Posted on 09/10/2022 9:01:09 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Ukraine is considering shutting down the sole remaining reactor at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday, after shelling left the plant without a safe and sustainable source of backup power.
The plant, which has already shut down five of its six reactors, risks having only one remaining source of electricity to power its systems in case the sixth reactor has to go offline, said Director General Rafael Grossi.
Normally, if the plant can’t supply itself power, it can draw electricity from a nearby thermal-energy plant. But shelling overnight Thursday destroyed a switchyard that carries electricity out from that coal-fired plant, Mr. Grossi said.
It is unlikely that it will be repaired, he added, given the constant artillery fire, meaning the nuclear plant would have no off-site emergency source of power.
The plant could turn to back up generators, but those only have enough fuel for about 10 days, according to Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear company, Energoatom. The plant, occupied by Russian soldiers who patrol with grenades dangling off their belts, is still operated by the company’s Ukrainian workforce.
Plant workers, meanwhile, have no electricity in their homes and the shelling risks accelerating an exodus of essential staff.
“This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious,” Mr. Grossi said. “The power plant has no off-site power….This is completely unacceptable. It cannot stand.”
Nuclear plants require constant electricity to power the systems that filter radiation from the air, and keep spent nuclear rods at a safe temperature. The now defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant, site of a 1986 disaster, continues to be carefully maintained by Ukrainian staff, who safeguard its supply of used nuclear fuel and monitor radiation levels, 36 years later.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Ah, yes - the old "anonymous artillery shells"...
Good news for them, now they are closer to the green energy they want so bad.
These ding dongs should have done that months ago
I keep wondering why the Russians keep shelling themselves.
Seems counterproductive.
Only a mental retard believes that Russia is shelling itself.
“This is completely unacceptable. It cannot stand.” said Director General Rafael Grossi.
Well then, march right out there and tell those Russian soldiers with grenades dangling off their belts to knock it off. Stomping your feet and huffing and puffing would add a nice touch.
I mean, how many Americans have actually died from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Pinot Noir-triggered heart attacks? Yet all these wines have warnings on them like they were nuclear weapons or something.
Which is what the Zelbots here have been saying.
They still need power even after they are shut down. The reactor and fuel storage pools still need to be cooled or else things go real bad in time. You can’t just shut these things down and walk away which is one of the reasons they are insane.
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