Should We Be Concerned About Another Nuclear Accident in Ukraine?

USPA NEWS - Russia’s attacking forces in Ukraine have occupied the closed Chernobyl power plant and also the Zaporizhzhia plant, which is one of the largest in the world.

The Chernobyl plant in Ukraine is disconnected from the grid due to damage inflicted by Russian occupying forces, sparking concerns of radioactive contamination if the cooling of spent nuclear fuel stops. The 750 kV Chernobyl-Kyiv high-voltage line is currently disconnected due to damage by the occupiers. The Chernobyl station and all nuclear facilities of the Exclusion Zone are without electricity. The Chernobyl plant was shut down after the 1986 disaster, and has sat within an exclusion zone ever since, but construction and recovery efforts have continued at the site to reduce the risk of future radiation leaks. There are about 20,000 spent fuel assemblies stored at the facility that require constant cooling. Without electricity to cool the pumps, the temperature in the holding pools will increase, prompting the release of radioactive substances into the environment. Wind can transfer a radioactive cloud to other regions of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Europe.

Russian troops have also occupied Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, after fierce fighting near the Ukrainian facility that sparked fears of a potential nuclear incident. The power plant's six reactors remain intact, although the compartment auxiliary buildings for reactor unit 1 had been damaged. Four of the remaining units are being cooled down, while one unit is providing power. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that "if (the plant) blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl," and additionally Ukrainian President Zelensky says that such an incident would mean "the end of Europe" (CNN).

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Wendy writes for the United States Press Agency and is a former columnist with the Fulton County Expositor, Wauseon, Ohio.

Sources: Fox News and CNN