Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant: How prepared is Europe for a future nuclear disaster?
It raises the question, too, of whether we should rely on nuclear power at all.
It raises the question, too, of whether we should rely on nuclear power at all.
euro news.next, By Camille Bello 31/03/2023
Russia’s invasion has repeatedly knocked out Ukraine’s electricity grid, causing blackouts at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – Europe’s largest – where a constant power supply is needed to prevent the reactors from overheating.
On March 9, the plant blacked out for the sixth time since the occupation, forcing nuclear engineers to switch to emergency diesel generators to power its essential cooling equipment running.
“Each time we are rolling a dice,” Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned at the time. “And if we allow this to continue time after time, then one day, our luck will run out”.
On Monday, during a meeting with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, Grossi reiterated the situation “isn’t getting any better” as relentless fighting in the area keeps the facility at risk of a disaster.
The IAEA watchdog has called for a “protection zone” around the plant but has failed to devise terms that would satisfy both Ukraine and Russia.
Grossi told the AP on Tuesday he believed a deal was “close”. However, Zelenskyy, who opposes any plan that would legitimise Russia’s control over the facility, said he was less optimistic a deal was near. “I don’t feel it today,” he said.
Is Zaporizhzhia really at risk?
Nuclear power plants are designed to withstand a wide range of risks, but no operating nuclear power plant has ever been caught up in modern warfare.
Because of the repeated crossfire, Zaporizhzhia’s last reactor was shut down in September as a precautionary measure. But external power is still essential to run critical cooling and other safety systems.
Fears about Zaporizhzhia have exacerbated existing concerns around our lack of preparedness for any nuclear-related incident, laying bare anxieties not necessarily around war-related incidents but about climate change and Europe’s old reactors, for instance.
It raises the question, too, of whether we should rely on nuclear power at all.
March 11 marked the 12-year anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami that caused the second-worst nuclear accident in history at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
The anniversary of the catastrophic meltdown that left 160,000 people displaced and cost the Japanese government over €176 billion, was another reminder of the potential threat of a nuclear spill, but a number of other recent events have also raised the alarm in Europe, not least the war in Ukraine.
‘We are not properly prepared’
Europe’s nuclear power reactors are ageing – they were built on average 36.6 years ago – and recent checkups in France have found cracks in several facilities.
Some energy experts have warned that the extreme weather events brought on by climate change could pose a serious threat to the EU’s 103 nuclear reactors, which account for about one-quarter of the electricity generated in the bloc.
Jan Haverkamp, a senior nuclear energy and energy policy expert for Greenpeace, said the chances of Europe seeing a large accident like Fukushima were now “realistic” and “we should take them into consideration”.
“We are not properly prepared,” he told Euronews Next…………………………………………………….
The maintenance of a nuclear plant depends on a number of factors, such as its design and its supervision history. But there are other factors that come into play, such as error-prone humans, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, flooding, tornadoes or even in the case of Zaporizhzhia, acts of war…………………………………………………………………………………… more https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/03/31/chernobyl-fukushima-europe-prepared-nuclear-disaster-ukraine-earthquake-meltdown-radiation
IAEA head warns on danger of intensified fighting near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
The head of the United Nations atomic energy commission said on Wednesday
that intensified fighting near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant poses
a threat to the facility’s safety. The increasing combat makes it urgent
to find a way to prevent a catastrophic nuclear accident at the
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, said International Atomic Energy Agency
director general Rafael Mariano Grossi. “It is obvious that this area is
facing perhaps a more dangerous phase,” he said of the facility, which is
in a partially Russian-occupied part of Ukraine. “We have to step up our
efforts to get to some agreement over the protection of the plant.”
Morning Star 30th March 2023
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/un-agency-warns-rising-combat-near-ukraine-nuclear-plant
Concern about Turkey’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant
https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1207709/nuclear-concern/ 1 Apr 23, The announcement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that nuclear fuel will be loaded into the first power unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant on April 27 this year should set the alarm bells ringing in the international community and Western allies in particular.
It must be ensured that the nuclear power plant in Mersin Province, on Turkey’s southern coast, will be used only for peaceful purposes and that the unstable leadership of Greece’s neighbor across the Aegean will not be tempted by its aspirations for the role of regional superpower, developing into an even more threatening risk factor.
