Investigative journalist Martin Boudot has followed the uranium route: from Niger, where it is blasted from the mines of Arlit to Narbonne, in the south of France, where it is converted into fuel for nuclear power plants. The observation is the same: soaring levels of radioactivity, residents exposed, worried, victims of long-term poisoning and who are unable to make themselves heard by the authorities as well as the operating company Orano (ex-Areva ).
The history of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant tragedy opened. That people around the world still remember On the situation “Russia” invaded “Ukraine” that is still tense up to this minute!
The history of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant tragedy opened. That people around the world still remember On the situation “Russia” invaded “Ukraine” that is still tense up to this minute!
April 26, 2022 will be the 36th anniversary of the nuclear power plant disaster. “Chernobyl” It exploded on the city of Prepiet under Soviet rule at the time. which is currently the location of the countryUkraine
The 1986 nuclear plant explosion was called the worst accident in nuclear power history.
If going back to the event “Chernobyl catastrophe” within the area of this nuclear power plant Six reactors are being built, with an explosion at Reactor 4 when engineers tested it. “Cooling System” and the emergency cooling system of the nuclear reactor core. On the evening of April 26, 1986
But during the test, a higher steam pressure was generated. But the automatic shutdown system doesn’t work. This resulted in such a high calorific value that reactor number 4 melted and exploded instantly.
The explosion quickly caused the radioactive material from the power plant to leak. 31 people were killed immediately, with the severity of the fire lasting up to nine days, especially as a result of the radioactive leak. causing the area around the power plant 30 kilometers to be declared as “Dangerous area” Authorities have to urgently evacuate more than 300,000 people from the area.
the radioactive leak “Chernobyl” has spread widely to other countries in Europe It was reported thatradioactive substancehas spread to northern Europe in the Scandinavian countries with a distance of more than 2,769 kilometers
Not only that, in the first five years following the explosion. There are populations in many countries with thyroid cancer. from contaminants present in the milk of cows fed on radioactively contaminated grass and also found “Contaminants” in the natural ecosystem of both animals vegetation in many areas
The severity of the nuclear power plant incident “Chernobyl” An explosion on April 26, 1986, following more than 4,000 deaths were recorded, with nearly 50,000 square kilometers of contaminated soil. And now there is a higher level of radioactivity than usual.
More importantly, it is estimated to be more violent than the nuclear bombing of Little Boy and Fat Man in the city. “Hiroshima” with “Nasaki” In 1945, more than 100 times
Then it’s not just a nuclear power plant. “Chernobyl” closed alone But the government has ordered the closure of the city until it is an abandoned city to this day.
Although the event entered the 36th year, but the nuclear power plant tragedy was mentioned once more when it was reported that russian army have attacked nuclear power plants “Zaporizzi” It is located in the south of Kiev. The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant It accounts for 25% of the electricity used in Ukraine.
for nuclear power plants “Zaporizzi” It is the largest power plant in the world. It has a larger area than a nuclear power plant. “Chernobyl” Which many are worried regarding the current conflict in Ukraine The tragedy will repeat itself with the events. “Chernobyl”
“Dmitro Culeba” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine posted a message saying Russian troops fired from all sides to attack the nuclear plant. “Zaporizzi” which is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe If an explosion occurs The damage will be greater than the event. “Chernobyl” 10 times
All are records of a nuclear power plant tragedy. “Chernobyl” historic bomb that people around the world still remember for 36 years on the situation “Russia” invade “Ukraine” who is still in a state of tension until this minute!!
wikipedia reference
The attack by the Russian army on Friday, March 4, once morest the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine shows how much this war represents “a huge threat to all of Europe and the world”reacted to the UN Security Council, which met urgently, the American ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
→ ANALYSIS. Ukraine: why Russia seized the Zaporizhia power plant
“This is the first time that a military conflict has taken place in a country with a large nuclear program”said Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He offered to go immediately to Ukraine to negotiate with Russia a solution that would keep nuclear power plants out of the conflict. On Sunday March 6, during a 1:45 a.m. conversation with Vladimir Putin, President Emmanuel Macron insisted on respecting the safety of power plants.
In Ukraine, residents rushed to pharmacies to try to find iodine pills, which help limit the effects of radioactive contamination. Many of them have traumatic memories of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.
“A night that might have ended the country’s history”
The attack on the Zaporijjia power plant took place on the night of Thursday 3 to Friday 4 March. The firing of a Russian tank once morest the power plant set fire to a building which took a long time to extinguish, because the Ukrainian firefighters might not access the site. No radioactive leak was found, but the storming of a nuclear power plant by armed forces is considered an unprecedented act by the IAEA and might have had the most serious consequences. “We survived a night that might have ended the country’s history,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the morning.
