Fierce fighting has been going on around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant for days. Experts therefore warn of a “very real risk of disaster”. An overview of the dangers around the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
In the Ukraine war, the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has come into focus: Heavy shelling has been reported from the area around the plant for days, fueling fears of a nuclear catastrophe. This brings back memories of the worst nuclear accident in history at Chernobyl in 1986. An overview of the Zaporizhia NPP, the largest in Europe:
history of the nuclear power plant
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located near the town of Enerhodar on the Dnipro River, not far from the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. It has six of Ukraine’s 15 reactors, capable of powering four million homes.
The reactors are pressurized water reactors of Soviet design of the WWER-1000 type, which are considered to be very safe and have a total output of around 6000 megawatts. According to Ukrainian operator Energoatom, the reactors were commissioned between 1984 and 1995.
Before the Russian war of aggression, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant generated about a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. Ukraine has significant uranium reserves and is the world’s seventh largest producer of nuclear energy, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The country began building the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the 1970s. Since the devastating reactor accident there in 1986, Ukraine has greatly improved the safety of its nuclear facilities.
The Science Media Center organization quotes scientist Mark Wenman from Imperial College London as saying that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is “relatively modern”. The reactor components of the power plant are housed in a heavily reinforced security building. The building can withstand “extreme external events”, both “natural and man-made such as a plane crash or explosions”.
Russian crew
Russian forces captured the nuclear power plant on March 4, shortly after the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February. During the fighting, a fire broke out in a training facility at the facility. According to the fire brigade, Russian soldiers only let the fire-fighting squads through to the scene of the fire hours later.
The state-owned company Energoatom shut down two of the reactors at the time. However, the nuclear power plant is still in operation, Ukrainian technicians are working there under Russian control. The IAEA has repeatedly stated that it wants to organize an inspection of the plant – but so far the investigation has not taken place. At the weekend, the IAEA was “alarmed” by the situation on the ground and warned of a “very real danger of a nuclear catastrophe”.
New fights
The nuclear power plant has come under fire several times in the past few days. Parts of the plant were damaged in the process, so one of the three reactors still in operation at the beginning of August had to be shut down, according to Ukrainian sources. Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the attacks. According to Ukrainian information, 14 people were killed in Russian attacks in the vicinity of the plant.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian operator Energoatom accused the Russian side of wanting to connect the nuclear power plant to the Russian-occupied Crimea. In addition, the power lines of the plant, which are connected to the Ukrainian grid, would be damaged.
Source: Stern
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