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Boris Johnson determined to show ‘leadership’ on nuclear power

Johnson announces aim for UK to get 25% of electricity from nuclear power. PM meets industry bosses to discuss new power stations, with several reactors slated for closure as energy demand rises, Guardian,   Jasper Jolly and Rob Davies 22 Mar 22

Boris Johnson has told nuclear industry bosses that the government wants the UK to get 25% of its electricity from nuclear power, in a move that would signal a significant shift in the country’s energy mix.

Johnson on Monday met executives from major nuclear utilities and technology companies including the UK’s Rolls-Royce, France’s EDF, and the US’s Westinghouse and Bechtel to discuss ways of helping to speed up the development of new nuclear power stations.

The UK generates about 16% of its power from nuclear power stations, but several reactors are slated for closure, while electricity demand is expected to rise steadily in the next decade. That would mean large investments in new power stations would be required just to keep the share of nuclear constant, let alone increase it to a record level of just over a quarter of electricity use.

Also present at the meeting were a series of big pension companies and insurers, including Aviva, Legal & General and Rothesay Life, alongside major foreign investors including Australia’s Macquarie and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Ministers have wrestled for years with how to attract private capital to invest in nuclear – but companies have balked at putting pension and insurance cash at risk.

The government is considering changes to insurance rules set by the EU and copied by the UK to make it easier for insurers and pensions to invest. The UK is switching to a “regulated asset base” model, which it hopes will give long-term investors more certainty on returns, a change it hopes will address limitations to the current rules, known as Solvency II.

The government wanted to show the nuclear and investment industries that it had a “clear ambition for more nuclear” in part to balance out intermittent renewable power sources, according to a government source briefed on the discussion.

………………..According to an aide who was present at the meeting, Johnson told industry heads and financiers that there had been a “chronic absence” of leadership by successive British governments on nuclear energy and that the country was “being left for dead” by other nations, such as France, on the issue.

Speaking after the meeting, Tom Greatrex, the chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), said: “Accelerating nuclear projects is absolutely essential to keep energy costs down, cut expensive gas imports and strengthen our energy security as we move towards net zero.

“That means urgently investing in a fleet of large and small nuclear stations, alongside renewable investment, to deliver the clean, sovereign power we need.”

The UK has struggled to build new nuclear power stations in recent decades, with the Japanese conglomerate Hitachi in 2020 pulling out of plans to build a new reactor at Wylfa, north Wales, and geopolitical tensions making the government less keen on attracting Chinese investment to Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast.

Meanwhile the existing nuclear fleet has been in steady decline, with Hunterston B in Scotland retiring earlier this year, Hinkley Point B in Somerset due to follow suit in the summer, and Heysham I and Hartlepool I due to shut down in 2024.

At that point, nuclear capacity is expected to fall as low as 3.6GW.A cross-party group of MPs that campaigns on nuclear issues has called for the government to increase its annual nuclear power capacity to 15GW by 2030 and 30GW by 2050, far above the 12.7GW installed at nuclear power’s peak in 1995.

Major obstacles include difficulty in securing funding from private investors and a ban on new nuclear projects, which was among the factors that scuppered the Wylfa project in north Wales.projects in Scotland, imposed by the devolved government, which prevents Hunterston B being replaced.

The government is examining a plan to revise the financing model for major projects, which was among the factors that scuppered the Wylfa project in north Wales.

Under plans for Sizewell being discussed by Whitehall officials and EDF, the government could take a stake in a development company that will push it through various stages of planning and bureaucracy, sharing the costs with EDF.

Private sector investors such as the insurance funds L&G and Aviva would then be lured in at a later stage in return for a government-backed funding model called the regulated asset base (Rab), diluting the taxpayer and EDF.

Legislation on Rab funding – the same model used to fund airports such as Heathrow and water companies – is due to progress through parliament next month.  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/21/johnson-announces-aim-for-uk-to-get-25-of-energy-from-nuclear-power

March 22, 2022 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Renewable energy: Austria, a leader of anti-nuclear advocacy in Europe

Renewable energy: Austria, a leader of anti-nuclear advocacy in Europe, https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20220321-renewable-energy-austria-a-leader-of-anti-nuclear-advocacy-in-europeBy:

Vianey LORIN|Anthony MILLS, The EU is proposing to put nuclear power on its list of sustainable energy sources. But Austria is threatening to file a case with the Court of Justice of the European Union to get that text annulled. The country has never embraced nuclear energy and is even home to the world’s only power station to have been built but never fired up. Austria produces more than 75 percent of its electricity from renewable energy and is a leader of anti-nuclear advocacy in Europe. Our correspondents report.