In the first days of the offensive, on February 25, the Russian army had already carried out operations in the contaminated area of Chernobyl, north of Kiev, where the damaged former power plant is still under the supervision of nuclear engineers. . Today, in Zaporijjia as in Chernobyl, Ukrainian engineers continue to do their work, but are retained on the site.
An act to scare
“Of the six reactors at the Zaporijjia power plant, one is shut down for maintenance, four have been shut down in recent days. Only one is still active, at around 60%,” says Valérie Faudon, general delegate of the French Nuclear Energy Company (SFEN). She explains that the reactors are protected by a concrete enclosure, but notes that“It is undoubtedly a deliberate act by the Russian army, to scare people, because they know the plant and the location of the various buildings perfectly since they built it”.
→ ANALYSIS. War in Ukraine: what threats to nuclear power plants?
Ukraine is home to four nuclear power plants, with a total of 15 reactors in operation. There is also the old Chernobyl power station, which had four reactors. Ukraine produces 50% of its electricity from nuclear power and has never given up its power plants, despite the Chernobyl accident, for the sake of preserving its independence. The Zaporizhia power plant was built on the banks of the Dnieper in southern Ukraine from 1979 and started operating in 1985. The last of the six reactors was commissioned in 1995. This plant supplies to it only 20% of the country’s electricity.
“Russia wants to repeat that [la catastrophe de Tchernobyl], and is already doing so. » Friday, March 4 in the morning, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president was very pessimistic in a video message addressed to Europeans. After the Russian shootings once morest a building of the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant, a few hours earlier, the question of the nuclear installations located in Ukraine is coming back to the fore. Beyond the infamous Chernobyl power plant, whose reactors have been gradually shut down since the disaster that occurred on April 26, 1986, Ukraine has four nuclear production sites.
→ LIVE. War in Ukraine: follow the course of this 9th day of the Russian attack
Two are located west of Kiev and two southeast of the capital. There are a total of fifteen reactors in operation, the production of which accounts for more than half of Ukraine’s electricity. In 2020, 71.55 GW(e) were produced thanks to the atom in the country. The Zaporijjia power station, attacked by the Russians who claimed to have taken control of it on Friday March 4, is even, with its six reactors, the largest power station in Europe and one of the largest in the world.
Since Friday morning, only one reactor has been in operation in Zaporijjia, said Rafael Mariano Rossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Argentinian did not specify the reasons for the shutdown of the other reactors, but took the opportunity to salute the « courage »the “bravery” and the “resilience” Ukrainian employees of nuclear power plants who continue their work despite the Russian threat.
→ MAINTENANCE. War in Ukraine: “At the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the reactors are protected by a concrete enclosure”
For Jean de Gliniasty, director of research at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (Iris), the Russians have no interest in threatening the Ukrainian atom anyway. “If it becomes strategically essential to interrupt the current, they will do it. But as long as it is a question of supplying electricity to populations who do not pose a danger to their military action, they will continue to do so”, he explains. For the researcher, the challenge for the Russians is not to destroy the facilities, but to take control of them to use them as leverage.
Other energy sources in Russian hands
« The six reactors of Zaporizhiasupply 1/5 of the electricity produced in Ukraine. Strategically, controlling this plant means exerting an additional means of pressure., abounds Michaël Mangeon, associate researcher at the Environment, City and Society (EVS) laboratory at the University of Lyon. For Jean de Gliniasty, it is also a political affair: “The Russians are in an extremely ambiguous situation vis-à-vis the Ukrainians. They don’t want to kill too many Ukrainians, they don’t want to hurt them too much since they consider them to be a brother people. They are caught in their contradictions”analyzes the researcher.
By their nature and their dangerousness, nuclear sites are not the spoils of war like the others. No one has an interest in any radioactive leaks. If the Russians have seized a first plant, they cannot do what they want with it. “Even if the reactors are shut down, we cannot replace Ukrainian personnel in the short term. A plant needs its staff (more than 10,000 employees in Zaporizhia), in good physical and psychological condition. There is also the issue of maintenance of equipment and systems. In the event of problems, it is necessary to be able to intervene quickly, sometimes to have access to equipment which comes from outside the site”summarizes Michaël Mangeon.
The Russian army also controls some hydroelectric dams in Ukraine. And Kiev is heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies. So, with the loss of the Zaporijjia power station and the fighting approaching that of Konstantinovka (north of Odessa), Ukraine, which continues to be supplied with electricity, has asked Europe to speed up the connection of the country with the European electricity network, initially planned for 2023. Disconnected from the Russian and Belarusian electricity networks, the Ukrainians are isolated. Without a quick connection to European lines, they will remain dependent on Russian advances and sockets.