Latest news with #Chornobyl
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Going Nuclear by Tim Gregory review – a boosterish case for atomic energy
There is something biblical about the fraternal relationship between the atomic bomb and the nuclear reactor. Both involve bombarding uranium-235 atoms with neutrons to produce a chain reaction via nuclear fission. Both were made possible in the same instant, at 3.25pm on 2 December 1942, when the Manhattan Project's Enrico Fermi orchestrated the first human-made chain reaction in the squash court of the University of Chicago. 'The flame of nuclear fission brought us to the forked road of promise and peril,' writes Tim Gregory. The bomb came first, of course, but atomic dread coexisted with tremendous optimism about what President Eisenhower dubbed 'atoms for peace': the potential of controlled fission to generate limitless energy. As David Lilienthal of the US Atomic Energy Commission observed, atom-splitting thus inspired a pseudo-religious binary: 'It would either destroy us all or it would bring about the millennium.' Nuclear optimism was shattered by the 1986 Chornobyl disaster but, as the subtitle of his book advertises, Gregory is determined to bring it back. A nuclear chemist at Sellafield, where the Queen opened the world's first commercial nuclear reactor in 1956, he's a cheerleader for Team Millennium. Writing in a Promethean spirit of 'rational and daring optimism', this self-proclaimed 'nuclear environmentalist' believes nuclear energy is the only viable route to net zero by 2050. 'The nucleus could power the world securely, reliably, affordably, and – crucially – sustainably,' he declares. Gregory is an excellent popular science writer: clear as a bell and gently humorous. If you want to understand the workings of fission or radioactivity, he's your man. But he is also an evangelical pitchman whose chapters on the atom's myriad wonders can read rather like high-end sales brochures. Radiation? Not a problem! Less dangerous, in fact, than radiophobia, 'the irrational fear of radiation'. High-level nuclear waste? It can be buried in impregnable catacombs like Finland's state-of-the-art Onkalo or, better yet, recycled through breeder reactors. Gregory wants the reader to learn to stop worrying and love the reactor. Of course, there is a radioactive elephant in the room, which Gregory eventually confronts in the chapter We Need to Talk About Chernobyl. Like Three Mile Island (1979) and Fukushima (2011), the Soviet disaster caused reactor construction to crash. Europe built more reactors in the five years before Chornobyl than it has in the four decades since. The Fukushima meltdown spooked Germany into dismantling its entire nuclear programme. Whereas France, which has one-eighth of the planet's 441 active reactors, currently generates two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, Germany produces none, cancelling out its gains from renewables and making it painfully reliant on Russian gas. Gregory argues that the construction of reactors like Hinkley Point C in Somerset runs behind schedule and over budget because we've lost the habit, even as China and South Korea streak ahead. To Gregory, all this is a tragic case of radiophobia. Only around 50 fatalities have been directly attributed to radiation from Chornobyl, while the official death tolls for Fukushima and Three Mile Island are one and zero respectively. Roll them all together and the same number of people are lost roughly every three minutes to air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. No doubt, the kneejerk rejection of nuclear energy can be ignorant bordering on superstitious, but safety concerns demand more space and consideration. Oddly, Gregory doesn't mention Serhii Plokhy's 2022 book Atoms and Ashes, which explains how the Fukushima disaster could have been much worse if not for the courage and judgment of a few key officials. More offputtingly, he attacks renewable energy with roughly the same arguments used by rightwing critics of net zero, warning of 'energy scarcity, industrial wind-down, and food insecurity' if we choose wind and sun over good old uranium-235. But surely it is not a zero-sum game? After a while, Gregory's relentless boosterism begins to lose its persuasive power and he sounds rather like the blithely confident scientist in the first act of a disaster movie. Even though I'm personally convinced that anybody focused on the climate emergency would be foolish to dismiss nuclear out of hand, I suspect that sceptics may require an argument that sounds a little less like 'Calm down, dear.' Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World by Tim Gregory is published by Bodley Head (£25). To support the Guardian order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The 3 ‘STALKER' Remasters Do The Bare Minimum, And That's Fine
The three S.T.A.L.K.E.R. remasters are great for console players, even when they, er, aren't. The ever-growing list of 2025 remasters continues this month, and it's now the turn of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy to join the ranks of Tomb Raider IV-VI, Suikoden I & II, Lunar, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition dropped on May 19, and having now completed the OG Shadow of Chornobyl and sinking a good 10-15 hours between Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat, I can confirm two things for PS5 and Xbox players (but I'm sure PC players, who've been modding it for years, may disagree): The three S.T.A.L.K.E.R. remasters have undergone a visual overhaul, with an impressive amount of detail devoted to lighting, which now adds effects such as godrays, screen space reflections, and global illumination — perfect for console players, given how atmospheric it's always been on PC, especially with mods. NPC models, weapons, and environments have been given a new lick of paint, while attention's also been paid to water shaders, wetness effects, and skyboxes. The cinematics look better than ever, too, thanks to 4K pre-rendering. Textures have also been edited, including the notable removal of Soviet-themed artwork (alongside, it seems, rubles as currency). Unlike GSC Game World's team, I've not lived in Ukraine since it was invaded, so I can't judge on this decision, even if the rest of the game sticks remarkably doggedly to the source material. