Reports from Ukraine indicate that there was fighting in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant last night. RIVM has been actively monitoring the situation in Ukraine since the start of the disturbances. We are continuing to follow the radiological situation in light of these recent developments. To that end, RIVM will be keeping a close eye on national and international radiological monitoring networks. It is also in close contact with the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.
There was a fire in an outbuilding of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. The IAEA reports that the 6 reactors in Zaporizhzhia are in a safe state and that no increased radiation levels have been detected in the vicinity.
Prognoses
In the event of a radiological or nuclear accident, RIVM’s Radiological Accident Organisation (OOS) can use models to provide a prognosis for the spread of radioactivity in the atmosphere. That is why, in addition to the monitoring, RIVM is also engaged in researching what might happen were an accident to occur in one of the Ukrainian nuclear reactors. At present, the weather conditions are such that no material would be carried to the Netherlands on the wind. Nor is the wind direction set to turn towards the Netherlands over the next few days.