IAEA concerned about water supply to Zaporozhye NPP

SIMFEROPOL. Sept 4 (Interfax) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has said he is concerned over the situation with water supply to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).

The problem of cooling the Zaporozhye NPP and the water situation in particular have been one of the main concerns of the IAEA since the Kakhovskaya hydropower plant's dam was destroyed last year, Grossi said during his visit to the Zaporozhye NPP on Wednesday.

He said that on Wednesday he saw earthwork aimed to slow down the water level decrease in the NPP's cooling pond. He said he was not aware of that work but stressed that it was very important. This is indicative of constant efforts being made to keep the situation under control, Grossi said.

In the early hours of June 6, 2023, valves and then other structures collapsed at the Kakhovskaya hydropower plant. That caused an uncontrolled discharge of water from the Kakhovskoye reservoir, water from which is used by the Zaporozhye NPP. Grossi visited the plant on June 15, describing the situation there as "serious but stabilized." In October 2023, representatives of Zaporozhye NPP said that 11 additional wells had been drilled in order to secure water supply to the plant.

This is his fifth visit to the Zaporozhye NPP since September 2022. Grossi previously visited the nuclear facility in February 2024.

On Tuesday, he met with the Ukrainian leadership in Kiev to discuss support for Ukrainian nuclear power plants. It is planned that Grossi will meet with Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev in Russia's Kaliningrad later this week.