March 22, 2022 Posted by | EUROPE, opposition to nuclear, politics international | Leave a comment

Deal on Ukrainian nuclear safety to come ‘soon,’ says IAEA chief


Deal on Ukrainian nuclear safety to come ‘soon,’ says IAEA chief,  
https://www.politico.eu/article/deal-ukraine-nuclear-safety-iaea-chief-russia-war/

Agency hopes to send experts to Ukraine to get ‘credible, objective’ on the ground information.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is closing in on a deal to guarantee the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine, according to its chief Rafael Mariano Grossi.

“We are negotiating, we are approaching what we want to be the final stages of our consultations,” Grossi told European lawmakers on Monday, adding he hoped to reach a deal “very soon.”

The discussions, which started on March 10, are “very delicate” diplomatically, he said.

The future framework will make “no political references to the situation in the plants or no connection that could be construed as legitimizing the presence of anybody in a foreign territory,” according to Grossi, responding to concerns that it could be used by Moscow to legitimize control over parts of Ukraine’s territory.

He added that it will require Russia and Ukraine to “observe some of the rules … that have been repeatedly violated with enormous risk for the population, local, regional, European populations” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.

Russian troops have taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the active nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, prompting fears of potential nuclear disaster and large-scale environmental damage.

Grossi has repeatedly expressed his concerns about nuclear safety as the conflict unfolds, but at no point has the IAEA warned of explicit and immediate danger outside Ukraine.

Speaking to MEPs on Monday, he stressed that “nuclear power plants are very robust, they can sustain an airplane that falls on them.” It would take “massive means” to get to the core of a reactor. He also repeated that targeting nuclear plants would constitute a breach of international law.

Once the framework is agreed, Grossi said he hopes to send IAEA experts to Ukraine “to facilitate the situation there, also as a deterrent to new, complicated, dangerous occurrences taking places.”

Experts will also look to gather “credible, objective information” about the situation on the ground, he said, noting that it is becoming “increasingly difficult” to ascertain the facts of the situation “because there are conflicting narratives about what is happening.”

March 22, 2022 Posted by | politics international, safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Chernobyl radiation monitors ‘not working’

Chernobyl radiation monitors ‘not working’   https://www.cessnockadvertiser.com.au/story/7667680/chernobyl-radiation-monitors-not-working/?cs=6981Australian Associated Press 21 Mar 22,

Ukraine’s nuclear regulatory agency says the radiation monitors around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the world’s worst meltdown in 1986, have stopped working.

In a statement on Monday, the agency also said there are no longer firefighters available in the region to protect forests tainted by decades of radioactivity as the weather warms.

The plant was seized by Russian forces on February 24.

According to Monday’s statement, the combination of risks could mean a “significant deterioration” of the ability to control the spread of radiation not just in Ukraine but beyond the country’s borders in weeks and months to come.

Management of the Chernobyl plant said on Sunday that 50 staff members who had been working non-stop since the Russian takeover have been rotated out and replaced.

March 22, 2022 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

UK’s Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng considering launching State-owned nuclear company

 Government ministers are mulling over plans to launch a state-owned
nuclear company, which would assume stakes in future domestic projects.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is considering the move as he looks to
speed up the development of nuclear plants – which have suffered years of
delays- and reduce the UK’s reliance on foreign energy, according to The
Sunday Times.

 City AM 20th March 2022

https://www.cityam.com/the-nuclear-option-ministers-weigh-up-state-company-as-sunak-doubts-uk-energy-strategy/n.wordpress.com/

March 22, 2022 Posted by | business and costs, politics, UK | Leave a comment

Boris Johnson all for nuclear power – but there are tensions with the Treasury about this

 Boris Johnson will host a meeting with leaders from the nuclear power
industry today as part of efforts to boost domestic energy supplies. The
prime minister wants to remove the barriers to the raising of Britain’s
nuclear power output and sees the industry, along with renewables, as key
to reducing energy imports.