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder They kept the ferris wheel in, at least. Console players on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S can pick between quality and performance modes, but you really should stick with performance, as the frame rate absolutely trumps whatever meager details are boosted. Consoles also receive keyboard and mouse support, as well as that all-important integration for cross-platform mod sharing. For PC players, there's Steam Deck optimization, Steam Workshop mod support, full gamepad compatibility, and cloud saves. Most importantly, owners of the original games on Steam or GOG receive the corresponding enhanced editions for free (the original's upgrade appeared in my GOG library on release day). Those buying remasters on PC will get the classic games for free. When you jump into the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R. — I'd be surprised if anyone started with the other two — there's a good chance you'll've forgotten how good the voice acting and music are. The cinematic boosts are fantastic, even if they still feel like an early-stage PS3 game, much like the wider experience. Finally, we also get a weapon wheel, but one that makes ammo changes or gun modes unpredictable. That's pretty much where the UI improvements end, and you realize GSC Game World sticks to the source material like glue. The left analog stick and D-pad work independently, making navigation a chore; picking missions, finding your place on the map, and item interactions are a drudge; interactive switches or levers aren't labelled as such; save state dates are weirdly pegged to 2012; and you have to wait for the slow fade-in of '(X) Talk' to interact with other stalkers. Most egregiously, and going against basic accessibility standards we really should expect from remasters, absolutely no attention has been paid to the STALKER games' unusual subtitles, which rarely (if ever) reflect what's being said. This ranges from minor omissions to significant gaps in the voiceover, such as key locations or your next steps. In the weirdest moment of all — Call of Pripyat's opening sequence — the narrator says entirely different dates and years to the subtitles. Sure, this was the case in the original, and people might see it as a quirk of the series, but subtitles exist for a reason, and it feels lazy. Despite everything that's dropped on consoles recently — and with the impending release of the Switch 2 next week — I couldn't stop playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition. I've had to uninstall it, because despite all the recommendations I've had for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blue Prince, and Revenge of the Savage Planet (plus the incoming Switch 2), I was utterly unable to leave the Zone. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy needs no (re)introduction, and certainly doesn't require another review to rake over 16-to-18-year-old faults; what matters is that GSC has brought a brutal, weird, and truly unique game kicking and screaming into the modern era, with just enough spice to make it incredibly attractive and playable on consoles. The support adds something extra for those willing to mess with, and inevitably break, a game that already has its fair share of odd problems. Ah mate, not this prick again. I'm not a Soulsborne guy. Still, put me in any FPS, and I'll clear it on veteran, unless it's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. It encourages you to learn without really teaching you, and it's keen to punish you for not taking advantage of absolutely everything it doesn't fully explain. I save-scummed my entire way through the Sarcophagus, despite playing on novice difficulty, and had two medkits and one anti-rad pack to my name before the credits rolled. I lost 10kg of bullets, medicine, and throwables in the final hour, and it was all worth it for the inevitable 'greedy' ending I always get. After I tried and failed to review S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 — a game so broken before launch that after 45 hours reviewing it, its developers dropped a day zero patch that voided 90% of my notes and broke the game in different ways — the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition reminds you that the better experiences are often simpler, even if you constantly feel like you've been dragged through a hedge. It's far from perfect and won't hit the heights of PC community mods, but for newcomers and veterans who want a peek at what it's like on PS5 or Xbox, it's absolutely worth a go.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Inside the Chornobyl exclusion zone
A Russian drone attack has inflicted tens of millions of pounds of damage to the site of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, according to experts. The photographer Julia Kochetova has gained access to the area
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Russian drone strike caused tens of millions worth of damage to Chornobyl
