Is Europe prepared for nuclear catastrophe at Zaporizhzhia?
Alessio Dell'Anna
The latest wave of incidents at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - a series of kamikaze drone detonations - occurred in early April, and raised new concerns about a potential major incident at the site.
However, "there's no possibility" such attacks could cause the plant to explode, former IAEA chief nuclear inspector Robert E. Kelley told Euronews.
The IAEA con rmed that it had not observed any structural damage after the 7 April attack, although it strongly condemned it.
'No chances' of Chernobyl scenario today
Some previous strikes on Zaporizhzhia have resulted in power outages.
Technically, this is dangerous. Without power, nuclear reactors can't be cooled down, overheat, and might explode - like at Chernobyl.
But chances this could happen today "are essentially zero", says Kelley.
"Chernobyl's reactor was suddenly turned to full power with all of this water in it, which turned to steam in a fraction of a second and just blew that building to pieces," he explains.
"The reactors that are built today are built to a totally di erent standard. Chernobyl-type reactors include tons of ammable graphite to control the nuclear reaction while Zaporizhzhia's pressurized water reactor (PWR) does not."
"At Chernobyl, the graphite caught re and spewed radioactive isotopes and ash into the atmosphere for days until the re was put out. PWRs have no such ammability problem, a huge advantage. Water does not burn."
"Also, Chernobyl's reactor was inside a large ordinary industrial building that was destroyed by a steam explosion and a massive re. PWR (except for a very few older Russian reactors) are always built inside a massive concrete and steel dome designed to contain a steam explosion and to slow down any leaks of radioactive isotopes to the environment."
More factors seem to further reduce the risk compared to 1986.
During previous Zaporizhzhia blackouts, electricity supply could be diverted from other sources, such as the nearby Zaporizka Coal Fired Power Plant - Ukraine's largest thermal power plant - and from diesel generators. This limits the chances of dangerous power outages.
Every Zaporizhzhia reactor is also currently in shutdown, unlike the Chernobyl one that was fully operational.
Despite Moscow's takeover, the plant's personnel largely stayed put, reducing the risk of it being mishandled.
"The Ukrainian citizens that were forced by the Russians to stay in Zaporizhzhia and run this plant for two years should be treated like heroes, and the IAEA could play a role in this," adds Kelley.
"There's a tendency to want to treat them as collaborators. I think they should get a medal for having served the country in a dif cult position, they went through hell."
Is Europe prepared for a nuclear disaster?
The short answer seems yes.
More than 150 reactors are operating across the EU's 27 member states.
Each country has an agency for nuclear preparedness, even those that don't have reactors.
"Coordination has increased a lot since the 2011 Fukushima disaster," emergency preparedness specialist at the Swedish Radiation Safety Agency Jan Johansson tells Euronews.
Nuclear safety guidelines are usually established internationally by the IAEA.
In Europe, the organisation coordinating safety procedures across di erent countries is the HERCA, while the EMSREG is the
EU body ensuring they are implemented in single states.
"HERCA has been quite active in terms of Ukraine, to try to harmonise and discuss what to do if there was a nuclear accident in Ukraine," says Johansson.
What does a nuclear incident response plan look like?
"Preparation is the most important part," Johansson explains.
"Whatever happens, even a meltdown, will take some time before it occurs. If something goes wrong, generally we know before the actual radiation leak."
In the worst possible scenario - an explosion with radiation release - a ve-kilometre-radius area around the incident (Precautionary Action Zone) gets evacuated.
Once the danger is detected, the entire population within a radius of 25 kilometres - the Urgent Protective Action Planning Zone - is alerted by alarms, sirens and a text message.
Alarms sound both on the street and in homes. Every house near a nuclear power plant, at least in Sweden, is equipped with a radio receiver that goes o in case of danger.
Everyone within 25 kilometres must shelter indoors. "A normal home should be ne, even in case of a large radioactive release," says Johansson, as well as a school. There's no need to stay in a bunker.
All citizens also have an iodine tablet which blocks radiation absorption by the thyroid gland, thus preventing thyroid cancer risks. Each household receives it, every ve years. But whether it's necessary to ingest it depends on the scale of the radiation leak.
Once people are sheltered, it is essential to turn on the television or the radio or to follow authorities on social media for live information.
In Sweden, local media too are trained to distribute this type of guidance.
"The next steps depend on the amount of radioactive material leaked, as well as on meteorological factors," he says.
"We practice several times during the year. We believe we have a pretty e ective system, and the authorities know what to do."
sels to present the ndings, the Bulgarian EPP group lawmaker Radan Kanev described himself as “greener than the average conservative” but still placed himself somewhere between the categories of ‘prehistoric thinkers’ and ‘procrastinators’ the study authors used for the lower of its three bands, with those scoring over 70 deemed ‘protectors’ of the environment.
“I am deeply convinced no policy is black and white,” he said. “We need people like you [the report's authors] who are advocating for maximum ambition, but I also believe you need people like me who are trying to mediate… and avoid the utmost polarisation of our political spectrum,” he said, referring to what he saw as the impossibility of a stable climate strategy in the US, where the coming election could lead to a “complete overthrow” of existing policy.
The Bulgarian lawmaker was particularly critical of the extension of the EU’s emissions trading system, to road transport and buildings, where a carbon price based on fossil fuel consumption will apply from 2027 - a proposal supported by the overwhelming majority of EPP group members. “In my view there are very few more stupid things ever done at the political level,” Kanev said. “I’m sure there will be a very violent outburst of anti-European public reaction,” he said of the impact he expects in his home country.
Green Belgian MEP Saskia Bricmont warned against a return to “business as usual” on environment policy as the EU policy agenda tilts toward security and economic issues. “What I see now is a complete backlash,” she said of her opponents in the forthcoming European elections. “Even the progressives that voted with us on climate policies are not making it a priority,” the Belgian lawmaker said.
Chiara Martinelli, director of Climate Action Network Europe, one of the groups behind the survey, warned of the upcoming European elections could see environmental policy once more marginalised. “Now is the time for European citizens to wake up to the real possibility of a European Parliament full of prehistoric thinkers - to get out and vote for parties that can provide the climate protectors we so deeply need to improve and strengthen the European Green Deal," she said.
William Todts, director of the campaign alliance Transport & Environment, suggested Brussels might be the only source of environmental protection laws for many EU member states. “The EU is a force for good when it comes to climate action,” Todts said in a statement accompanying the NGOs’ report. “From clean cars to carbon taxes for planes and ships, the EU has done what national governments couldn't or wouldn't do.”