The issue should not only concern Greece. https://www.ekathimerini.com/opinion/1207709/nuclear-concern/
Fire on Trident nuclear submarine at Scots navy base prompts safety concern for nearby locals.
Fire on Trident nuclear submarine at Scots navy base prompts safety
concern for nearby locals. The fire on-board HMS Victorious last year
raised concerns from local councillors about what was being done to keep
residents safe in the event of a nuclear incident.
Daily Record 30th March 2023
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fire-trident-nuclear-submarine-scots-29592800
Glasgow Live 30th March 2023
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/fire-trident-nuclear-submarine-prompts-26592968
UN watchdog ditches Ukrainian nuclear plant safety zone scheme
Politico, BY LOUISE GUILLOT, MARCH 29, 2023
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog today abandoned the idea of creating a safety and security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Since September, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been pushing Ukraine and Russia to agree on putting the nuclear plant off limits from the ongoing military conflict.
“Initially we have been focusing on the possibility of establishing a well-determined zone around the plant,” he told reporters during a visit at the plant today. “Now the concept is evolving, refocusing more on the protection itself, the things that should be avoided … rather than on territorial aspects which pose certain problems.”…………….
“It is obvious that the situation is not improving,” Grossi said, pointing at increasing military activity in the region.
Grossi added that efforts to reach a deal between Kyiv and Moscow on measures to prevent a nuclear accident are still “a work in progress.” https://www.politico.eu/article/un-watchdog-ditches-ukrainian-nuclear-plant-safety-zone-scheme/
IAEA nuclear safety chief at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station
The UN atomic watchdog chief is expected on Wednesday to visit Ukraine’s
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently held by Russian
forces. There are persistent fears about the safety of the nuclear plant —
Europe’s largest — which is located in the southern Zaporizhzhia region
where there has been frequent shelling since Russian troops invaded. Rafael
Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and his
delegation are expected to arrive Wednesday morning and leave by afternoon,
according to the Russian news agency TASS, citing an official with Russia’s
nuclear operator Rosenergoatom. This will be Grossi’s second visit to
Zaporizhzhia since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, and he
plans to “assess first-hand the serious nuclear safety and security
situation at the facility”, according to the IAEA.
France24 29th March 2023
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230329-iaea-chief-to-visit-ukraine-nuclear-plant
Russian Factory That Makes Nuclear Missile Engines Catches Fire
News Week, BY ISABEL VAN BRUGEN ON 3/23/23
fire has broken out on the territory of a Russian factory that manufactures equipment for the Russian Army, according to state media reports.
Seven people have been rescued from a burning building and firefighters are still searching for the source of the blaze at the Yaroslavl Motor Plant, in Yaroslavl, Russia, which describes itself on its website as one of Russia’s largest enterprises producing multi-purpose diesel engines, clutches, gearboxes and spare parts.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry was quoted by state-run news agency TASS as saying that fire departments were alerted to the blaze at 1.30 p.m. local time. Photos circulating on social media show plumes of thick black smoke rising into the sky.
According to local media reports, there was an explosion prior to the fire…………………………
Russian blogger and analyst Anatoly Nesmiyan said on his Telegram channel that “something quite serious is on fire” at the factory, though did not elaborate on what that could be. Nesmiyan described the factory as one of the largest manufacturers of engines and gearboxes for equipment belonging to the Russian Army, including engines for Topol-M nuclear missile launchers.
According to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Topol-M is a Russian solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles).
The incident is the latest in a string of mysterious fires in Russia since President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
On Monday, a Russian anti-Putin partisan movement called Black Bridge claimed responsibility for last week’s fire at a building used by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don near the Ukraine border. https://www.newsweek.com/russian-factory-fire-nuclear-missile-engines-fire-explosion-1789877
Fears that France’s nuclear safety system may now fail – from Nuclear Transparency Watch, 11 French and European NGOs and 23 members of European Parliament.
The nuclear watchdog organisation Nuclear Transparency Watch wrote an open
letter together with 11 French and European NGOs and 23 Members of the
European Parliament (see the lists below) to the French Ministry of Energy
Transition expressing their concerns about the survival of the quality of
the French nuclear safety system.
