The alarm sirens go off in Ukraine: the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is at risk of exploding, this is how the "Fukushima" disaster can be repeated

Alarm is growing in Zaporizhzhia. "As a result of water falling from the Kakhovka reservoir, there is a risk of failure of the cooling systems of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. This could mean a possible Fukushima scenario in the middle of the continent of Europe because of Russia." The alarming scenario was supported by Ukraine's Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strilets, in a Facebook update. According to the minister, almost 5 million Ukrainians do not have access to drinking water and 70% of the population may be left without this source due to Russian bombing.

How does Zaporizhia differ from Chernobyl?

Shelling around Zaporizhia prompted warnings of another Chernobyl, the worst nuclear disaster in history. But there are many differences between the two Ukrainian power plants, and experts insist that a repeat of the 1986 disaster is virtually impossible. The Chernobyl plant used Soviet-era graphite-moderated RBMK reactors that lacked a modern containment structure, namely a concrete and steel dome designed to prevent any radiation release. In contrast, each of the six reactors at the Zaporizhia plant are pressurized water reactors enclosed in a massive steel vessel, housed in a concrete building. The design is called VVER, which is the Russian acronym for Water-Water-Energy Reactor. "The brakes on these reactors are much better. If these reactors were damaged, it would be much easier to close them", say the experts. The scale of a hypothetical nuclear meltdown would also be much smaller than Chernobyl, experts say. After the reactor meltdown in 1986, radioactive fallout spread over much of the Northern Hemisphere, while about 150,000 square kilometers in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were contaminated. This pollution spread up to 500 kilometers north of the area. Experts suggest instead that the worst-case scenario would look more like a more recent disaster. 000 square kilometers in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were contaminated. This pollution spread up to 500 kilometers north of the area. Experts suggest instead that the worst-case scenario would look more like a more recent disaster. 000 square kilometers in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine were contaminated. This pollution spread up to 500 kilometers north of the area. Experts suggest instead that the worst-case scenario would look more like a more recent disaster.

"Fukushima is a better analogy"

"Fukushima is a better analogy than Chernobyl. In this case, it may be necessary to evacuate people tens of kilometers around the plant, especially downwind. In the middle of a war, this would be extremely dangerous," they say. the experts. According to them, all the radioactive radiation would spread about 10 or 20 kilometers from Zaporizhia before it stopped posing serious health risks. "If something manages to cause a reactor meltdown, the gases can escape into the atmosphere and travel with the wind until they leave the atmosphere. There is dilution with distance, so very quickly the dilution becomes sufficient that the impact is no longer severe to the environment and people's health," say experts. But for people living in war-torn southern Ukraine, nuclear catastrophe is not the most immediate danger. "If you compare it to the other risks they face, this risk is not very big," they add.

Termocentralet

Termocentralet janë objektiva të zakonshëm në konfliktet moderne, sepse shkatërrimi i tyre pengon aftësinë e një vendi për të vazhduar luftimet. Por reaktorët bërthamorë nuk janë si burimet e tjera të energjisë. Ato përmbajnë sasi të mëdha materiali radioaktiv, i cili mund të çlirohet në shumë mënyra të ndryshme. Bombardimi ajror ose zjarri i artilerisë, për shembull, mund të shkatërrojnë ndërtesën e kontrollit të reaktorit ose mund të shkëpusin linjat jetike të ftohësit që mbajnë qendrën e tij të qëndrueshme. Po kështu, mund të ndodhë edhe një sulm kibernetik që ndërpret operacionet e centraleve, si dhe një ndërprerje e energjisë jashtë vendit, në të cilën mbështeten centralet bërthamore për të vazhduar funksionimin. Nëse një bërthamë reaktori do të shkrihej, gazrat shpërthyes ose mbeturinat radioaktive do të dilnin nga struktura e kontrollit. Pasi të dilnin në atmosferë, rrjedhjet do të përhapeshin në mijëra milje, duke nxjerrë në dritë elementë radioaktivë shumë toksikë në peizazhet urbane dhe rurale.