Academic on precarious situation at Zaporizhzhia

(12 Oct 2022) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ++SOUNDBITES SEPARATED BY BLACK FRAMES, NO CUTAWAYS++ ++BEGINS AND ENDS ON SOUNDBITES++ ASSOCIATED PRESS   Paris - 12 October 2022   1. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Dorfman, nuclear expert, University of Sussex: "It's a very dangerous situation with the International Atomic Energy authority saying that it's an accident waiting to happen. This is because you cannot cut power to a nuclear reactor. It is a very dangerous thing to do. Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest nuclear station in Europe. And now for the second time in two days, power has been cut. Now, this has important implications for the cooling of the reactor and also, very importantly, the cooling of the high level radiation spent fuel ponds." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Dorfman, nuclear expert, University of Sussex: "Once full power is cut to Zaporizhzhia, then reliance is on backup diesel generators, which are, you know, not efficient. These have to be fueled and refueled, and there are questions about what then would happen if they were hit? What then would happen if the reactor pressure vessel were hit? What then would happen if the spent fuel ponds were hit? Well, in a worst case scenario, you would have a similar situation to Fukushima. It wouldn't be Chernobyl because the reactors are different from the Chernobyl reactors, which were graphite reactors. But what you would see is a heating of the reactors. You'd see a heating of the high level spent fuel ponds. You'd see a hydrogen explosion, as we saw in Fukushima. And then you'd see a significant radiation release." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 3. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Dorfman, nuclear expert, University of Sussex: "This is a worst case scenario. The immediate impact would be felt very much around Ukraine, obviously, and, of course, Russia, depending on which way the wind blows. It's largely - the main deposit is likely to be in Ukraine and/or Russia, but there could be significant radiation pollution in Central Europe, which is why countries around Ukraine are now thinking very seriously about issuing stable potassium iodide tablets, which inhibit the uptake of an aspect of that pollution." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Dorfman, nuclear expert, University of Sussex: "Basically, what we've got here is the weaponisation of civil nuclear, perhaps for the first time. And in an increasingly unstable world, it's important to understand this and what this implies for nuclear worldwide. Now, in terms of the larger strategic thinking around the war, it has to be remembered that Russia and Russia-controlled Kazakhstan provide 42% of all uranium to reactors worldwide and 20% of all uranium to the reactors in the EU. EDF is still doing business with Russia. So all of this has very significant implications for nuclear and the nuclear industry." ++BLACK FRAMES++ 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Paul Dorfman, nuclear expert, University of Sussex: ++ENDS++ STORYLINE: A crippled nuclear power plant in Ukraine that lost all external power for the second time in five days presents a "very dangerous situation", a nuclear expert said on Wednesday. "You cannot cut power to a nuclear reactor. It is a very dangerous thing to do," said Paul Dorfman of the University of Sussex. The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant suffered a “blackout” when a missile damaged an electrical substation, leading to the emergency shutdown of the plant's last remaining outside power source, operator Energoatom reported. All six of the reactors were stopped earlier due to the war. =========================================================== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/db814c6de4fb48fe94e66ee5a31f23cc