https://tech.slashdot.org/story/22/03/20/1934212/after-about-600-hours-64-workers-at-chernobyl-nuclear-plant-finally-relieved Slashdot * Stories * + Firehose + All + Popular * Polls * Software * Apparel Submit Search Slashdot [ ] * Login * or * Sign up * Topics: * Devices * Build * Entertainment * Technology * Open Source * Science * YRO * Follow us: * RSS * Facebook * Google+ * Twitter * Youtube * Newsletter Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop Nickname: [ ] Password: [ ] [ ] Public Terminal --------------------------------------------------------------------- [Log In] Forgot your password? Close binspamdupenotthebestofftopicslownewsdaystalestupid freshfunnyinsightfulinterestingmaybe offtopicflamebaittrollredundantoverrated insightfulinterestinginformativefunnyunderrated descriptive typodupeerror Do you develop on GitHub? You can keep using GitHub but automatically sync your GitHub releases to SourceForge quickly and easily with this tool so your projects have a backup location, and get your project in front of SourceForge's nearly 30 million monthly users. It takes less than a minute. Get new users downloading your project releases today. x 159963955 story The Military Power After About 600 Hours, 64 Workers at Ukraine's Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Finally Relieved (nytimes.com) 16 Posted by EditorDavid on Sunday March 20, 2022 @03:36PM from the overworked dept. The New York Times reports that "After more than three weeks without being able to leave the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, 64 workers were able to be rotated out, the plant said on Sunday." Staff at the plant, which includes more than 200 technical personnel and guards, had not been able to rotate shifts since February 23, a day before Russian forces took control of the site, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which serves as a nuclear watchdog for the United Nations. In a Facebook post, the plant said that to rotate the 64 workers, 46 volunteers were sent to the site to make sure operations at the plant could continue. It was unclear whether the remaining workers would also have an opportunity to be rotated. For weeks, the International Atomic Energy Agency, known as the I.A.E.A., has expressed concern for the workers at the Chernobyl site, calling for the staff to be rotated for their safety and security. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the I.A.E.A., said last week that he remained "gravely concerned about the extremely difficult circumstances for the Ukrainian staff there." The I.A.E.A. said on March 13 that workers were no longer doing repairs and maintenance, partly because of "physical and psychological fatigue...." Workers at the site have faced a number of issues recently, including a power outage and limited communication. Ukrainian government officials said on March 9 that damage by Russian forces had "disconnected" the plant from outside electricity, leaving the site dependent on power from diesel generators and backup supplies. Power was restored a few days later, and the plant resumed normal operating conditions. Earlier this month a former commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (from 1998 to 2007) argued in the Wall Street Journal that "An unappreciated motive for Russia's invasion of Ukraine is that Kyiv was positioning itself to break from its longtime Russian nuclear suppliers, as the U.S. was encroaching on Russia's largest nuclear export market...." "The project was intended to allow Ukraine to store this fuel safely without shipping it back to Russia for reprocessing. The processing and storage facility was completed in 2020, and Holtec and SSE Chernobyl were loading the canisters to be stored when the war began on February 24..." By taking over Chernobyl, Russia gives itself control of the disposal of its spent fuel, which it can store in canisters at the site or ship to a reprocessing facility in Russia. Either way, this represents hundreds of millions of dollars for Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear enterprise.... The timing is telling. In November 2021, Ukraine's leaders signed a deal with Westinghouse to start construction on what they hoped would be at least five nuclear units -- the first tranche of a program that could more than double the number of plants in the country, with a potential total value approaching $100 billion. Ukraine clearly intended that Russia receive none of that business. [apply tags ] - You may like to read: - Apple's iPhone Cameras Accused of Being 'Too Smart' Reddit's Teach-the-Controversy Stance On COVID Vaccines Sparks Wider Protest 'Master,' 'Slave' and the Fight Over Offensive Terms in Computing The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them New Texas Law Tries Making it Illegal for Social Media Sites to Ban Users Over Political Viewpoints Europe's Largest Nuclear Power Plant On Fire After Russian Shelling Sleeping With the Light On May Be Harmful To You After About 600 Hours, 64 Workers at Ukraine's Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Finally Relieved More | Reply Login After About 600 Hours, 64 Workers at Ukraine's Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Finally Relieved Post Load All Comments Full Abbreviated Hidden /Sea Score: 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 More | Reply Login Nickname: [ ] Password: [ ] [ ] Public Terminal --------------------------------------------------------------------- [Log