nuclear-news

Map reveals nuclear fallout that would happen if Europe’s biggest plant explodes

Metro, Gergana Krasteva and Ben Ashton, 12 Aug 24

A fire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is putting Europe’s future at stake.

Ukraine’s leading nuclear energy company, which operated the site until Russian forces seized control in the early days of the war, confirmed that flames broke out at the service water supply facility, later engulfing one of the cooling towers.

Both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky have traded blame for the fire. The six nuclear reactors are in cold shutdown and no nuclear activity was recorded on Sunday, but the overall risk of nuclear meltdown remains elevated. 

The Ukrainian president said radiation levels are ‘within norm’, but since the start of the full-scale invasion, there has been widespread concerns about the safety of Zaporizhzhia………………………………..

A major nuclear incident at the plant could put several European nations at grave risk, not just Ukraine.

A model map shows how the continent could be affected by a nuclear explosion if it were to happen – and also illustrates how far and concentrated the release of cesium-137, which poses a major health hazard, would spread……………………………………………………

How would Europe be affected in case of a nuclear incident?

Dr Paul Dorfman, a nuclear safety expert who has advised the British and French governments, says Ukraine, parts of Russia, and central Europe are at risk of radioactive plume coming from the station.

‘So far, we have been lucky. There has been no significant radiological release from Zaporizhzhia. But luck is not a strategy,’ he told Metro.co.uk.

‘If something does go wrong, it will depend on where the plume goes and the nature of the incident.

‘But you can really begin to write off a lot of economies and lives.’

If the worst happens, the effects of a nuclear incident can have a long-term impact by causing illness, inducing cancer or even leading to death……………………………………………………………..

Dr Dorfman stressed the situation at Zaporizhzhia is not yet resolved, adding that ‘knowing sod’s law, if something can go wrong, it probably will’.

He said the much less defended Olympic-sized storage pools for spent fuel from the nuclear reactors, or otherwise known as ‘ponds’, still present a huge risk.

‘If the power supply to these ponds dries up then the water evaporates and there is a significant nuclear incident where the high-level radioactive waste rods blow,’ the expert added.

In terms of the latest modelling, most of the radioactive plume will fall on Ukraine and Russia’s bordering territory.

Central Europe and the northern tip of the Middle East, including Turkey, are also at risk of exposure.

‘It all depends on the wind and the dispersion. Winds can change as well,’ Dr Dorfman said.

‘So, it depends on the kind of radiation, accident and where the wind blows. There is no question about it, something significant can happen.’ 

Ahead of such a ‘potentially catastrophic’ event, he called for the ‘critical’ distribution of stable potassium iodide through Ukraine, Russia, central Europe and northern Middle East. https://metro.co.uk/2024/08/12/map-reveals-happen-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-explodes-21404991/

August 14, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Ukraine