Like 10 Chornobyl zones: possible consequences of the accident at Zaporizhya NPP
The State Agency for Management of the Exclusion Zone warns that the possible consequences of a fire or explosion at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant will be ten times greater than the consequences of the 1986 accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.
According to experts, there were 2,000 fuel assemblies at the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl NPP, at the Zaporizhia NPP, six reactors and the spent nuclear fuel storage contain up to 18,000 fuel assemblies, that is, 9-10 times more.
The potential area of the exclusion zone in the event of a disaster will reach 30,000 sq. km. is like 10 Chornobyl zones. Accordingly, the territory of the Zaporizhia region will become uninhabitable. The area of the contaminated territory can reach 2 million sq. km. Pollution of other territories of Ukraine, Europe, the Russian Federation and Belarus will depend on the wind.
– The number of liquidators can be from 1 million people, and the dead – tens of thousands, depending on the current number of people on the territory of Zaporizhya region, the number of evacuated/displaced people – from 2 million people. Also, the Dnipro River will be polluted for an immeasurable number of years, – warns Lala Tarapakina, advisor to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources.
According to her, a fire, explosion or damage by shells, bombs, rockets can cause the release of radioactive cesium-137 in quantities dangerous to human health, soil and water bodies.
Photo: Facty ICTV
As of August 9, Zaporizhya NPP operates with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards.
As a result of the attack on the Zaporizhya NPP, the emergency protection of one of the power units was activated, one of the three power units was turned off.
The shelling seriously damaged the nitrogen-oxygen station, the combined auxiliary building, and three radiation monitoring sensors around the site of the dry storage site for spent nuclear fuel.
There is also a risk of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances.
Source: Energoatom