Today’s meeting with nuclear industry bosses
will inform the prime minister’s British Energy Security Strategy, which
has been hit by delays. It is unlikely to be unveiled until early next week
because of tensions with the Treasury and the prime minister’s travel
arrangements, which include a trip this week to a Nato summit in Brussels.
A government source said that the Treasury had delayed Johnson’s plans
for a significant increase in the number of nuclear power plants out of
concern about the feasibility and cost.

 Times 21st March 2022

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-johnson-and-energy-bosses-discuss-nuclear-option-for-cutting-imports-m3pgbqcf3

March 22, 2022 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Boris Johnson ‘gung ho’ for new nuclear power, but Chancellor Rishi Sunak applying the brakes

Boris Johnson in ‘gung ho’ push for more nuclear power as energy
crisis starts to bite. Boris Johnson will on Monday sketch out to industry
bosses what one minister called his “gung ho” approach to boosting
Britain’s nuclear power sector, as officials draw up plans that could
target a fivefold increase in capacity by 2050.

The prime minister vowed
this month to make “a series of big new bets on nuclear power” and
government insiders say this could imply the construction of at least half
a dozen big new stations between 2030 and 2050.

Rishi Sunak, chancellor,
last week applied the brakes to Johnson’s plans to set out an energy
security strategy this week, amid Treasury fears about the cost to the
public purse. New nuclear power stations each require close to £ 20bn to
build and the industry is prone to cost overruns.

Sunak, who presents his
Spring Statement this week, is trying to hold down spending to give him
space to cut taxes. “We need to do more work on the nuclear strategy
before we press ahead,” said one ally of the chancellor. But one cabinet
minister said: “Boris has had something of an evangelical conversion, in
the past few months – he has been really gung-ho for nuclear.” The
energy strategy is due before the end of the month.

 FT 20th March 2022

https://www.ft.com/content/17852c7c-fd92-40cb-b4ec-9767c6069677

March 22, 2022 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Evangelical fervour for new nuclear power in UK’s Tory government

 Wylfa on Anglesey could get three new nuclear reactors as the Prime
Minister is said to be ‘enthusiastic’ about accelerating plans in order
to reach the UK’s future net-zero targets and close an energy black hole.


US nuclear company Westinghouse has put together a consortium with
construction group Bechtel to revive plans for two nuclear reactors at
Wylfa since Hitachi, a Japanese conglomerate, abandoned their own plans in
2019.

A consortium led by Rolls-Royce also wants to place one of their own
‘small’ modular reactors on the site. According to the Financial Times,
Boris Johnson is “enthusiastic about Wylfa’s prospects,” with one
cabinet minister telling the newspaper he “has had something of an
evangelical conversion, in the past few months”.

Ynys Môn MP Virginia
Crosbie has also been enthusiastic about the plans, describing herself in
the House of Commons as “the Atomic Kitten”. However, Chancellor Rishi
Sunak is said to be less enthusiastic given the cost to the taxpayer of
financing such huge projects that would not be operational for decades,
with a target of meeting the UK Government’s ‘net zero’ goal by 2050.

 Nation Cymru 21st March 2022  https://nation.cymru/news/wylfa-could-get-three-new-nuclear-reactors-as-boris-johnson-enthusiastic-about-accelerating-plans/

March 22, 2022 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Boris Johnson in the grip of the nuclear lobby

Prime minister Boris Johnson is expected this week to meet the bosses of
leading power and energy development companies to discuss ways of
increasing Britain’s electricity and gas supplies.

Officials from EDF, developer of the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant, are expected to
be invited to the talks. Rolls-Royce and nuclear company Westinghouse are
also understood to have been invited. EDF and Sizewell C declined to
comment.

But Stop Sizewell C said the Suffolk power project was not the
solution to the energy crisis as it stepped up its campaign again at the
weekend by projecting messages onto Sizewell B on Saturday night.

 East Anglian Daily Times 20th March 2022

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/business/sizewell-projections-message-on-nuclear-power-8768518

March 22, 2022 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Catholic bishops assert their opposition to nuclear weapons

Catholic bishops assert their opposition to nuclear weapons,  THE organisation Justice & Peace Scotland have reaffirmed their opposition to nuclear weapons and have marked the 40th anniversary of the Scottish Bishops 1982 landmark statement entitled Peace and Disarmament.

