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Articles on Nuclear power plants

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The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant seen across the Dnieper River, which was receding after a downstream dam was destroyed. Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images

Kakhovka dam breach raises risk for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – receding waters narrow options for cooling

The International Atomic Energy Agency says the plant has enough water to last for several months. What happens afterward or if the remaining water is lost to the war could lead to a disaster.
The last operating reactor at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, reactor No. 6, has been safely shut down. Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

Cold shutdown reduces risk of disaster at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – but combat around spent fuel still poses a threat

The power plant’s sixth reactor has been shut down, all but eliminating the risk of a nuclear meltdown. But fighting at the site could still release radioactive material.
Manufacturing a 300-ton nuclear reactor pressure vessel at a factory in Volgodonsk, Russia. Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images

Russia’s energy clout doesn’t just come from oil and gas – it’s also a key nuclear supplier

Russia isn’t a major producer of uranium, but it handles a large share of the steps that turn it into nuclear fuel. That makes it a major player in this globalized industry.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, points to the training facility hit by Russian artillery at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. AP Photo/Lisa Leutner

Russian troops fought for control of a nuclear power plant in Ukraine – a safety expert explains how warfare and nuclear power are a volatile combination

The world held its collective breath as Russian troops battled Ukrainian forces at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The battle is over and no radiation escaped, but the danger is far from over.
Fire a set of high-power lasers at a tiny speck of hydrogen isotopes and you can initiate nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun. National Ignition Facility

How much energy can people create at one time without losing control?

Scientists are working on ways to make lots of energy by converting matter into energy. The trick is keeping the process under control. One possibility is nuclear fusion – the Sun’s power source.
An International Atomic Energy Agency investigator examines Reactor Unit 3 at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, May 27, 2011. Greg Webb, IAEA/Flickr

10 years after Fukushima, safety is still nuclear power’s greatest challenge

On the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, two experts explain why human choices are more important to nuclear safety than technology, and why the job is far from finished.
New research shows Ontario doesn’t really need nuclear energy, and its absence would not have an impact on emissions in the province’s energy sector. (Ferdinand Stohr/Unsplash)

Ontario can phase out nuclear and avoid increased carbon emissions

Nuclear power isn’t needed to meet Ontario’s electricity needs. And the absence of nuclear power won’t have any impact on emissions in Ontario’s energy sector.

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