The Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine has sparked fears of an impending nuclear disaster. It was seized by Russian forces in March but Ukrainian workers have continued operations on site to ensure the continued maintenance of the facility. However, shelling close to the plant has threatened to disrupt power supply to the facility, risking a radiation leak which Dr Dorfman warned could cause a “cloud through Europe” as the impact of the nuclear disaster would breach international borders.
Dr Dorfman, chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group, told Sky News: “Russia is unstable, we’ve never seen an attack on a significant nuclear power plant before, this is new although not unforeseen.”
He continued: “If the power were to go off, then we would rely on backup generators that only have a certain lifespan.
“If, heaven forbid, there was a hit or Russia were to make a mistake and it really were to blow, you would see a significant radiation cloud through Europe, reaching the middle east.
“Critically, if the wind was in the wrong direction, perhaps Russia too.”
Dr Dorfman added: “Radiation doesn’t respect national boundaries, it’s a question of where the wind blows.
“What we’ve seen here is the weaponisation of civil nuclear, something a number of people have been worrying about for a significant time now.
“The key takeaway from this is, if and when we get through this, what does that imply for current and any prospective nuclear in the context of an unstable world?”
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