Russians did not allow IAEA experts to the newly built dam near the Zaporizhzhia NPP
Kyiv • UNN
The IAEA has received information about a new dam at the ZNPP, which provides cooling for the reactors, but does not have access to it. This complicates the assessment of the nuclear safety situation at the plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has received additional information about a dam built to provide cooling water for systems necessary to maintain the reactor units at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in a cold shutdown state. However, Russian invaders have not granted the IAEA team access to the newly built dam, UNN writes with reference to the official IAEA website.
Details
The IAEA team based at the ZNPP on Tuesday received updated information regarding the location of the newly built dam and its purpose, which is to isolate one of the ZNPP channels from the station's cooling pond. The mentioned channel supplies technical water for cooling several station systems, such as the main unit transformers, necessary for the safe maintenance of the six ZNPP reactors in a cold shutdown state, in which they have been since April 2024.
The ZNPP confirmed that the dam will help maintain the water level in the channel at about 14 meters, which is 2 meters above the threshold at which technical water pumps can no longer operate. In addition, the ZNPP continues to use on-site groundwater wells to provide cooling water for its safety systems for cooling reactor cores and spent fuel pools.
The IAEA team, based at the ZNPP site - Europe's largest nuclear power plant (NPP) - continues to request access to the newly built dam, but has not yet received permission due to security concerns.
Our access to this dam is important for assessing the cooling water situation, which is extremely critical given the unstable nuclear safety situation at the ZNPP
Russians lack the technological capabilities to launch ZNPP - Hrynchuk8/18/25, 3:08 PM • 2564 views
The cooling water situation is complicated by the fact that the ZNPP remains dependent on a single off-site power line for external electricity needed to cool the six reactors and their spent fuel, almost four months after losing connection to the last 330 kV backup power line.
The IAEA team continues to monitor maintenance work on safety systems and electrical systems and equipment at the site, including backup power transformers. On August 25, the team conducted a walk-through of the reactor unit's machine hall, but was unable to access the western part of the building.
IAEA staff at the ZNPP reported hearing military activity most days over the past week.
Separately, IAEA teams deployed at operating Ukrainian NPPs - Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine - are monitoring the progress of shutdown work. The teams confirmed that one unit was returned to operation earlier this week, and another was shut down for maintenance. Currently, seven out of nine reactor units are operating.
IAEA teams reported hearing air raid sirens most days over the past week at the South Ukraine NPP and the Chornobyl site.
Teams at the Chornobyl site and the Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs successfully rotated over the past few days.
Addition
Ukraine's Minister of Energy Svitlana Hrynchuk stated that the launch of the Zaporizhzhia NPP after de-occupation will take years due to unknown damage caused by the occupiers. The IAEA will assess the situation, and problems with water supply and smoke are already being recorded at the station.