Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has started pumping water from a new groundwater well and plans to build additional wells at the site in the coming month as part of efforts to ensure sufficient cooling for its six reactors, following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam earlier this summer, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Tuesday (22 August).
The collapse of the downstream dam on 6 June and the subsequent disappearance of much of the water in the Kakhovka reservoir, which the power plant had been using for its cooling needs, forced the nuclear power plant to take steps to protect the bodies of water still available to it, including a large cooling pond next to the site, and look for alternative water sources, IAEA said in a press statement.
The IAEA team of experts at the site has been informed that the new well, whose location close to the plant’s sprinkler ponds was selected after consultations with geological specialists, has already been commissioned and is now providing about 20 cubic metres of water per hour. The ZNPP intends to build an additional 10-12 wells around the perimeter of the sprinkler ponds.
At the same time, the site’s large cooling pond and its other main supply of water – the plant’s discharge channel – remain intact, the IAEA experts said. The height of the ZNPP cooling pond continues to drop by about one centimetre per day while water from the ZTPP inlet channel is regularly pumped into its discharge channel to compensate for water used for cooling or lost through natural evaporation. The site has sufficient cooling water for many months.
“The plant continues to take action to address the additional challenges caused by the loss of the Kakhovka dam some ten weeks ago. The fact that more wells will be built should add to the water reserves available for cooling. However, the overall nuclear safety and security situation remains precarious,” Mr Grossi said.
IAEA experts are continuing to conduct various monitoring activities at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, including accessing rooftops and conducting walkdowns across the site. They have confirmed the safe storage of fresh fuel and the absence of explosives in certain areas.
Reactor unit 6 is generating steam for safety purposes, while unit 4 has undergone shutdown due to a water leak issue.
As part of the monitoring activities, Mr Grossi also noted the psychological impact of the conflict on operating staff and underscored the need for medical and counselling assistance for affected personnel.