Since the reactors have been shut down for several months, now fire sprinklers to deliver water are sufficient for cooling, says nuclear expert Leon Cizelj.
Destruction of the dam Coffee shop in the south of Ukraine will have humanitarian and environmental consequences. What about nuclear safety? Water from the dam was also used to cool the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporozhye. A nuclear expert assessed that the situation at the power plant is under control for the Ob Osmih show on the first program of Radio Slovenia Leon Cizeljincluding the president of the European Association of Nuclear Experts. “The reactors have been shut down for 9 months, so relatively little water is needed for cooling.” If the cooling pool empties, he says, there’s plenty of time to refill the water, even with fire tankers. He is also convinced that the Russians, as one of the world’s largest producers of nuclear power plants, have no economic interest in causing a nuclear disaster of greater proportions in this war. He asks Pirc bullet.
According to your information, what are the conditions at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant after the dam collapse?Ukrainian colleagues report that the situation is under control, they have been provided with water for emergency cooling. The reactors have been stopped for 9 months and the water they need for cooling is now scarce. They have a swimming pool, big about 500 by 500 meters and 10 meters deep, it is separated from the artificial lake behind the dam. This water should be enough. Not for several months, but for one month they can simply top up the water somehow.
Considering this is a war situation – how reliable can this information about a nuclear power plant be?This information is quite reliable. Satellite images quickly show whether this basin is full. We saw the infrared images yesterday and the pool is full for now. The lake is emptying slowly, the pool at nuclear plants but remains full.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s Security and Defense Council, stated that there is enough water to cool the reactors for another 2 to 3 months, after which additional measures will have to be taken.2 to 3 months is probably the time when this water will start to run out. But there will be enough water, the Dnieper River remains, it will just be a little further from the power plant. Since the reactors have been shut down for several months, the need for cooling is already very small, in principle, so to speak, fire sprinklers are sufficient to deliver the necessary amount of water.
Nuclear experts like to say that it is the safest system, that the nuclear power plant is based on trust in the safety system for all possible circumstances. But if we look at the case of Fukushima. At that time, due to the consequences of the earthquake and tsunami, the equipment failed. Releases of radioactive substances followed, obviously not everything can be predicted.You can never predict everything, but let’s go back to the situation at Zaporizhia for a moment: the fact that the dam may collapse and the lake level will drop was already foreseen during the design of this nuclear power plant, which is why they have a reserve pool there. For Fukushima, the tsunami was a surprise, but the earthquake was not. We must also say that there were no victims due to radiation in Fukushima. Life around the Fukushima nuclear power plant can be completely normal these days. People have more of a problem with returning, because there is no water supply, kindergartens and shops, but things are settled in terms of radiation. If, according to the worst-case scenario, the core in Zaporozhye were to be damaged and radioactive releases would follow, I would say that these would be very limited to the yard of the nuclear power plant, and there would be no major consequences far from there.
The Russian-Ukrainian war surprises with new blows. We always return to Zaporozhye, first with shelling, now with floods. How far can this nuclear threat go?Ever since March of last year, when Russian soldiers occupied this power plant, whenever possible, I say that I do not expect an accident with serious consequences in the field of radiation. It’s about Russian power plants. The Russians are still building today, they are one of the strongest suppliers. If you damaged your own power plant, it would be like if the salesman first sold you the car, and then came to the garage to cut the tires. I don’t think they will do that. The war will end one day, and then there will have to be something to earn, right?
You can listen to the entire conversation in this episode of Ob Osmih, which is also podcast.
Source: Rtvslo