A Russian Shahed drone costing up to £75,000 is estimated to have inflicted tens of millions worth of damage to the site of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, according to initial assessments and engineering experts. The cost of a full fix is likely to be borne by western governments including the UK, because initial estimates are that a complete repair will cost more than the €25m available in a special international contingency fund. The strike in mid February did not cause an immediate radiological risk, but it significantly damaged the €1.5bn containment structure built in 2017 to encase the destroyed reactor and is likely to take months if not years to completely repair. The 110-metre high steel structure at Chornobyl was hit before 2am on 14 February, with sensors registering 'something like a 6 to 7 magnitude earthquake,' according to Serhiy Bokov, the chief engineer on duty. 'But we clearly understood it wasn't that,' he said. Serhiy Bokov, engineer, at Chornobyl NPP. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian The attack – quickly concluded to be caused by a drone flying below at a level where it could not be detected by radar – punctured a 15-sq-metre hole in the outer roof. It also caused a particularly damaging, complex smouldering fire to the inner cladding of the structure that took over a fortnight to put out. Consisting of two double arches and longer than two jumbo jets, the New Safe Confinement (NSC) was completed in 2017 to secure the hastily built, unstable Soviet-era sarcophagus, which covers over Chornobyl's ill-fated reactor number four, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in April 1986. But the attack in February has rendered the sarcophagus open to the elements again, meaning that radioactive dust could get out and rainwater in, though the country's environmental protection ministry says 'the radiation background is currently within normal level and is under constant control'. Chornobyl containment graphic. More significantly, the confinement structure is now more vulnerable in the longer term to rusting due to greater exposure to the elements and damage to the cladding. Two hundred small boreholes were also drilled into the structure in the effort to douse the cladding fire with water. 'Not fixing it is not an option,' said Eric Schmieman, an American engineer who worked on the design and build of the Chornobyl shelter for 15 years. A complete repair, he said would 'cost a minimum of tens of millions of dollars and it could easily go to hundreds of millions' with the repairs taking 'months to years,' he added. Previously the shelter was intended to have a 100-year design life, allowing time to decommission the sarcophagus and nuclear waste below, but this is now in doubt without it being repaired, Schmieman added. Unlike other large metal structures, such as the Eiffel Tower, it was never possible to repaint it to prevent corrosion. Safe confinement shelter severely damaged after Russian drone attack in March 2025. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian Below the sarcophagus lies a highly radioactive lava like mass, a mix of 200 tonnes of uranium from Chornobyl reactor number four and 5,000 tonnes of sand, lead and boric acid dropped on to the site by Soviet helicopters in the immediate aftermath of the disaster caused by the reactor going out of control. A more detailed impact assessment is expected to be released in May, but the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which funded the building of the shelter and is involved in the post bombing analysis, said 'it is clear that the attack has caused significant damage'. Other sources, familiar with the assessment exercise, told the Guardian that Schmieman's estimates appeared correct. Though the EBRD holds €25m in funds to allow for emergency work, it said 'significantly more funding is required' to tackle long-term decommissioning challenges thrown up by the incident. A similar calculation was made by Ukraine's environmental protection ministry. 'It is likely that eliminating the consequences of Russian aggression will require more funds than are currently available in the International Cooperation Account for Chornobyl [the €25m EBRD fund],' said the ministry in a statement. When the attack took place in February, Moscow blamed Ukraine. Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the incident was a provocation 'premeditated by the Kyiv regime'. However, Ukrainian prosecutors believe, having reviewed the drone's trajectory from the north, that the attack was a 'possibly intentional strike' by Russian forces and a potential war crime. A view of the containment vessel that protects the remains of reactor number four at the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Photograph: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Shaun Burnie, a senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace Ukraine, said he believed the attack would have 'consequences lasting decades' and said that it had taken place because 'Putin and the Russian state has conducted a deliberate form of nuclear terror against Ukraine and Europe' that has 'gone unpunished'. Further cash for repairs is most likely to come from western governments. Twenty-six countries contributed to the cost of the original shelter, including the US, UK, France, Germany and even Russia – of which the vast steel arch structure cost €1.5bn out of a total €2.1bn fund. Others also made donations, including Turkey. Home to the remains of a nuclear reactor that went out of control and exploded in April 1986, the Chornobyl site is seven miles from the border with Russia's ally Belarus. It was occupied by Russian soldiers trying to capture Kyiv in February 2022, and has remained on the frontline after Ukraine regained it that April. Two people were killed in the 1986 disaster and 28 more died from radiation poisoning in its immediate aftermath, while 350,000 were evacuated from nearby towns. Two exclusion zones remain in place, one 18 miles (30km) from the plant, where small numbers of people live and work, and a second at 6 miles, including the ghostly, abandoned town of Pripyat, a relic from an unlamented Soviet era. A decorated Christmas tree near the abandoned Polissya Hotel in Chornobyl exclusion zone. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian Tourists were allowed to visit until the Russian full-scale invasion, but now the site lies in a military border zone, complicating decontamination efforts. Russian soldiers dug up contaminated earth as they built trenches in sight of the reactor shelter, but Ukrainian soldiers shipped in sand to build their own fortifications. Debris recovered from the site led Ukrainian prosecutors to conclude that the damage was done by a Shahed 136, an Iranian-designed delta wing drone that has become Russia's most frequently used long-range attack weapon. Now made at sites in Russia, their $50,000 to $100,000 cost is far below the amount of damage caused. The abandoned school in Chornobyl exclusion zone. