Risky Attack on Nuclear Power Center in Ukraine Raises Concerns
2022-03-05
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1Russian forces captured Europe's largest nuclear power center in southern Ukraine early Friday.
2The intense gun battle led to a fire that raised concerns about the safety of nuclear reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station.
3After speaking with Ukrainian officials, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi said a Russian "projectile" hit a training center during the battle causing a fire.
4And Reuters news agency also confirmed a video showing one building at the nuclear center burning after being hit by several shells.
5Russian defense officials, however, blamed "Ukrainian saboteurs" for the attack without providing any evidence.
6Ukrainian officials said the fire was put out and the safety of the center was not affected although there was damage to the area.
7Grossi said the reactors had suffered no damage but only one of the six reactors was working.
8He added that the monitoring system for radiation was working normally and that no release of radioactive material had been found.
9And Ukrainian workers were continuing to operate the plant while Russian forces controlled the area.
10The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station is designed differently from the Chernobyl plant,
11which suffered the world's most severe nuclear disaster in 1986.
12The area is closed off to the public and radiation levels there are still high.
13Russian forces seized Chernobyl on the first day of their invasion.
14Although there have been no reports of radiation leaks at Zaporizhzhia,
15the IAEA has warned that fighting in and around the area presents extreme risks.
16One big concern is that fighting could interrupt the power supply to the nuclear plant.
17Plant workers would then have to use diesel fuel generators for electricity, which are less dependable.
18A failure of the cooling systems could lead to a meltdown of the reactor.
19That is what happened at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plants after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 damaged cooling systems there.
20Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the threat to Europe was extremely big and urgent action was necessary.
21"If there is an explosion, that's the end for everyone. The end for Europe," he said in an emotional speech.
22Jon Wolfsthal was a security advisor to former U.S. President Barack Obama.
23He said the reactors have thick containment domes that can protect them from fire and even shelling.
24However, he told the Associated Press "We don't want our nuclear power plants to come under assault, to be on fire."
25Ukraine is highly dependent on nuclear energy.
26It has 15 reactors at four stations that provide about half the country's electricity.
27Now, both the Chernobyl area and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station are surrounded by Russian troops.
28Park Jong-woon is an engineering professor at Dongguk University in South Korea.
29He told Reuters there was no immediate threat presented by the seizure of the plant.
30But he added that Russia might block the public from studying radiation information from the plant.
31"They can make people wonder...and spread fear," he said.
32Park helped build nuclear reactors for state-run power operators in South Korea.
33Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials appealed to the IAEA that the Russian military was forcing workers at Chernobyl to work long hours and they were extremely tired.
34IAEA chief Grossi then appealed to Russia to let the Chernobyl workers "do their job safely and effectively."
35James Acton is with the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
36He said the simple way to keep nuclear centers safe is to immediately end any military operation around them.
37Mitsuru Fukuda is a professor at Nihon University in Tokyo.
38He said the attack at Zaporizhzhia raises questions for all countries.
39He said many people did not expect the incident at the nuclear reactor.
40"Now that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has done it, not only Ukraine but the international community, including Japan, should reevaluate the risk of having nuclear plants as potential wartime targets," he said.
41I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1Russian forces captured Europe's largest nuclear power center in southern Ukraine early Friday. The intense gun battle led to a fire that raised concerns about the safety of nuclear reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. 2After speaking with Ukrainian officials, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi said a Russian "projectile" hit a training center during the battle causing a fire. And Reuters news agency also confirmed a video showing one building at the nuclear center burning after being hit by several shells. 3Russian defense officials, however, blamed "Ukrainian saboteurs" for the attack without providing any evidence. Ukrainian officials said the fire was put out and the safety of the center was not affected although there was damage to the area. 4Grossi said the reactors had suffered no damage but only one of the six reactors was working. He added that the monitoring system for radiation was working normally and that no release of radioactive material had been found. And Ukrainian workers were continuing to operate the plant while Russian forces controlled the area. 5Zaporizhzhia nuclear center 6The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station is designed differently from the Chernobyl plant, which suffered the world's most severe nuclear disaster in 1986. The area is closed off to the public and radiation levels there are still high. Russian forces seized Chernobyl on the first day of their invasion. 7Although there have been no reports of radiation leaks at Zaporizhzhia, the IAEA has warned that fighting in and around the area presents extreme risks. 8One big concern is that fighting could interrupt the power supply to the nuclear plant. Plant workers would then have to use diesel fuel generators for electricity, which are less dependable. A failure of the cooling systems could lead to a meltdown of the reactor. That is what happened at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plants after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 damaged cooling systems there. 9Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the threat to Europe was extremely big and urgent action was necessary. 10"If there is an explosion, that's the end for everyone. The end for Europe," he said in an emotional speech. 11Jon Wolfsthal was a security advisor to former U.S. President Barack Obama. He said the reactors have thick containment domes that can protect them from fire and even shelling. However, he told the Associated Press "We don't want our nuclear power plants to come under assault, to be on fire." 12Nuclear safety in a conflict 13Ukraine is highly dependent on nuclear energy. It has 15 reactors at four stations that provide about half the country's electricity. Now, both the Chernobyl area and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station are surrounded by Russian troops. 14Park Jong-woon is an engineering professor at Dongguk University in South Korea. He told Reuters there was no immediate threat presented by the seizure of the plant. But he added that Russia might block the public from studying radiation information from the plant. 15"They can make people wonder...and spread fear," he said. Park helped build nuclear reactors for state-run power operators in South Korea. 16Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials appealed to the IAEA that the Russian military was forcing workers at Chernobyl to work long hours and they were extremely tired. 17IAEA chief Grossi then appealed to Russia to let the Chernobyl workers "do their job safely and effectively." 18James Acton is with the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He said the simple way to keep nuclear centers safe is to immediately end any military operation around them. 19Mitsuru Fukuda is a professor at Nihon University in Tokyo. He said the attack at Zaporizhzhia raises questions for all countries. 20He said many people did not expect the incident at the nuclear reactor. 21"Now that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has done it, not only Ukraine but the international community, including Japan, should reevaluate the risk of having nuclear plants as potential wartime targets," he said. 22I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 23David Rising reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English with materials from VOA News and Reuters. 24____________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26projectile -n. something (such as a bullet or rocket) that is shot from a weapon 27saboteur -n. a person who destroys or damages something deliberately : a person who performs sabotage 28assault -n. a military attack 29reevaluate -v. to judge the value or condition of (someone or something) again 30We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.