• The Zaporizhzhia plant was built by the Soviet Union in the early 1980s.
• A mission from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
• On March 4, Russian forces took over the plant.
• It continued to be operated by Ukrainian staff, but under the supervision of executives from Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned atomic energy corporation.
• Its six water-cooled reactors occupy half a square mile on the banks of the Dnieper River near the town of Enerhodar.
• With a capacity of 5,700 MW, it is Europe’s largest nuclear plant.
• Until the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it used to supply one-fifth of the country’s electricity.
• Zaporizhzhya is one of the four operating Nuclear Power Plants in the country and has been operating since 1984.
• Zaporizhzhia reactors are encased in concrete that’s nearly 10 metres thick, making damage from shelling unlikely.
• Experts point to two likely accident scenarios — a reactor meltdown caused by damage to the cooling systems, and leakage of radioactive material due to an attack on spent fuel storage sites.
• In either case, the fallout would be localised, and limited to a maximum of 30-km radius.

UPSC Prelims Model Question

Q. The Zaporizhzhia plant, recently seen in news, is located on the banks of which of the following rivers?

(a) River Volga

(b) Dnieper River

(c) Danube River

(d) Rhine River

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