This open letter was sent in the context
of the French national debate at the National Assembly regarding a reform
of the French nuclear safety system foreseeing the dismantlement of the
Institute for Radioprotection and nuclear safety (IRSN), which is the
French independent nuclear technical support organisation.
On 15 March, this reform was rejected by the Assembly, in fact this reform was
considered unjustified, not being supported by any kind of safety impact
assessment and also dangerous in the perspective of a rapid development of
nuclear facilities.
As a European network, NTW sees this reform as a
potential threat to the nuclear safety culture in Europe with a risk of
downgrading the safety standards set by the well-recognised independent and
dual French nuclear safety system now in place.
Nuclear Transparency Watch 20th March 2023
Minnesota nuclear plant shuts down for leak; residents worry
A Minnesota utility has begun shutting down a nuclear power plant near Minneapolis after discovering water containing a low-level of radioactive material was leaking from a pipe for the second time
abc news, By TRISHA AHMED and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press, March 25, 2023
MONTICELLO, Minn. — A Minnesota utility began shutting down a nuclear power plant near Minneapolis on Friday after discovering water containing a low level of radioactive material was leaking from a pipe for the second time. While the utility and health officials say it is not dangerous, the issue has prompted concerns among nearby residents and raised questions about aging pipelines.
Xcel Energy discovered in November that about 400,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of water containing tritium had leaked. The utility made a temporary fix but learned this week that hundreds more gallons of tritium-laced water leaked, leading to the shutdown decision.
After the plant cools over the next few days, workers will cut out the leaking pipe, which is over 50 years old, said Chris Clark, Xcel Energy’s president. The utility will then have the pipe analyzed in hopes of preventing future leaks, he said……………………..
Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the fact there was a second tritium leak “shines a light on the problem of maintaining aging pipelines” underground at older nuclear plants…………………..
The utility reported the initial leak to state and federal authorities in late November but didn’t make it widely public until last week, raising questions about transparency and public health issues. State officials said they wanted to wait for more details before sharing information widely. Criticism about the delay played a role in Xcel’s decision to hold a public information session Friday……………………………………..
Tim Judson, executive director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a group that opposes nuclear power, said the second leak “is obviously concerning” and that public worries about possible health risks are exacerbated by the recent toxic train derailment in Ohio, where residents remain concerned about possible health effects despite government pledges that air and water are safe.
“People are seeing what happened in Ohio, and they are distrustful of the government response,’’ Judson said. https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/minnesota-nuclear-plant-shuts-leak-residents-worry-98110848
Huge 1.5 million litres of radioactive water with tritium leaks from nuclear power plant
Xcel Energy said they are cleaning up the leak of 400,000 gallons (1.5
million litres) of tritium-contaminated water from its Monticello nuclear
power plant in Minnesota.
Mirror 18th March 2023
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/huge-15-million-litres-radioactive-29492496
400,000 gallons of radioactive water leaked from a nuclear plant in Minnesota
AP By STEVE KARNOWSKI 16 Mar 23
ST.. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota regulators said Thursday they’re monitoring the cleanup of a leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear power plant, and the company said there’s no danger to the public.
………………… While Xcel reported the leak of water containing tritium to state and federal authorities in late November, the spill had not been made public before Thursday. State officials said they waited to get more information before going public with it.
…………………….. The Monticello plant is about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis, upstream from the city on the Mississippi River.
………………. Xcel said it has recovered about 25% of the spilled tritium so far, that recovery efforts will continue and that it will install a permanent solution this spring.
…………… Xcel Energy is considering building above-ground storage tanks to store the contaminated water it recovers, and is considering options for the treatment, reuse, or final disposal of the collected tritium and water. State regulators will review the options the company selects, the MPCA said. https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-xcel-energy-nuclear-radioactive-tritium-leak-c7a12ecb1b203179c5f7fef42bd0a3aa?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_02
Lessons from Chernobyl and Fukushima: Is Europe prepared for another nuclear disaster?
