![]() ![]() However, the prime use of plutonium-239 and uranium-235, and the reason they were produced in the first place, is to make nuclear weapons. Inside a nuclear reactor, the fissions are slower and more spread out, and the resulting heat is used to boil water, to make steam, to turn turbines which generate electricity. Inside a warhead, trillions of such fissions occur inside a small space within a fraction of a second, resulting in a massive explosion. That is, their nuclei split apart giving off very large amounts of energy. Some radioactive materials (such as plutonium-239 and uranium-235) spontaneously fission in the right configuration. Nuclear materials may also get into the wrong hands and be used to make a crude nuclear device or a so-called ‘dirty bomb’. After all, the UK’s first nuclear power stations were built primarily to provide fissile material for nuclear weapons during the Cold War. ![]() But there is always the danger that countries acquiring nuclear power technology may subvert its use to develop a nuclear weapons programme. Because countries like the UK are promoting the expansion of nuclear power, other countries are beginning to plan for their own nuclear power programmes too. There is a danger that more nuclear power stations in the world could mean more nuclear weapons. Plutonium is a by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle and is still used by some countries to make nuclear weapons. For example, the process of enriching uranium to make it into fuel for nuclear power stations is also used to make nuclear weapons. The long list of links includes their histories, similar technologies, skills, health and safety aspects, regulatory issues and radiological research and development. Nuclear weapons and nuclear power share several common features. “At least with Chernobyl we were able to triage and evacuate people,” she said.The links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons And people are trapped and movement is restricted,” Shapiro said. Hospitals are being hit, and the country is running out of drugs and medical supplies. With over 900 communities without water, heat and electricity, according to Ukrainian officials, Shapiro worries that the advances made in treating radiation exposure and the stockpiling of medical countermeasures will be for naught in the event of a nuclear event - be it a malfunction, an attack on a reactor’s core, or the use of a nuclear weapon. The situation in Ukraine is becoming more dire, with infrastructure destroyed and cities besieged. Ukraine has reported that the Russians have cut off most means of communications between the site and its regulator, and with the rest of the world. The IAEA is reportedly extremely concerned about what may be going on at Zaporizhzhia. And under attack, a reactor could go unsupervised as people run to take cover,” she said. With slips in concentration, errors can happen. They must be working long shifts, stressed, and worrying about their families. The psychological impact of war must be terrible on those trying to safeguard the sites. “Working at a nuclear power plant is a stressful job in normal circumstances. She is worried that malfunctions could happen because of the duress under which plant personnel are working. “Russian troops are not trained to run nuclear Ukrainian power plants,” Shapiro noted. Ukrainian personnel are still operating the captured plants, but the Russian army is in command. Like many others, Shapiro is also concerned about the possibility of an accident happening due to the stressful conditions under which the staff at Ukraine’s nuclear plants are working. A missile landing in the ‘Red Forest’ would be horrifically dangerous,” she said. “If something hits ground that is already radioactive, that can be a major problem. Shapiro noted that she is worried not only about a direct hit to a reactor’s core. “Chernobyl and the other previous disasters were either accidents or the result of natural disasters. Radiation from Chernobyl reached large parts of northern and central Europe, even landing as far as Ireland - and it was detectable for many years.Īlthough critical lessons were learned after the Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accidents, construction designs for newer nuclear power plants, and redesigns for older ones, did not necessarily have an all-out war in mind. It would depend on wind and rain conditions. Shapiro said that, indeed, there is no telling how far and in which directions radiation would extend. ![]() Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address posted to Facebook, on March 4, 2022. ![]()
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