A fire broke out in the area of the Zaporizhia power plant due to a fire, and there is a power outage at the Chernobyl power plant. Russian soldiers are preventing Chernobyl workers from leaving the power plant.
Russia has taken over two Ukrainian nuclear power plants during Ukraine’s two-week war: the Zaporizhia power plant and the Chernobyl power plant. The Chernobyl power plant was taken over at the beginning of the war in February. The Zaporizhia power plant was taken over a week ago on the fourth day of March.
After the conquests, a fire caused by fire broke out near the Zaporizhia power plant, and the Chernobyl power plant no longer receives electricity from the electricity grid.
According to the Geneva Convention, nuclear power plants are a protected area during a war, meaning that no military action should be taken on their territory. This story answers six questions about the situation.
What is happening in Chernobyl at the moment?
Workers at the Chernobyl plant are not allowed to leave the plant. The power plant is no longer connected to the external electricity grid needed to cool the fuel in the plant.
Russia took over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant soon after launching an attack on Ukraine.
The power plant does not produce electricity, but it requires constant maintenance. Russia is currently preventing plant workers from leaving the power plant area. The plant has more than two hundred workers stuck. In total, the Chernobyl power plant employs about two thousand people.
On Wednesday, the Chernobyl power plant was no longer connected to the external electricity grid. Electricity is needed in the power plant to maintain the cooling systems. The power plant has a backup generator that can generate electricity for 48 hours.
The power plant has nuclear fuel that is cooled by large water reservoirs. The fuel produces heat long after it has been used. The last reactors in Chernobyl were shut down 22 years ago, meaning the fuel currently being cooled still produces heat, but not in large quantities.
What happens if Chernobyl’s cooling systems shut down?
The water that protects the fuel begins to evaporate slowly. Water acts as a shield against radiation, meaning that radiation levels begin to rise in and near the fuel depot.
The water evaporates slowly from the pool as there are thousands of cubes of it. It can take several days or even weeks before water needs to be added to the pools.
It is estimated that the pool water temperature will not rise above 45 degrees Celsius even if the fuel is not cooled by electricity. It is therefore very unlikely that the water in the pool will start to boil and thus expose the fuel.
As the water evaporates, the level of radioactivity in the fuel storage and its surroundings increases, as the water acts as a shield against radiation. This means that workers would not be able to work safely on site if there was little water left.
Is the situation in Chernobyl threatening Finland?
The power outage at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant does not threaten Finland. Both the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority STUK and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are of the opinion that a power outage does not pose a critical danger.
Even if the water evaporates around the nuclear fuel, its radioactive radiation is not so strong that it would be a threat in Finland. It is important to prevent water depletion too much in order to continue working in and near the fuel depot.
However, both STUK and the IAEA are concerned about the resilience of the plant’s employees. Workers do not change as usual, in addition to which the war situation is generally stressful. Well-rested workers are important for the safety of a nuclear power plant.
How big is the danger of explosions and shootings in the area of nuclear power plants?
Nuclear power plants would not withstand a deliberate military strike with more powerful weapons, but they would not be damaged by stray bullets and single firing.
A protective hood has been built at the Chernobyl power plant to protect the remnants of the power plant’s nuclear reactor. The power plant’s nuclear reactor was destroyed in the 1986 nuclear power plant accident. This hood would hardly withstand a military shock, as it was built to protect the remains of a nuclear reactor from the weather and to guarantee good working conditions for workers.
However, there are concrete containment structures under the canopy to protect the remnants of the nuclear reactor. These protective structures prevent direct radiation from the remnants.
Damage to the hood would therefore not directly lead to radioactive releases. In addition, most of the reactor residue has seeped deep into the plant structures and is under water. This limits the release of any radioactive substances released into the air.
A fire broke out in the area of the Zaporizhia power plant a week ago as a result of the fire. However, the fire did not endanger the reactors or safety systems.
Why has Russia taken over two nuclear power plants?
Both the Zaporizhia power plant and the Chernobyl power plant are on the brink of Russian aggression. It is unlikely that they have been taken over precisely because they are nuclear power plants.
There are many roads in the area of the Chernobyl power plant in the north of Ukraine. Russian soldiers may have taken over the area to get the road for their own use.
It is possible that there have already been Ukrainian soldiers in the area of the Zaporizhia power plant who have used the nuclear power plant as a shield. They may also have guarded the nuclear power plant, but if that is the case, they have been too close to the plant. No military action is allowed in the areas of nuclear power plants, ie they are protected.
It is unlikely that Russia will make a determined effort to take over more nuclear power plants precisely because they are nuclear power plants. They can be captured if they are in the direction of an attack.
Can Russian soldiers cause a nuclear accident in Ukraine?
It is possible to damage facilities if you know what you are doing, which means that the alternative of a nuclear accident cannot be completely ruled out. However, if Russia wants to shut down electricity generation from the plant, it can do so without endangering the power plant’s reactors.
If the production of electricity is to be stopped, the reactors in the nuclear power plant can be shut down as a precautionary measure. However, even after shutdown, the reactors must be cooled. This could be jeopardized if the plant were severely damaged.
However, there are multiple systems in the plants that can be used for cooling. Damage to individual systems would not prevent cooling, i.e., systems should be systematically damaged to stop cooling.
Petteri Tiippana, Director of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, and Lieutenant Colonel Jarmo Mattila, Head of the Department of Military Arts at the National Defense College, have been interviewed for the story. Tomi Routamo, Deputy Director of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, answered the questions by e-mail.
You can discuss the topic 12.3. until 11 p.m.