but it didn’t bring any relief Growing Concern in Western Europe. Even before the attack, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had raised concerns about the vulnerability of the nuclear reactors that provide nearly 50% of the country’s electricity. Nuclear experts warned that in addition to the risk of explosives damaging reactors, plant managers and technicians must have uninterrupted access to the plants so they can operate safely.
Pharmacies in some Eastern European and Scandinavian countries reported an increase in demand for iodine tablets, which can be used to protect children from radiation exposure. Politicians rushed to criticize Russia’s “reckless” actions, and Ukrainian officials renewed calls for no-fly zones to ensure Europe does not suffer another nuclear disaster.
“I really didn’t sleep last night,” said Paul Dorfman, who led the European Environment Agency’s response to Chernobyl and was glued to the news from Ukraine on his phone. “The fact is, when things go really wrong with the atom, you can start to write off a lot of people’s lives.”
That’s what happened on April 26, 1986, when a sudden power surge during a reactor system test destroyed Unit 4 at the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union.
The accident and fire that followed released massive amounts of radioactive material, forcing the evacuation of surrounding communities and contaminating 150,000 square kilometers (60,000 sq mi) of land in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
Two plant workers died in the initial explosion, and 28 others died within the next three months. According to a report by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Radiation, as of 2005, more than 6,000 thyroid cancers were reported in children and adolescents in the affected area, many of which were likely caused by radiation.
“The radioactive fallout has been scattered through wind and storm patterns in the Northern Hemisphere, but the scattered amounts were in many cases negligible,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Twenty-five years later, an earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, forcing the evacuation of more than 100,000 people. The accident raised safety concerns which caused Japan and many other countries to reduce the use of nuclear power stations.
Nuclear experts insisted Friday that the Zaporizhzhya plant is safer than Chernobyl because the reactor is housed inside a reinforced concrete containment building designed to prevent radioactive material from escaping in the event of an accident. There was no such structure in Chernobyl.
While a Chernobyl-type incident is unlikely, Robin Grimes, professor of materials science at Imperial College London, said the containment vessel is not designed to withstand explosive ordinances such as artillery shells.
“It is therefore shocking and reckless that shells have been fired close to a nuclear plant, let alone targeting buildings inside the plant,” Grimes said. “Even though they weren’t aiming for a nuclear plant, wartime artillery is notoriously inaccurate.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday to discuss the attack. A host of other world leaders contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to express shock.
Among them was Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who called the attack on Zaporizhia an “unforgivable reckless act”.
“As a country that has experienced the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, I said that Japan strongly condemns the attack,” Kishida told reporters.
Ukraine’s nuclear power industry began in the 1970s, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. It now has 15 reactors in four power plants across the country. Two more reactors are under construction and four have been shut down at Chernobyl.
The reactors together generate about half of the country’s electricity. According to the IAEA, this share is expected to increase until at least 2035, as Ukraine sees nuclear power as the most cost-effective source of low-carbon energy.
This bucks the trend in the European Union, where nuclear power generation declined by 25% from 2006 to 2020.
The war in Ukraine is bringing back memories of Chernobyl, some are taking precautions.
Sales of iodine tablets have grown rapidly in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. Meanwhile, authorities in countries such as Poland and Romania tried to stem a similar surge in demand by warning consumers that taking iodine pills without a doctor’s supervision could do more harm than good.
The tablets may be used to protect children from the effects of radiation exposure by reducing the uptake of radioactive iodine that can damage the thyroid gland.
Rosie Fischer, 42, a climate scientist living in Oslo, Norway, said she was shocked when her 5-year-old brought home a consent form from kindergarten asking if the school would give her iodine pills in the event of a nuclear accident. can give.
“Usually their teacher’s communication numbers are on the subject of the gloves they have on or the very thick winter dress or what kind of hat they need and where they should put their boots in the morning,” Fisher said.
Although he acknowledged that the form was probably an example of the Norwegian authorities planning for every eventuality, it still caused some concern.
“I’m trying not to tell Google how far you have to be to survive a nuclear explosion,” she said. “I’m trying not to Google.”
Associated Press writer Frank Jordan in Berlin; Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; Stephen McGrath in Sairat, Romania, and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed.
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