In] Forgot your password? Close Close Search 16 Comments Log In/Create an Account Comments Filter: * All * Insightful * Informative * Interesting * Funny The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. * + + o o # # Re: (Score:3) by jd ( 1658 ) writes: With three quarters of the number of staff, I'd be concerned. It would seem reasonable to assume that if 64 staff is normally required for safe operation, having only 48 when we don't know what the guards' orders are or whether the guards are able to handle the mental pressures of obeying orders, not blowing up a reactor and taking on 48 new faces where they've no real guarantees those staff are all genuine. (For all the Russians know, half of them could be Ukrainian commandos. It's not like they can run a @ o 1 reply beneath your current threshold. + 1 reply beneath your current threshold. * + * Explains it. (Score:3) by AlanObject ( 3603453 ) writes: on Sunday March 20, 2022 @04:20PM (#62374953) This should get quite a bit more play in the media than it is going to get. A big part of taking over Ukraine has to do with securing it as a customer for Rosatom. I was wondering a few weeks back why the Russian invaders were taking such an interest in Chernobyl. I thought that they were possibly planning to stage an nuclear accident, thereby manufacturing a reason for their people to be there. That could still happen. But this reminds me of the Cheney/Bush invasion of Iraq. The incoming troops completely neglected to protect sites such as the artifacts museum or the Al-Qaa-Qaa weapons dump. First thing they did was to secure and protect the Oil Ministry. They were fully aware there were no WMD in Iraq exactly the same way Putin knows there are Nazi purges of Russians in Ukraine. The justifications for both invasions were always bogus. But this won't be the media narrative. Reply to This Share twitter facebook Share on Google+ Flag as Inappropriate + + Re: (Score:2) by phantomfive ( 622387 ) writes: Well that's a clusterfuck then. Russia has already lost far more on this war in money, lives, and respect (no one respects the Russian army anymore) than they would have gained in money from nuclear exports. Putin is no longer calculating Putin. He is now gamblin' Putin, and he just lost. o o Re: (Score:3) by jd ( 1658 ) writes: In the end, the illegal invasion didn't hamper Bush that much, even when it was disclosed he knew there had been no WMDs. # # Re: (Score:2) by phantomfive ( 622387 ) writes: Well yeah, no one in the world ever confused Bush with a smart guy. @ + Re: (Score:3) by jd ( 1658 ) writes: The media narrative of the BBC, at least, is talking of Putin watching, on endless loop, reports of the US attack on Libya and the murder of Gadaffi. Which could mean that he's furious the world was fine with one illegal attack on a sovereign nation but objects to a virtually identical one on a virtually identical pretext, or that he is attempting to re-enact the US/UK attack and is looking at the footage for inspiration. I'm not sure it's possible to tell. All we can say for certain is that the attack on U o o Re: (Score:3) by Retired Chemist ( 5039029 ) writes: The difference is that the attacks on Libya and Iraq were successes. Success has a hundred fathers; failure is an orphan. Also, it helps that Gaddafi and Sadam did not have a friend in the world, which is not true of Ukraine. # + Re:Explains [seizing Chernobyl]. (Score:3) by shanen ( 462549 ) writes: Congratulations on the First Real Post [in spite of your vacuous subject]? FRP moderation as a possible solution for the FP abuse thing? But I have a comment on your economic angle and a general solution approach to share. Regarding Chernobyl, my theory is that Putin is considering going nuclear, but he wants a pretext. Chernobyl could be "mined" for a dirty bomb, and his goons may be busy right now creating "the evidence" that the Ukrainians were doing just that. The existing staff were a nuisance and they a o o Re: (Score:2) by phantomfive ( 622387 ) writes: His basic premise is that war used to be profit-driven and wars accidentally drove technological and even social progress, but it's no longer profitable in any of the old ways. While it is true that war not as profitable as it used to be (you can't just steal all the gold out of your victim's treasury), profit isn't the only motivation for war. Fear, greed, and ideology are the main causes of war. Putin is motivated by fear and ideology. # * The biggest question (Score:2) by CaptainLugnuts ( 2594663 ) writes: Did the get OT for that? + * A difficult situation (Score:2) by jd ( 1658 ) writes: Replacing overtired workers is a great idea. Good for the workers and extraordinarily good for the planet. Replacing them with fewer people - well, technically one could argue that three quarters the number of awake, alert and slightly less terrified people would perform better, but on the other hand, they're going to be doing the job of far more people under less than ideal conditions with a rather paranoid, and potentially unpredictable guard. True, fewer people to be executed or blown up, but one could ar + * The reason (Score:2) by chill ( 34294 ) writes: TLDR: Money + * 2 replies beneath your current threshold. * There may be more comments in this discussion. Without JavaScript enabled, you might want to turn on Classic Discussion System in your preferences instead. 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