Crimea conflict could risk another Chernobyl

As tensions mount in eastern and southern Ukraine after the Russian takeover in Crimea, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant sits in the potential firing line. Zaphorizhia, with six full size nuclear reactors, is located north of Crimea. Another nine reactors, at three separate locations, are also still operating across Ukraine.

"The current tension between Ukraine and Russia serves as a stark reminder that armed conflict and nuclear power don't mix,” said Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste specialist at Beyond Nuclear. “Decades of warnings that nuclear power plants are potential weapons for an enemy in wartime have gone unheeded. Whether intentionally targeted or accidentally hit during military conflict, atomic reactors and radioactive waste storage facilities could unleash catastrophic amounts of hazardous radioactivity over a broad region.” Read the full Beyond Nuclear press release.