Nuclear scientists assess the situation at the Zaporozhye NPP

Western leaders called the attack on the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant “terrifying” and “reckless.” Nuclear scientists observe the situation and evaluate it.

As writes air force, nuclear reactors were shut down after the Russian attack. Experts monitoring the situation call it very disturbing and risky – this is not “another Chernobyl”. Professor Claire Corkhill, an expert on nuclear materials at the University of Sheffield, says: “For the first time that morning, I was frightened.

It turns out that only one of the six nuclear power plant reactors is currently operating. Corkhill explains that the reactors are being taken offline, which means “stopping the nuclear reaction and bringing them to a safe and stable state”, and notes the intention of the action:

“If you want to target their power supply, you attack the building next to the power plant and force the operators to turn it off.”

However, Corkhill states that the “worst case scenario” would be for the station’s power supply to be damaged. Because in this case “we can consider a scenario similar to what happened at Fukushima in 2011, when the loss of electricity led to the loss of cooling, which caused the meltdown of three nuclear reactors.”

Recall that tonight, as a result of the shelling of the nuclear power plant by the Russian military, in the administrative building Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (Energodar, Ukraine) a fire broke out that caused alarm around the world.

The security systems of the Zaporizhzhya NPP were not affected, there was no radiation release, the IAEA Director General said.

The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kuleba, warns that “if the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant explodes, it will be a hundred times worse than Chernobyl.” The Ukrainian authorities demand that NATO introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Energoatom published an appeal to the world community, which states that “the shelling is a violation of the nuclear and radiation safety of Europe’s largest nuclear facility.”

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