The water level in the reservoir of the Kakhovskaya dam in southern Ukraine no longer allows cooling the reactors of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the operator of the dam said on Thursday, reports AFP and News.ro.

Ukrainian nuclear power plant in ZaporizhzhiaPhoto: Kostyantyn Mikhalchevskyi / Sputnik / Profimedia

The water level has fallen “below the critical threshold of 12.7 meters” and is no longer sufficient to provide “Zaporizka NPP cooling basins”, reports the director of the Ukrainian operator “Ukrhydroenergo” Ihor Syrota.

The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, who is due to visit the Zaporizhzhia NPP next week, said earlier this week that water could no longer be pumped out if the water level fell below 12.7 meters. .

Reactor core fuel and fuel placed in storage pools must be constantly cooled to avoid a fusion accident and radioactive emissions into the environment.

A large cooling basin located near the facility “is currently full and contains enough water to power the plant for several months as six (plant) reactors are shut down,” he announced.

Read also: The IAEA may use an alternative source of water to cool the reactors of the Zaporizhzhya NPP after the breach of the Novaya Kakhovka dam

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