Head of the Safety Analysis Department of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety Dmytro Gumenyuk reported that after the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam, Russian occupiers are preparing a new disaster.
This information was reported by Krymr.com, as reported by URA-Inform.
Gumenyuk expressed concern about the increase in the number of military personnel at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which he considers a sign of nuclear terror on the part of Russia. The expert warned that if Russia decides to restart the power units and integrate them into its energy system, the likelihood of a disaster will only be a matter of time:
«Connecting the power unit to the Russian power grid— will be a challenge in itself for Ukraine. Now Ukraine is connecting to the European power grid, and connecting Russia will directly affect even the European power grid. This is already a crime. In order to power the equipment, cool the nuclear reactors, Ukraine provides already scarce electricity to ensure safety at the Zaporizhzhya station. If even one power unit is restarted, the energy that will be released in the nuclear reactor will increase thousands of times. cool the nuclear fuel to cool the equipment for a long time. This can lead to boiling of the cooling pond and, in principle, to heating of the active zone, because there will be nothing to cool it with».
He also noted the acute shortage of qualified personnel to operate these power units, since the Zaporizhzhya station was modernized and differs significantly from Russian analogues, which requires special training. Gumenyuk emphasizes that an unsuccessful launch of at least one power unit could lead to consequences comparable to the accident at Fukushima, and radiation contamination could spread beyond Ukraine and reach Europe.
«In my opinion, the world community has shown that it has no influence on the Russians regarding their stay or expulsion from the Zaporizhzhya station. Therefore, here we can only hope for the remnants of their (the occupiers') common sense, that they will not do this, because this will be a danger not only for Ukraine and Europe, but also for them,», Gumenyuk added.
At the same time, he emphasized that the main challenge for the world is to prevent the restart of the reactors. The Zaporizhzhya NPP will be safe only after the territory is liberated from the occupiers and returned to the control of Ukraine.
Recall that earlier it was reported that a powerful earthquake could occur in Ukraine: geophysicist's forecast (map).