The authorities of the Dnepropetrovsk region have created a special headquarters and developed a plan for the evacuation of people in case the Russians commit a terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
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At the same time, the head of the OVA, Sergei Lysak, assured that there were no reasons for panic so far.
We take seriously a possible terrorist attack at the Zaporozhye NPP. However, there is no reason to panic. An appropriate headquarters has been created in the Dnepropetrovsk region. A plan for the evacuation of people has been developed,” Lysak said.
The head of the OVA also said that exercises would be held in the region in case of an emergency. All services will work out different possible scenarios.
The U.S. has so far seen no signs that a possible Russian plan to blow up the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is “inevitable,” while keeping a close eye on the situation, said Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council.
On Monday, June 26, the head of the GUR, Kirill Budanov, said that the Russian invaders had completed preparations for a terrorist attack at the ZNPP, the largest station in Europe with six reactors.
In particular, the ZNPP cooling pond was mined, and the occupiers placed about four out of six blocks of equipment stuffed with explosives. In the event of a pond explosion, nuclear reactors without cooling can melt down in 10 to 14 days, Budanov said.
Oleg Dudar, the former head of the ZNPP operational division, told Forbes about the consequences of the terrorist attack at the nuclear power plant:
The cooling pond is an artificial reservoir of eight square kilometers for cooling the operating turbines of power units. At present, no nuclear chain reaction occurs in all six ZNPP reactors. There are three safety systems for each of the Zaporizhzhya NPP units – 18 systems in total. Every second they remove heat from nuclear reactors, from the fuel located both in the reactors and in the cooling pools on the units.
This is the residual heat, it remained after the nuclear chain reaction ceased to occur in the reactors. Over time, it decreases, but it must be taken away all the time.
Undermining the sandora, which is installed on the cooler and is necessary for its purging, will exclude the possibility of feeding the spray pools. If no action is taken and water is lost, after a while the fuel in the reactors and spent fuel pools will begin to heat up and melt. The consequence is the release of radioactive products into the external environment, their impregnation into groundwater and their spread by the wind.
If a terrorist attack occurs, it will be a different accident than at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It will be more like an accident at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture. A reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, other physical processes took place there. The wind carried the radioactive fuel.
In this case, there will be a slow outflow of radioactive mass. Almost the entire periodic table, elements in an active state, emitting radiation for a century, will fall into the atmosphere.
Minimal consequences of the accident – radiation will stain everything within a radius of more than 10 km around the ZNPP. If the fuel breaks through the concrete in the reactors and gets into the ground and the Dnieper – the worst scenario.
In terms of the scale of negative consequences, it will be a tragedy no less than the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents. The south of Ukraine will be lost for many years.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.