Nuclear power plant vulnerability during the military conflict
The maintenance design for Nuclear Power Plants is very complex and sensitive, whereas industrial installations require a variety of resources to produce they are constantly stable and always ready to operate. Influence factors such as natural disasters and state stability play an important role in keeping nuclear reactors stable.
Based on the source Briefing Journal of Greenpeace by Jan Vande Putt and Shaun Burnie, NPP which operates around the clock requires at all times electricity supply to power pumps and water supply to cool its nuclear fuel, both in the reactor and in the adjacent spent nuclear fuel pool. Even when the reactor is shut down, there is an enormous amount of residual heat in the fuel core which requires continuous cooling. Without cooling, the water in the reactor core (and spent fuel pool) begins to heat. In the case of an operational reactor the heating is rapid.
Furthermore, there are other details that need to be considered such as chemical reactions from heating that cause radioactivity, etc. Process failures will be very dangerous and detrimental.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant tragedy is one terrible example of the failure and damage impacted on nuclear reactors due to the earthquake and tsunami. Even without a physical attack, nuclear reactors are very vulnerable to disaster, thus the intentional effect, accidental artillery, or missile attacks in times of military conflict will disrupt the NPP support system operations. Due to periodic attacks, the power plant infrastructure is damaged, there is a risk of hydrogen leakage and radioactive splashes, cooling failure, and a very high fire hazard.
The international response
World leaders have accused Russia of jeopardizing the rest of Europe’s safety after its forces opened fire on the NPP in southern Ukraine. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) also condemned Russia’s recklessness over the shooting of the NPP.
UN Deputy Secretary Rosemary DiCarlo urged Russia and Ukraine to agree on the demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. At the UN Security Council meeting last March, the US Ambassador asked Russia to withdraw its troops from the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The G7 leaders also said Russia should refrain from any activity that could potentially harm nuclear installations.
Meanwhile, China’s Ambassador to the United Nations Geng Shuang urged Russia and Ukraine to exercise restraint and minimize the incident risk at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. He also stressed that to deal with the issue of nuclear facilities’ safety and security, the international community must adhere to science, rationality, and the spirit of humanity.
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In the entire Asia-Pacific, only Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australia have agreed to international sanctions against Moscow. The majority of Southeast Asian countries or ASEAN itself responded cautiously, considering maintaining good relations with Russia and Ukraine. Southeast Asia hopes the parties involved can exercise restraint and not worsen the situation. Cooperation from both of them as well as external parties such as the US and China is very important to promote peace between Russia and Ukraine even the entire world peace.
Hafizha Dwi Ulfa is a research assistant of Indonesian International Relations Study Center (IIRS-Center) Jakarta with focus analysis in ASEAN, East Asia, Indo-Pacific, Poverty, and Sustainable Development studies.