Engineers at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station have completed drilling of 10 groundwater wells, bringing the facility close to having a longer-term solution for the provision of cooling water to the shutdown reactors after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said over 200 cubic metres of water can now be supplied to the sprinkler ponds that cool Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors and spent fuel.
The IAEA has been informed that engineers intend to drill an additional well bringing the total to 11 wells which is hoped to provide the approximately 250 cubic metres of water per hour to maintain the cooling of the reactors and spent fuel pools in the current shutdown state.