Rafael Grossi, head of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency said tweeted on Monday, “The nuclear safety situation at the plant (is) extremely vulnerable.” Grossi is referring to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and among the 10 largest in the world. The plant lost power for several hours which is critical for cooling operations even when its six nuclear reactors are not operating and producing power. The plant has emergency diesel generators but they are sometimes unreliable. Grossi said it was the seventh time the plant had lost its outside power supply since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia captured the plant early in the war but since that time there has been concern that fighting around the plant could cause a nuclear accident like the one at Chernobyl in 1986.
