Restore the External Power Supply As Soon As Possible. “No Party would benefit from a nuclear accident.”