By Camille Bello • Updated: 11/03/2023 – 15:29
Exactly 12 years ago, a massive earthquake and tsunami caused the second-worst nuclear accident in history at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
The anniversary of the catastrophic meltdown that displaced 160,000 people and cost the Japanese government over €176 billion should itself be enough of a reminder of the potential threat of a nuclear spill, but a number of recent events have also raised the alarm in Europe.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has repeatedly knocked out the country’s electricity grid, causing blackouts at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, where power is needed to prevent the reactors from overheating like in the 1986 Chernobyl radiation disaster.
Meanwhile, Europe’s other nuclear reactors are ageing – they were built on average 36.6 years ago – and recent checkups in France have found cracks in several of them.
Some energy experts have warned that the extreme weather events brought on by climate change could pose a serious threat to the EU’s 103 nuclear reactors, which account for about one-quarter of the electricity generated in the bloc.
Jan Haverkamp, a senior nuclear energy and energy policy expert for Greenpeace, said the chances of Europe seeing a large accident like Fukushima were now “realistic” and “we should take them into consideration”.
“We are not properly prepared,” he told Euronews Next https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/03/11/chernobyl-fukushima-europe-prepared-nuclear-disaster-ukraine-earthquake-meltdown-radiation
Nuclear research center reiterates need for separate regulatory body
Business World, March 12, 2023,
THE creation of a new agency that will oversee nuclear power will assure objective regulation of the development of the industry, especially in the areas of safety and security, the head of a nuclear research institution said.
Responding to claims that a separate regulator is unnecessary, Carlo A. Arcilla, director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), told BusinessWorld by phone: “You don’t normally want to have a situation where a body will regulate itself.”
The PNRI is an arm of the Department of Science and Technology tasked with conducting research into the safe and peaceful use of nuclear energy in the Philippines. Mr. Arcilla said that transferring regulatory powers to a different agency would help avoid conflict of interest.
The House nuclear energy committee is currently discussing a bill proposing to create the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority or PhilATOM, which will take on the regulatory functions that the PNRI currently holds.
A science advocacy organization has called the bill unnecessary, calling instead for the expansion of the PNRI’s powers……………….
The proposed agency will be headed by a director general and deputy director-general, who will be appointed by the President of the Philippines.
Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, the group that opposed the bill, also said that nuclear waste disposal could affect the safety of nearby communities. ……. https://www.bworldonline.com/economy/2023/03/12/510115/nuclear-research-center-reiterates-need-for-separate-regulatory-body/
Nuclear crash exercise beset by blunders, says UK’s Ministry of Defence
Rob Edwards March 12, 2023
An exercise testing emergency responses to a nuclear bomb convoy crashing,
exploding and spreading a cloud of radioactive contamination was plagued
with “errors” and “confusion”, according to official assessments by
the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
There were shortages of vital medical
equipment, “poor” arrangements for casualties and multiple mistakes in
radiation monitoring. One set of radiation readings was wrong “by a
factor of 1,000 times”. At one point MoD firefighters ran out of water,
and at another an MoD commander refused help from the civil fire service.
There was no official assessment of whether or not the crash was caused by
a terrorist.
The Ferret 12th March 2023 https://theferret.scot/nuclear-crash-exercise-blunders/
Britain’s Office for Nuclear Regulation warns on the need for a safety case, as EDF wants to extend the life of 2 nuclear power Stations
A spokesperson for the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) said: “We are
aware of EDF’s announcement today (9 March 2023) of its intention to extend
the operating life of Heysham 1 and Hartlepool Power Stations.
“Although a plant life extension decision does not require formal regulatory
assessment or approval by ONR, it is a requirement of the site licence that
operations be carried out at all times under a valid safety case. “A
number of the current safety cases for the stations will need to be updated
to achieve EDF’s stated ambitions, together with investment in plant to
sustain equipment reliability, all while ensuring that the necessary people
and skills are on site.
“The ongoing safety of operations will need to be
fully demonstrated to us as part of the ongoing regulation of the sites in
Lancashire and Teesside, which will be informed though our extensive
inspection and assessment regime. “Once we receive them, the safety cases
from EDF will be thoroughly assessed by our team of expert inspectors.
ONR 9th March 2023
1 This Month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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