In the immediate aftermath of an explosion, experts said the likely result would be widespread evacuations to escape an invisible radioactive cloud. It will sort of create high pressure, and the thing can explode,” he added “If that water stream is cut out, cut down, cut off in some fashion, then the reactor could lose cooling, the fuel will start melting. “Reactors to be constantly cooled by water passing through ” MV Ramana, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera. There are concerns about the shelling occurring around the facility, with the potential to damage critical infrastructure, including the reactors. It depends how the explosion comes about,” said Peel. “It’s difficult to say whether this will and the possible consequences of that, what they might be. “What we have here with the military involvement is very difficult … If multiple catastrophic factors come together, an explosion might be possible,” Ross Peel, the research and knowledge transfer manager for the Centre for Science and Security Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera recently. Given the IAEA’s warnings, could the plant explode – and if so – what would happen?Īccording to experts, it is possible but the likelihood of that taking place is unclear. Last month, Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the IAEA, said that “every principle of nuclear safety has been violated.” While shelling has not triggered a nuclear emergency, the watchdog reported the situation “represents a threat to nuclear safety”.

It also said the plant has been damaged near the reactor buildings. It called for measures to prevent an accident, including the establishment of a “nuclear safety and security protection zone”. The UN’s nuclear watchdog issued a report on the plant on September 6, saying it was “gravely concerned about the situation”. The plant is located about 200km (125 miles) from Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. A megawatt of capacity will provide energy for 400 to 900 homes in a year. It is located in the southern Ukrainian steppe on the Dnieper River, some 550km (342 miles) southeast of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and about 525km (325 miles) south of Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident in 1986.Ĭurrently, the plant is operated by Ukrainian staff, but Russian military units guard the facility.Īccording to the IAEA, the plant has six Soviet-designed water-cooled reactors containing uranium 235, each of which has a net capacity of 950 megawatts. The plant has a total capacity of about 6,000 megawatts, enough for about four million homes. It generates half of Ukraine’s nuclear-derived power. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe and among the 10 biggest in the world. Here’s what we know: Where is Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and why is it important? The IAEA has urged “utmost restraint” and called on both sides to demilitarise the area. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of attacking the plant and of “nuclear terrorism”. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has raised the alarm about shelling around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, saying it could lead to a “nuclear disaster”.

Nuclear reactor meltdown