A video, recorded in conjunction with Sancta Familia Media, features clergy, young people and laity reaffirming their opposition to nuclear weapons, and the reasons for their stance.

The video features Archbishop William Nolan (Glasgow), Archbishop Leo Cushley (Edinburgh), Bishop John Keenan (Diocese of Paisley), Bishop Brian McGee (Diocese of Argyll and the Isles) as well as young people from every Catholic diocese in Scotland………….  https://www.irishpost.com/news/catholic-bishops-assert-their-opposition-to-nuclear-weapons-231766

March 22, 2022 Posted by | Religion and ethics, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The energy crisis is now, new nuclear will be (at least) twenty years too late – UK’s Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA)

The energy crisis is now, new nuclear will be (at least) twenty years too late

The Nuclear Free Local Authorities were dismayed to hear that the door of Number 10 will today once more be held open for guests from the nuclear power industry as Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosts a roundtable with prospective commercial partners, ahead of a new energy statement later this week.

Following Johnson’s proclamation that he will look to ‘place big new bets on nuclear’ and with one cabinet member allegedly describing the Prime Minister as ‘really gung ho for nuclear’, the participants are likely to meet with a firm ally.  Government resolve will also be bolstered by the publication last week by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy of a ‘roadmap’ to make sites, money and a pared-down regulatory environment available to the nuclear industry to enable the development of a further 15 Gigawatts of new nuclear generating capacity by 2035 and 30 GW by 2050.

The NFLA believes that this hyperbole ignores the reality that any new nuclear projects will take too long, cost too much and have too many uncertainties to provide a meaningful solution to the energy and climate crisis that Britain faces now.

“Despite the need to generate ‘more electricity more greenly’ now, the Prime Minister seems determined to ignore the obvious solution that would result from a far greater and more urgent investment in renewable technologies and is instead taking us once more along the increasingly well-trodden and costly road to no-where that is new nuclear”, said Councillor David Blackburn, Chair of the NFLA, in response to the news.

“Every pound spent on nuclear is a pound denied to renewables. New nuclear has a lamentable history of being delivered at far greater cost and far more slowly than was at first predicted.  New nuclear plants take decades to deliver with Hinkley Point C currently estimated to cost at least £23 billion.  Renewables have been proven to deliver electricity far more cheaply, far more quickly and far more safely than new nuclear ever can – and renewable energy comes without the additional eye-watering cost of decommissioning nuclear plants and managing the legacy of radioactive waste for millennia that comes with it.”

The NFLA would like the government to change tack and look to harness natural energy sources to generate power to meet our needs, whilst saving our environment.

The irony is that we already have the solutions to our energy and climate crisis to hand.  When you live in a country that is surrounded by seas and has unpredictable weather it is surely a far safer bet to invest in tidal energy, hydro power, solar panels and wind turbines to draw energy from Mother Nature.  The NFLA believes this, combined with investment in innovative energy storage solutions and in retrofitting our cold and draughty homes to a far higher standard to reduce energy use, could meet Britain’s energy needs, reduce fuel bills, and safeguard our planet in the here-and-now, not the never-never.”

Ends//…For more information please contact Richard Outram, Secretary, NFLA Email Richard.outram@manchester.gov.uk  / Mobile 07583 097793

March 22, 2022 Posted by | ENERGY, politics, UK | Leave a comment

People Against Wylfa-B (PAWB) calls for sanctions on UK importing enriched uranium from Russia

PAWB has written to Ynys Môn MP, Virginia Crosbie, who is a member of the
All Party Nuclear Group in Westminster. We urge the group to call for
sanctions on raw and enriched uranium from Russia, and that such sanctions
are imposed internationally. Russia has 35% of the world market for
enriched uranium.

We also condemn in the strongest terms, the All Party
Nuclear Group’s totally reckless and irresponsible call for 30 Gigawatts
(30,000 Megawatts) of electricity through nuclear by 2050. This shows an
astounding economic and environmental illiteracy. This would be 3 times the
peak of electricity generated by nuclear power in Wales, England and
Scotland during the mid 1990s.

