“This is a game of Russian roulette the world can’t afford to play!” the model and activist writes.
To the Editor:
Re “Combat at Nuclear Power Plant Adds Radioactive Dangers to Invasion” (news article, March 5):
In nothing short of a miraculous stroke of luck, Ukraine, Europe and indeed the world dodged a catastrophe by avoiding a massive meltdown in the Russian assault on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant last week.
There are three other plants in Ukraine, and Russian forces have reportedly seized a second one. Will there be another near disaster? Will we be so lucky next time? We can’t afford to find out.
Every Ukrainian life lost in this unwarranted invasion would be for nothing if the land Ukrainians love is contaminated with radiation and uninhabitable. It would be an unthinkable loss for Russians, too, and a meltdown could result in mass evacuations in Europe, as radiation knows no boundaries.
Releases of radioactivity from spent fuel pools, dry casks and under the six reactor domes at Zaporizhzhia — and the resulting casualties — could dwarf the 1986 Chernobyl nightmare.
Aside from all-out nuclear war, nuclear plant meltdowns pose the greatest risk of radiation exposure. An international expert panel is urgently needed to develop rules protecting nuclear plants during warfare. We can’t just hope we’ll be so lucky next time; this is a game of Russian roulette the world can’t afford to play!
Christie Brinkley
Bridgehampton, N.Y.
The writer is the model, actress and activist. She is vice president of the Radiation and Public Health Project.
