He saidUkraine's four active nuclear power plants presented a greater risk thanChernobyl, which sits within a vast "exclusion zone" roughly the size of Luxembourg. "The station has security units, specialized in counter-terrorist warfare, but they were no match for the Russian forces and, in any case, there are rules that prohibit combat operations on the territory of a nuclear power plant.. However, a Russian security source told Reuters thatRussia wantedto control theChernobylnuclear reactor to signal to NATO not to interfere militarily. Chernobyl: Disaster, Response & Fallout - History ' Matt Kroenig, who worked on both nuclear and Russia related issues under the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations, told CBS News senior investigative correspondent Catherine Herridge this week that Putin was weaponing Ukraines civilian nuclear facilities as part of a strategy to terrorize, and potentially to stage a major nuclear event.. 4 at Chernobyl's Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Station was destroyed by an explosion. In peacetime, the plant employees in Slavutych commuted to work by train, which took about 45 minutes. If the reactors are damaged in late December or early January, the prevailing winds are from Siberia, and weather patterns can be expected to push dangerous levels of caesium-137 and other contaminants directly to the west. The structure is also meant to allow the work of removing waste to long-term storage to begin, a process expected to take decades. By continuing to use this website, you consent to Columbia University's usage of cookies and similar technologies, in accordance with the, Sustainable Development Capstone Briefings, The Racialized Experiences of Graduate Students of Color, Columbia University Website Cookie Notice. Leatherbarrow recently published a book, called "1:23:40: The Incredible True Story of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster," that recounts the catastrophe's history on its 30th anniversary. According to Mr. Grossi, the physical integrity of nuclear power plants, the ability of personnel to work without excessive pressure, and access to external power sources should be ensured. According to the World Nuclear Association: Ukraine is heavily dependent on nuclear energy it has 15 reactors generating about half of its electricity. A map of the nations nuclear power plants appears on the website of the World Nuclear Association. The invasionhas raised questions about Chernobyl, infamous for the worst nuclear disasterin history., On April 26, 1986,reactor No. Russia captured Chernobyl. How worried should we be? : NPR Together, the explosions released 400 times as much radioactive fallout as the bomb the US dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.