MELITOPOL, June 8. /TASS/. The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant’s (ZNPP) staff will closely monitor water levels in spray ponds used to cool off spent nuclear fuel so as to prevent them from falling below critical marks, Renat Karchaa, adviser to the CEO of Russian state nuclear power corporation Rosenergoatom, told TASS.
"We will not allow water levels to drop to a critical mark in the cooling ponds, or spray ponds, as they are also called," he said.
According to Karchaa, "excessive theatrics and winding things up" have never resulted in a constructive resolution of problematic issues. "Let’s put all the emotions aside. Even given the complicated condition that the Zaporozhye NPP is in, we do know how to resolve various problematic issues. The implementation of these solutions will not allow for a nuclear accident or for any threats to nuclear safety," he noted.
The official stressed that reckless actions by the Ukrainian authorities represent the only threat to the nuclear security of the Zaporozhye facility. "Today, the only threat to nuclear safety, which is a factor that is extremely difficult for us to overcome, is the madness of the Ukrainian political leadership and the lack of sanity on the part of the leadership of Ukraine’s energy industry. Now, this is indeed something we are having a tough time coping with. If Mister [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael] Grossi can help us with that, we would be enormously grateful. We can deal with all the rest," he assured TASS.
On Wednesday, the IAEA reported that the Zaporozhye nuclear facility is continuing to replenish the water supplies necessary for cooling off its reactors using the Kakhovka Reservoir. Following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant’s (HPP) dam, the water level kept dropping at a speed of 5-7 cm per hour. If the level drops below 12.7 meters, the water uptake pumps will stop functioning. If all of the Zaporozhye NPP’s cooling ponds are filled, there will be enough water to cool off the reactors and spent fuel for several months ahead, the agency noted.
Ukrainian forces shelled the Kakhovka HPP in the early morning hours on June 6, which resulted in the collapse of the hydraulic sluice gate valves on the plant’s dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. Water levels in Novaya Kakhovka reached 12 meters but are now receding. According to emergency services, there are 35 communities and territories in the flood zone. The residents of nearby communities are being evacuated. According to official information, five people died and more than 40 were hospitalized.
The destruction of the power generation facility has seriously damaged the environment, washing away farmland along the Dnieper River and threatening water levels in the North Crimean Canal. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the attack on the Kakhovka HPP was a premeditated act of sabotage on the part of Ukraine. He added that the responsibility for its consequences fully lies with the Kiev regime.