“No Immediate Danger” for Saporischschja Nuclear Power Plant Following Dam Destruction, Says IAEA

“No immediate danger” for nuclear power plant Saporischschja The International Atomic Energy Agency does not see the nuclear power plant Saporischschja, located on the Kachowka reservoir, as an immediate danger. IAEA chief Grossi appealed to Kiev and Moscow not to damage the cooling pond of the nuclear power plant.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there is no immediate danger to the northeast located nuclear power plant Saporischschja following the destruction of the Kachowka dam in southern Ukraine. However, measures are being taken at the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant to maintain the cooling systems that are normally fed by the dammed water, said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in Vienna.

“IAEA experts at the Saporischschja nuclear power plant are monitoring the situation closely,” Grossi’s agency said on Twitter. “No immediate danger at the power plant.” According to Grossi, the water level in a reservoir for the cooling systems, which prevent dangerous overheating of the reactor cores and nuclear waste at Saporischschja, is falling due to the dam break. The water from the reservoir will last for a few more days. In addition, a cooling pond next to the nuclear power plant site is available, which contains sufficient water for several months. “It is therefore essential that this cooling pond remains intact,” Grossi warned. He appealed to Kiev and Moscow not to do anything that could potentially endanger its integrity. He will visit the nuclear power plant again next week.

A spokesperson for the Russian atomic energy company Rosenergoatom also told the Interfax news agency that the nuclear power plant on the Dnipro river is not affected by the destruction of the dam. Since September, some IAEA experts have been permanently stationed at Saporischschja as neutral technical observers. Both sides reported severe damage to the dam and the hydroelectric power station of Nowa Kachowka in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region early in the morning. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the dam and thus risking a potential flooding disaster. Moscow denied this and accused Ukrainian troops of shelling the facility in return.