Ukraine has a large number of nuclear reactors, including the reactors of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was hit by a Russian bombing raid.
These reactors are designed to withstand, to some extent, some attacks.
Large number of nuclear reactors
Ukraine has fifteen relatively recent nuclear reactors in operation. It is the seventh largest producer of nuclear power in the world, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for 2020.
It is also one of the countries more dependent on nuclear energywith more than 50% of the energy coming from nuclear power plants.
These are reactors of Soviet and then Russian construction, type VVER, based on two different technologies, power 440 and 1,000 MW respectively. VVERs are compressed water reactors.
Six reactors are housed at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine, which was hit overnight by bombings that set fire to an adjacent building. They were put into operation between 1985 and 1995.
The plant is relatively modern, says Mark Wenman of Imperial College London. “The design is very different from the Chernobyl reactor, which did not have a protective housing to protect the reactor.”
Ukrainian Energoatom recently turned to the American Westinghouse for the construction of new nuclear power plants in Ukraine.
The choice of nuclear energy is mainly due to the fact that Ukraine has large reserves of uranium. The country had significant energy needs during the Soviet era due to the operation of the large industrial units in Donbass.
The Chernobyl disaster
In Ukraine there are also its reactors Chernobyl Stationwhose operation ceased after the catastrophe of 1986, the most serious in the history of nuclear energy.
Reactor n ° 4, in which the accident occurred, was first covered by a temporary sarcophagus and then by a dome whose construction was completed in 2017. Today’s reactors in Ukraine are of different technology, which is considered safer.
The development of the country’s nuclear power began in the 1970s with the construction of the Chernobyl plant.
“Although the Ukrainian nuclear industry has been closely linked to Russia for many years, it has remained relatively stable during the changes that took place when Ukraine became independent from the former Soviet Union,” the World Nuclear Association (WNA) said in a statement.
He considers that Ukraine has seen continuous improvements in operational safety during and after this period.
Dangers associated with war
The non-governmental organization Greenpeace estimates that if there were disasters at Zaporizhia station “The effects of radioactive contamination could hit large parts of European territory for decades, including Russia.”
But “at present, the current fire has not caused any radioactive leakage,” according to the Ukrainian regulator.
“The main danger in the current situation is the loss of the electricity network, the supply of the station with electricity. Because water supply and electricity are required for the operation of the safety and cooling systems of the reactor heart “, emphasizes Karin Erviou, deputy director of the Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSN) of France.
The stake is to avoid an accident like Fukushima (2011) due to the loss of the cooling system after the tsunami.
Ukrainian reactors have emergency systems, with four sets of safety generators that normally have fuel to run for 7 to 10 days. “They also have mobile equipment, water reserves to manage the situation and prevent the heart of the reactor from deteriorating,” says Karin Erviou.
Another danger comes from a direct attack. The concrete protective housing of the reactor is made to withstand a plane crash.
“They offer a level of resilience, but it all depends on what we are talking about. “An attack can also hit another part of the enclosure and cause an accident if it damages the security systems,” said Karin Erviou.
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