Ukrainian nuclear plant ‘under control’ following dam breach but risk of disaster remains
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station’s access to water for cooling from nearby reservoir cut off by demolition
The situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) following the breach of the Kakhovka dam is currently ‘under control’, a Ukrainian expert has told Chemistry World. However, Dmytro Gumenyuk, head of the safety analysis unit at the State Scientific and Technical Centre on Nuclear and Radiation Safety in Kyiv, Ukraine , says Russian troops must be removed from the site as a matter of urgency, to protect the electricity supply to the plant and prevent a serious accident.
On 6 June the Nova Kakhovka dam, located upstream of the city of Kherson on the Dnipro River in occupied southern Ukraine, collapsed. The destruction of the dam compromised a major reservoir supplying the ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with the water it needs for its cooling system.
The reservoir, normally 17m deep, is now less than 9m deep, says Gumenyuk. This is below the level needed for the pumps supplying the ZNPP with water to operate properly.