– The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has been shelled in recent days, opening up the possibility of a grave accident just 500 km (around 300 miles) from the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. WHAT IS IT? The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing Uranium 235, which has a half life of more than 700 million years. It is Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant and one of the biggest in the world. Construction began in 1980 and its sixth reactor was connected to the grid in 1995. Pressurised water is used to transfer heat away from the reactor and […]