It appears Boris Johnson is listening too
much to this completely misguided nuclear cheerleading by the All Party
Nuclear Group. The Group totally ignores the challenges of climate change,
rising sea levels and the severe threats from storm surges to all coastal
nuclear sites in Wales, England and Scotland. Also, in the context of the
war in Ukraine where 15 operational nuclear reactors are potential dirty
bombs that could poison the whole of Europe with radioactivity, can the All
Party Nuclear Group and Boris Johnson answer how the British state can
justify building new nuclear reactors, obvious targets for hypersonic
missiles by potential enemies?

 PAWB 20th March 2022

https://www.stop-wylfa.org/news/

March 22, 2022 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, politics international, UK, Uranium | Leave a comment

Water supply problems for planned £20billion twin reactor on the Suffolk coast

Sizewell C developer EDF is being asked by government whether a temporary
desalination plant could last for the lifetime of the new nuclear power
plant if it is built. The public examination of the plans for the
£20billion twin reactor on the Suffolk coast was told a permanent water
supply for the proposed development had not yet been secured. However, a
temporary desalination plant would run during the construction of the
project.

Kwasi Kwarteng, secretary of state at the Department of Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy, is now asking EDF what progress has been
made on securing a permanent water supply solution. But he also says: “The
applicant should confirm if it would be possible for the proposed temporary
desalination plant to permanently meet the full water supply demand for the
lifetime of the proposed development should no alternative water supply
solution be identified.”

 East Anglian Daily Times 20th March 2022

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/business/water-supply-sizewellc-questioned-by-government-8768432

March 22, 2022 Posted by | politics, UK, water | Leave a comment

A “no-fly zone” does not becalm the skies

Would put nuclear plants at even greater risk

A “no-fly zone” does not becalm the skies — Beyond Nuclear International 20 Mar 22 , Humanitarian crisis would be worsened if nuclear plants hit

Introduction: There are many views about what the next steps should be to address the ever greater humanitarian tragedy in Ukraine, but virtual unanimity in favor of an immediate end to the war. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has made frequent pleas for a “no-fly zone.” But what would this mean?

On Saturday, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters that U.S. military support helps put Ukraine “in the strongest possible negotiating position.” But at what cost? ……………

For a ceasefire agreement to be reached, it will be necessary to secure Russian strategic interests. This means confirmation that Ukraine will never be a part of NATO and will be a neutral country. It also means clear pathways — carrots as opposed to only sticks — for sanctions to be lifted. There is no time to waste.   

On March 17, US Representative Ilhan Omar said, “As we support Ukraine in their fight against Russia’s brutal invasion, we must avoid the knee-jerk calls that risk nuclear war. A no-fly zone is not simply declared, it must be militarily enforced. It would mean the beginning of World War III. We must reject this completely.” As Code Pink lays out below, a no-fly zone would likely escalate the war exponentially, with the US and NATO involved directly in aerial combat with Russia. That could rain down damage on nuclear power plants indiscriminately. None of the four nuclear power plants sites in Ukraine was built to withstand protracted bombardment.

While the Code Pink article does not address the specific risks to nuclear power plants should a “no-fly zone” be declared (unlikely at this time), it lays out both a preview of such an escalation and a plea for peace, alongside a perhaps uncomfortable short history lesson about the contribution of the US and NATO to the current crisis. While the solutions offered by Code Pink are their own, neither Code Pink nor Beyond Nuclear exonerates in any way the atrocities currently being committed against civilians in a country under invasion. But the precarious situation, poised for a potential escalation — rather than cessation — of war, points up once again the extreme liabilities of nuclear power plants, whose dangers are unequalled by any other power source.

By Medea Benjamin and Code Pink

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just addressed both chambers of Congress. He asked for a no-fly zone — a situation in which U.S. fighter jets would shoot down Russian planes — and for MiG-29 fighter jets to be transferred from Poland to Ukraine (the U.S. has so far declined to be a part of such a transfer as it would be received by Russia as U.S. combat entry into the war).

Following Zelensky’s address, President Biden approved $800 million in new aid for Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. assistance to Ukraine to $1 billion in just this past week, and will include Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. 

Standing ovations, such as the one Zelensky just got from Congress, are great, but what Ukraine really needs is vigorous negotiations to reach a ceasefire deal. To this end, we are calling on the U.S. to enter the negotiations by outlining the agreements and compromises the U.S. should support. Add your name.

