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Jennifer M. Granholm, Mr. Biden’s energy secretary, said on Twitter He said the United States had not detected high radiation readings in the area, echoing an earlier assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency. “The plant’s reactors are protected by robust containment structures and the reactors are securely sealed,” he said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would seek an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council regarding the fire at the complex, according to a statement from his office.
Russia-Ukraine War: Basic Things to Know
A Ukrainian city falls. Russian troops took control of Kherson, the first city conquered during the war. Overtaking Kherson is important as it allows the Russians to further control Ukraine’s southern coastline and push west towards the city of Odessa.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Dmytro Kuleba, before reporting the fire said in a statement He said that “a large number of Russian tanks and infantry” had entered the town of Enerhodar, next to the factory. General manager Rafael Mariano Grossi said troops were moving directly towards the reactor site.
this Zaporizhzhia Located on the Dnieper River, about a hundred miles north of Crimea, the nuclear complex is the largest in Europe. According to the International Atomic Energy AgencyIts six reactors produce a total of 6,000 megawatts of electrical power.
By contrast, the Chernobyl plant in northern Ukraine produced 3,800 megawatts – about a third less. (One megawatt, one million watts is enough power to light 10,000 hundred-watt light bulbs.) The four reactors of the Chernobyl complex were shut down in 1986 after a catastrophic fire and meltdown.
The cores of the reactors are filled with highly radioactive fuel. But an additional hazard at the Zaporizhzhia site are the many acres of open water pools behind the complex, where spent fuel rods have been cooled for years. Experts are afraid Faulty projectiles or missiles hitting such places can cause radiological disasters.
For days, social media reports They detailed how the residents of Enerhodar set up a giant barrier of tires, vehicles and metal barricades to block a Russian advance into the city and the reactor site. Christoph Koettl, visual researcher for The New York Times, noted on twitter The barricades were so large that seen from space by orbiting satellites.
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator kicked off last Sunday, three days before the invasion. started reporting An unusual rate of disconnection: Six of the country’s 15 reactors are down. Tuesday, Zaporizhzhia plant where most reactors were offline.
John Yoon, Marc Santora and Nathan Willis contributing reporting.
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