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian Ukrainian officials say the first step will be to 'develop and implement' a temporary seal to the hole in the shelter, though Schmieman cautions that 'one thing that is not obvious from distance is that as you go up the shelter object, the radiation dose gets higher. So you have to train and cycle workers based on safe annual dose limits'. A radical option for full repair, probably only viable in peacetime, would be to slip the shelter back along a set of rails on which it was originally built 180 metres away, to reduce the radiation exposure for the workers. But that would be a 'multi-year project' Schmieman estimated. Wild Przewalski's horses in Chornobyl exclusion zone. There are 150 horses left in the area. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian Remotely operated cranes hanging from the confinement shelter were intended to dismantle the sarcophagus and nuclear material below, and the strike hit a point near the maintenance garage Bokov said. That too may impair the plans to gradually dismantle and decommission the disaster site below. The abandoned swimming pool in Chornobyl exclusion zone. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian 'We designed this building for lots of contingencies, but we didn't design it for war,' Schmieman said. 'Though most nuclear plants are designed to survive an aircraft falling on them, we didn't do that because after the accident in 1986 there has been a no-fly zone at Chornobyl. We had thought nothing would be flying overhead.' The memorial for the workers of Chornobyl NPP who died because of the catastrophe. Photograph: Julia Kochetova/The Guardian
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Victorian Nationals open to working with a Dutton government to build nuclear reactor
The Victorian Nationals have left the door open to working with a Dutton government to build a nuclear reactor in the Latrobe Valley, as the Liberal leader, Brad Battin, was urged to 'get a spine' and rule out a repeal of the state's nuclear ban. In an interview with Guardian Australia, Battin distanced the Victorian Coalition from Peter Dutton's nuclear plan, saying the state opposition was instead focused on expanding onshore gas exploration. But Battin refused to say whether he would support overturning the state's legislation banning the construction and operation of nuclear facilities. He said the Victorian Coalition would decide its position only after the federal election on 3 May. The Victorian Nationals leader, Danny O'Brien, similarly said the state Coalition had 'no plans to introduce nuclear power', but he was open to working with a future federal government if it decided to lift its own ban. 'It may be that a future Commonwealth government initiates a discussion about nuclear power, noting there is currently a Commonwealth moratorium on nuclear energy,' he said in a statement on Tuesday. 'I am open to sensible discussions about future energy supplies.' O'Brien added the entire Gippsland community, which takes in the Latrobe Valley, would need to be involved in any conversations about nuclear energy in the area. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter The Victorian Nationals have previously showed more openness to nuclear than their Coalition partners. At its state conference in 2024, a motion calling on Victorian National party MPs to support their federal colleagues and 'promote the advantages of nuclear energy' passed with majority support. A week later in parliament, the Nationals MP Emma Kealy said 'any responsible government' should be exploring all energy options. She described nuclear as 'a form of safe and reliable energy'. In 2023, under the previous leader, John Pesutto, the Coalition supported a bill introduced by the Libertarian MP David Limbrick in the upper house that sought to repeal the nuclear prohibition legislation, arguing it limited the state's involvement in the defence, space and minerals industries. However, Guardian Australia understands the issue is more divisive in the Liberal party room. Several MPs said they would push for a vote on its position in the event of a Dutton government. One Liberal MP said there were a 'variety of views' within the party room on nuclear energy, with some supportive and others 'absolutely in opposition'. They pointed to the former leader Matthew Guy, who told parliament in 2023 that members of his own family died from the effects of the Chornobyl disaster. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'While he's the most vocal, he's not the only one who has reservations,' the MP said. Another Liberal MP said it was important the party's position on nuclear was 'not a captain's call'. The deputy premier, Ben Carroll, said there was 'no social licence for nuclear' in Victoria and claimed Battin had refused to take a clear position due to internal divisions within the Coalition. 'He needs to get a spine,' he said. 'Take a leaf out of David Crisafulli in Queensland's book, Brad. At least he had the guts to come forward and say he doesn't support nuclear. 'For Brad to say he's deferring his decision until 4 May after the federal election, just goes to show Brad is more interested in keeping his party room together and the National party and Coalition together and he is letting Victorians know where he stands.' Battin responded by reaffirming the Victorian Coalition's 'focus on gas'. Meanwhile, Dutton batted away questions about Battin's comments during a visit to Melbourne on Tuesday. He said the Coalition does 'not shy away from' nuclear energy, though he refused to say how much it would cost to shut down old coal plants to make way for nuclear reactors.
