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What would happen if Russia and Ukraine military action damaged each others’ nuclear power stations?

Answer

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned of the risk that nuclear power stations at Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine and Kursk in Russia could be damaged by fighting in the area near the plants. 

The IAEA says the safety and security of nuclear power plants is one of its central and fundamental concerns because of the risk of accidental hits on the plant or the loss of external sources of power to operate the plants, including cooling their reactors.

In the event of an incident the risk is that radioactive elements would be released into the air and potentially spread over a wide area. The Chernobyl accident in 1986 released Iodine, Strontium and Cesium that contaminated 150,000 square kilometres in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Some fallout reached as far north as Sweden, Finland and other parts of the northern hemisphere.