2015 | FROM THE ARCHIVE


Nuclear power in war zones By John C.H. Lindberg FRSA


Since the 1950s there have been conflicts in several countries with nuclear power plants or programmes


with help from North Korea at the Dair Alzour site, which led to the destruction of the site. These past strikes against


nuclear reactors were said to be to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons, but this is clearly not the case in Ukraine. In Europe itself, the Krsko power plant on the border of what is now Croatia and Slovenia saw fighting close to its site in June 1991. That was during the breakup of Yugoslavia and the series of wars between the emerging successor states.


However, the Armenian-


Above: The damaged IRT-5000 reactor at the Al Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre in Iraq Photo Credit: Dr. Ronald K. Chesser


When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the geopolitical landscape of Europe was redrawn. Within the first 72 hours, nuclear power was at the heart of the conflict, with fighting taking place at the Chernobyl site, something that made the headlines across the world. However, this is not the


first-time armed conflict has taken place in the vicinity of nuclear reactors. Seven years ago, Alexey Kovynev


(a former operator at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and Nuclear Engineering International’s in-house illustrator) reflected on this history on the back of Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.


As highlighted in the article, most actual involvement of nuclear reactors in military activities has been in the Middle East. In 1981, Israeli fighter jets


destroyed Iraq’s Tammuz-1 (Osirak) research reactor, which was to supply Saddam Hussein with plutonium for nuclear weapons. A few years later (1984-5) during the decade-long war between Iran and Iraq, multiple airstrikes damaged Iran’s Bushehr site, where German companies had begun to build a reactor (which was abandoned following the 1979 Islamic Revolution). In 2007, there was a further


Israeli airstrike on an undeclared Syrian reactor under construction


Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno- Karabakh in 1991-1993 did not affect operation of the Armenian nuclear plant (two VVER-440 reactors), which was located away from the theatre of hostilities. The Russian invasion of Ukraine does differ from previous conflicts as far as nuclear power is concerned. This war has seen fighting on the site of two plants, including Europe’s largest operational nuclear power plant (Zaporizhzhia) and one (Chernobyl) with particular additional fears of damage to waste sites around the plant.


One further thought comes


to mind when reflecting upon the ongoing situation in Ukraine: the immense influence of radiophobia, and how this age-old companion of nuclear power has been deployed during the conflict. Unlike past conflicts involving


nuclear reactors, this is the first time the world can follow developments second by second,


and this has been used by both sides of the war. In particular, the Ukrainian


government and various Ukrainian nuclear companies have used the spectre of Chernobyl and various nightmare scenarios add to the terrible suffering the people of Ukraine are enduring — something that has subsequently been repeated by various world leaders.


Whilst it is more than understandable why this tactic is deployed, it nevertheless poses a long-term risk to nuclear power as it acts to reinforce radiophobia. As I have argued elsewhere,


radiophobia remains one of the largest stumbling blocks for the sustainability of the nuclear industry, and its deployment in war adds new complexity to the issue.


Nuclear power plants and wars do not mix well —but then again, war does not mix well with any infrastructure (or anything else for that matter). It is important that the nuclear


community finds ways to respond to the conflict, without diminishing the long-term prospects of this crucial technology by allowing radiophobic discourse to take over. In many ways, this conflict may well be a watershed moment, but it seems the jury is still out on which path nuclear power is destined to take. ■


NB: Any views or reflections in this piece are of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of any organisation or entity that the author is affiliated with.


In 1981, Israeli fighter jets destroyed Iraq’s Tammuz-1 (Osirak) research reactor,


which was to supply Saddam Hussein with plutonium for nuclear weapons. A few years later (1984-5) during the decade-long war between Iran and Iraq, multiple airstrikes damaged Iran’s Bushehr site, where German companies had begun to build a reactor


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