Prolonged blackout at ZNPP could lead to Fukushima scenario - Guardian
Due to the absence of external power for more than 72 hours, emergency generators at Zaporizhzhia NPP are operating at maximum capacity. Uncontrolled heating of the reactors is possible, comparable to the Fukushima scenario.
According to Censor.NET, The Guardian reports.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP occupied by Russian troops has been without external power for more than three days. Emergency generators ensure the functioning of the cooling and safety systems, but there are no signs that the power line will be restored in the near future.
Western experts and Ukrainian officials are concerned that Russia is artificially creating a crisis situation in order to consolidate control over Europe's largest nuclear power plant. The operating conditions of one or more reactors in the combat zone pose significant risks to the Russian side.
"Russia is using the nuclear power plant as a lever in the negotiation process," the Ukrainian official told reporters.
At the same time, Greenpeace experts warn of a "new critical and potentially catastrophic phase" of the occupation of the plant.
Stress tests conducted by European regulators after the Fukushima accident in 2011 showed that a nuclear power plant should have external power for three days. No tests have been conducted beyond this time, so the situation remains uncertain.
Currently, seven of the eighteen available generators are supporting reactor cooling. However, in case of their failure, uncontrolled heating of nuclear fuel in six reactors is possible for several weeks, which could cause fuel element meltdown.
In Fukushima, the accident was triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake. The reactors shut down automatically, but the emergency generators failed due to the tsunami. In three days, three nuclear rods melted, fuel remained in the reactor vessel, there were no fatalities, but more than one hundred thousand people were evacuated.
There are indications that Russia is moving closer to connecting a new power line through the occupied territories. Analysis of satellite imagery has shown construction stretching 125 miles from the Russian power grid to occupied Mariupol. Other images show the construction of a dam to create a safer water reservoir, potentially allowing one of the six reactors to be launched.
A week ago, the plant's Russian director, Yuriy Chernichuk, said that integration into the Russian grid was "in the final stages," although starting a reactor during the war was an unprecedented step.