By breaking promises not to expand NATO into Eastern Europe, by placing offensive missiles in Romania and Poland that could reach Russia in minutes, by arming Ukrainian forces, by continuing to “modernize” the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and by withdrawing from key nonproliferation treaties, the U.S. exacerbated the conflict that led up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Russia must withdraw its troops and commit to respecting the sovereignty of Ukraine, but the United States must also be clear that it supports and is ready to commit to the following:

  • Continued rejection of a no-fly zone over Ukraine;
  • No NATO expansion;
  • Recognition of Ukraine as a neutral country;
  • An off-ramp for sanctions on Russia to be lifted;
  • Support for an international security agreement to protect the interests of all people on the European continent to remain free from war and occupation; 
  • Support for Ukrainian demilitarization to the degree that missiles would be banned;
  • Supply humanitarian aid to Ukraine and support Ukrainian refugees. 

Beyond increased prices at gas stations, the war in Ukraine is resulting in a silencing of critical anti-war voices inside America. While mainstream U.S. media is providing only a narrow narrative on the war, social media platforms are increasing their censorship. 

Along with asking the U.S. to join the war — a move that could mean a nuclear WWIII — Zelensky has been asking the U.S. to be more involved in the Ukraine-Russia negotiations. 

On Saturday, a State Department spokesperson told Reuters that U.S. military support helps put Ukraine “in the strongest possible negotiating position.” But at what cost? ……………

For a ceasefire agreement to be reached, it will be necessary to secure Russian strategic interests. This means confirmation that Ukraine will never be a part of NATO and will be a neutral country. It also means clear pathways — carrots as opposed to only sticks — for sanctions to be lifted. There is no time to waste.   https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/72759838/posts/3899932178

March 21, 2022 Posted by | Ukraine, weapons and war | 1 Comment

Shrouded in doubt: safety issues at Russian-occupied nuclear stations in Ukraine

Kate Brown and Susan Solomon: One thing nuclear power plants weren’t built to survive: War. Military strategists commonly target the enemy’s electrical grid. That’s a problem when combat is in a nuclearized country like Ukraine.

Inside the New Safe Confinement at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine in 2021, The structure encloses the radioactive remains of the reactor that exploded in 1986. Russian
forces are now in control of the site. The day Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian forces took control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

A week later, flares from Russian artillery lit up the Zaporizhzhia plant; Ukrainian media reported that the Russian army had placed land mines around the plant’s perimeter and was stockpiling arms at both nuclear installations. The army is now pointed at yet another nuclear facility, the South Ukraine plant.

But Russia’s is the first invasion of a country that derives more than half its energy from nuclear power. It stands to reason that Russian generals will seek to capture all 15 active reactors in Ukraine. The Russian army appears to be using the nuclear installations as safe havens, calculating that the Ukrainians will not fire on them, but we can still expect plenty more fearful nights spent riveted to scenes of battles over huge concrete towers and rows of basins filled with radioactive spent nuclear fuel:

It turns out that reactor containment buildings have never been stress-tested for blows from heavy artillery or missiles. Even without a direct hit on a reactor, we are learning of the fragility of nuclear power plants. Normal oversight and operations have essentially been replaced by isolation and disorder.

Workers at Chernobyl have been on the job continuously for more than three weeks. They have no
clean clothes (important for nuclear workers), no real beds, no contact with family, no proper meals or rest.

At the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to a Ukrainian official, Russian soldiers have forced employees into
submission. Employee-hostages — exhausted, hungry and stressed — could make mistakes. So could the untrained Russian military personnel who aregiving the orders. Communication to these sites is largely cut off.
Independent oversight experts cannot enter to verify safe operations or deliver spare parts. Russian diplomats continue to enjoy a privileged role at the International Atomic Energy Agency, despite the war. We have to rely on what the IAEA and the Russian army tell us.

In the past, Soviet nuclear information services specialized in secrecy and mistruths. One of us, while
working on a history of Chernobyl, found that the IAEA had difficulty acknowledging the public health impact of the fallout from the 1986 explosion there. Russian information services again appear to be opaque and untrustworthy. If an accident occurs, we don’t have confidence that rescue squads and firefighters can get to captured nuclear installations to deal with infernos and injuries. Nor can we be sure that we will learn the full extent of the damage and spread of radioactive sources.

 Washington Post 18th March 2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/18/chernobyl-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-ukraine/

March 21, 2022 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment