Chernobyl

Atomic watchdog loses contact with SECOND Ukraine nuclear site: Captured Zaporizhzhia power station goes offline after it emerged Chernobyl could be just 48 ...

A map of the Chernobyl exclusion zone is pictured above. The Chernobyl New Safe Confinement is the huge cover - or sarcophagus - that was placed over reactor four in 2016. It was designed to prevent further release of radioactive contaminants for 100 years. Pictured, the Chernobyl plant three days after the explosion on April 29, 1986 Ukraine has warned that radioactive substances could be released from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Pictured: A graphic showing the series of events that led to the explosion in the reactor in Reactor 4 on the night of April 26, 1986 Speaking to MailOnline Claire Corkhill - Professor of Nuclear Material Degradation at Sheffield University - said that while power being cut at Chernobyl was concerning, the spent nuclear fuel would not lead to a nuclear 'meltdown'. Energoatom has said that work to repair the connection and restore power to the plant - the site of the world's biggest nuclear disaster in 1996 - has not been possible because fighting is under way in the region. The IAEA said later on Wednesday it saw 'no critical impact on safety' from the power cut at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine. A German environment ministry spokesperson had said on Wednesday that Germany had no knowledge of radiation leaking from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Russia took control of the defunct atomic plant on the first day of the invasion and has since captured a second nuclear site - Zaporizhzhia - the biggest in Europe. Russian forces captured the plant and cut the power in the early days of the invasion.

Russian forces have damaged a high-voltage power line at the site, increasing the chance that radiation could leak and spread across Europe, the state ...

Yesterday the IAEA said that remote data transmission from safeguarding monitoring systems at Chernobyl had been lost, and that it was looking into the issue. But the “a special system of security in case of electricity cuts” involving the diesel generators meant the plant could operate safely for several days. This is extremely important for the security of the entire planet!” Fighting is currently under way, making it impossible to carry out repairs and restore power,” Energoatom added. It all ended in brutal searches, shootings over the heads of our employees and threats of execution – they were not allowed to repair work. Emergency back-up diesel generators were switched on at the site to keep the plant operating without electricity.

Vital cooling systems for controlling nuclear waste at the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant are offline, leading to concerns that radioactive ...

Details of the force at Chernobyl weren't given. But many of the radiation sensors around the plant have been offline since. An update from the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine on 9 March said that there were no immediate concerns: “There are no violations of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) safe operation limits and conditions. The situation at Chernobyl has been tense since the first day of the invasion when Russian troops seized the site. Without electricity it will be difficult to cool ponds that contain hazardous nuclear waste and to filter the air inside the vast containment building that houses the remains of the reactor that was destroyed during an infamous disaster at the site in 1986. If the ponds are allowed to run dry then there is a chance that radioactive material could be released into the environment.

UN's nuclear watchdog voices concern over 'worsening' situation for staff at defunct Ukrainian plant. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2021.

One of Ukraine’s four functioning nuclear power plants, Zaporizhzhia, the largest in Europe, is under Russian control after it was fired on with artillery. However, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there was enough water in the spent fuel pools for the fuel rods to cool sufficiently to avoid an accident. In case of trouble-free operation, the stock of diesel fuel on diesel generators will be enough for 48 hours.”

Fighting around Chernobyl caused a power outage on Wednesday, sparking concerns about spent nuclear fuel assemblies stored at the decommissioned facility — the ...

With no working reactors, there is no risk of a meltdown. But the ruins from the 1983 disaster still pose considerable dangers.

As is common practice in the nuclear power industry, the fuel removed from all four Chernobyl reactors over the years, more than 20,000 assemblies in all, is stored in pools of water that dissipate the heat produced as the fuel decays radioactively. The fuel inside a reactor eventually becomes used up and is replaced. This is what happened at the Fukushima reactors in Japan in 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami wiped out backup power systems.

The decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant and its spent fuel facilities were cut off from electricity, heightening the risk of a radioactive release, ...

On Wednesday morning, Energoatom reported that Zaphorizhzhia workers "are under strong psychological pressure" and stressed at having to work under orders of the Russian military. At Chernobyl, the handling of nuclear material has been put on hold, and remote radiation monitoring systems meant to transmit safety data have stopped doing so since Tuesday, the IAEA said. "An accident can happen at any moment, and its consequences are unpredictable!" Lack of power means the ventilation system is not working, which leaves personnel onsite vulnerable to radiation exposure, the company added. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said that regular works, maintenance and repair at Chernobyl are not being performed since it was seized last week by Russian troops. "As a result, the temperature in the holding pools will increase ... and release of radioactive substances into the environment will occur.

Without power, the 'parameters of nuclear and radiation safety' cannot be controlled, authorities warn.

“Another serious concern is the maintenance of the ventilation system in the New Safe Confinement structure. “Therefore they will not be producing significant amounts of heat, making a release of radiation very unlikely,” said Professor Geraldine Thomas, director of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank. The cause of the damage to the power line serving Chernobyl was not immediately clear. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Authorities said the outage could put systems for cooling nuclear material at risk. Professor Claire Corkhill, a chair in nuclear material degradation at the University of Sheffield, said: “There are several areas of concern with regards to the safety of the nuclear material stored there.”