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Given the continuous need for cooling and containment, and within the context of a war, does it really matter if a fission power plant is running or shut down i
by pintxo 5y ago
Given the continuous need for cooling and containment, and within the context of a war, does it really matter if a fission power plant is running or shut down in terms of environmental security?
- HPsquared 5y agoThey're much less hazardous in a "cold shutdown" state. Decay heat is highest immediately after shutdown and decreases over time.
- formerly_proven 5y agoRussian forces have been destroying substations to kill electricity and this is the largest power station in Ukraine. It is not unreasonable at all to think that shutting it down and making it hard to get back up (to destabilize or shut down the Ukrainian power grid) is part of the Russian attack strategy.
- rightbyte 5y agoIt seems trivial to cut the big power lines if you want to cut power?
- formerly_proven 5y agoUkraine is a big country. Meanwhile, this power plant represents 40 % of Ukraine's nuclear power generating capacity, which in turn is responsible for ~50 % of power generation. So this one plant is around 20 % of the total generating capacity in Ukraine. Since Ukraine is no longer connected to the Ex-Soviet power grid, it is now an isolated grid and has to generate all electricity domestically. That's why the Ukraine is trying to create an interconnection with the EU grid as quickly as possible.