Weather conditions are observed
Nuclear experts: situation in Ukraine is serious
03/20/2022, 08:20 am
Again and again there are incidents in connection with nuclear power plants in the Ukraine war. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection is therefore in constant observation because of the risk. The situation is serious. The experts also keep a close eye on the weather.
According to its own statements, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) continues to monitor the development of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants very closely. The situation is still serious, said BfS President Inge Paulini. “There is absolutely no provision for hostilities to take place around a nuclear power plant,” she said. There is therefore “a fundamental risk that the hostilities could lead directly to damage, accidents and the release of radioactivity”. Her office has been “continuously monitoring” the situation since Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24.
Since the beginning of the war there have been several incidents in connection with Ukrainian nuclear power plants – most recently an interruption in the power supply at the site of the Chernobyl reactor ruins. A devastating nuclear accident happened there in 1986. Radioactive waste is still stored in Chernobyl today. It has been under the control of Russian troops since the beginning of the war. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhia in the southeast, is said to have been taken by Russian forces. A fire broke out on March 4 on the Zaporizhia site.
The BfS “currently sees no signs that radioactive substances have escaped in Ukraine,” said Paulini. The number of daily data from Ukraine has fluctuated since the beginning of hostilities. But there is “still data to assess the situation” and measuring networks distributed all over Europe – including in neighboring Ukrainian countries, said Paulini. The Federal Office operates 1,700 automatic measuring points in Germany, which continuously provide data on radiation exposure. Overall, the radiation protection authorities in this country are “well positioned”. The country is “prepared for a radiological emergency,” said Paulini. Even if it has never been proclaimed in this country – “not even after Chernobyl”.
In cooperation with the German Weather Service, the Federal Office is also currently monitoring the weather situation very closely. Because they determine where the substances would be transported when radiation escaped. “We’re currently checking the weather situation over Ukraine four times a day. Of course, we don’t usually do that.” An investigation a few years ago showed that “only about 60 days a year” did air masses come from the Ukraine to Germany, said Paulini. So the air would not be blown over automatically. The concentration of radioactive substances in the air would also decrease over the distance.