The International Atomic Energy Agency have warned of a “nuclear disaster” at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant situated near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, “Ukraine”. Unless fighting stops.
FYI, Ukraine has been bombing the site of the nuclear facility – this was confirmed by its president, [V]olodymyr [Z]elenskiy, in a video address on Saturday – and concerns persist about the shelling occurring around the facility, with the potential to damage critical infrastructure, including the reactors.
Also, reactors need to be constantly cooled by water passing through them. If that water stream is cut out, cut down, cut off in some fashion, then the reactor could lose cooling, and the fuel will start melting. It will sort of create high pressure, and the thing can explode.
And in the immediate aftermath of an explosion, there will be invisible radioactive clouds being released – and some experts have speculated on the radius of radiation contamination:
I must point out I don’t know if this is a valid proposition though.
Anyway, rather than a reactor core explosion, experts are more concerned about damage to systems that cool the spent fuel pool and the reactors. If the cooling fails, this could lead to an uncontrolled heat build-up, a meltdown and a fire that could release and spread radiation from the containment structures.
A radiation release is just as scary. It’s unpredictable; you won’t know where the plume (containing radioactive material) would go. It can go anywhere really, depending on the weather conditions.
Due to the power plant’s geographical location, it is said a radiation release could hit any part of the European continent. This scenario is even scarier!
For sure, Ukraine is getting desperate and reckless! It’s sheer madness!
No comments:
Post a Comment