In the year since Russia’s initial assault on Ukraine, the danger of nuclear war has only inched ever closer.'
By now, we all ought to be familiar with the worrisome Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex , which sits right in the middle of the Russian incursion into Ukraine. Assembled between 1980 and 1986, Zaporizhzhia is Europe’s largest nuclear-power complex, with six 950-megawatt reactors. In February and March of last year, after a series of fierce battles, which caused a fire to break out at a nearby training facility, the Russians hijacked the embattled plant.
Since then, the fighting has only intensified. Russia kidnapped some of the plant’s Ukrainian employees, including its deputy director Valery Martynyuk. In September 2022, due to ongoing shelling in the area, Zaporizhzhia was taken offline and, after losing external power on several occasions, has since been sporadically relying on old dieselHowever, relying on risk-prone backup power is a fool’s game, according to electrical engineer Josh Karpoff.
“It’s really not that hard to knock out these kinds of diesel generators,” Karpoff adds. “If your standby generator starts up but says there’s a leak in a high-pressure oil line fitting, it sprays heated, aerosolized oil all over the hot motor, starting a fire. This happens to diesel motors all the time. A similar diesel engine fire in a locomotive was partly responsible for causing theSadly enough, Karpoff is on target.
It was, in fact, a horrific chain of worsening events. While the earthquake itself didn’t damage Fukushima’s reactors, it cut the facility off from the power grid, automatically switching the plant to backup generators. So even though the fission reaction had stopped, heat was still being produced by the radioactive material inside the reactor cores. A continual water supply, relying on backup power, was needed to keep those cores from melting down.
“The myth of the tsunami is that the tsunami destroyed the [generators] and had that not happened, everything would have been fine,” former nuclear engineer Arnie Gunderson“What really happened is that the tsunami destroyed the [sea] pumps right along the ocean… Without that water, the [diesel generators] will overheat, and without that water, it’s impossible to cool a nuclear core.”
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
Survey finds 64 percent of Texans favor expanding U.S. reliance on solar power plants.The majority of Texans support expanding the country's reliance on solar energy and other alternative power sources, according to a survey by the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs.
Baca lebih lajut »
Fracked gas plants fell short, but wind power held its own | PennLive lettersIn December 2022, fracked gas wasn’t reliable when we needed it, and consumers ended up paying steep costs for that failure.
Baca lebih lajut »
Opinion: Before Texas builds expensive power plants, why not try saving electricity?Opinion: Before Texas builds expensive power plants, why not save electricity?
Baca lebih lajut »
Dragon Ball Super Previews Power Absorbed: Tournament Of Power BotsUnvierse 3 brought a selection of overpowered androids to the Tournament of Power and they feature in the new previews from DragonBallSuper Card Game. DBSCG DragonBall
Baca lebih lajut »
The Nuclear “War” in Ukraine May Not Be the One We ExpectIt’s not just Zaporizhzhia we have to worry about: There are 14 other nuclear power plants in the war zone.
Baca lebih lajut »
2023’s new garden plants look to be bigger, better, tougherMost gardeners have favorite go-to plants that perform well in their climate and simply make them happy.
Baca lebih lajut »