On the territory of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, fragments of the American howitzer M777 were found

Fragments of a shell from an American M777 howitzer were found in the spray pool of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. About it reported in the station’s Telegram channel.

It is specified that the fragments were found during the cleaning of the bowls of the ZNPP pools. “Water from the spray pools is used in a closed cycle and is intended for cooling spent nuclear fuel (SNF) located in the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) located in the spent fuel pools and inside the reactors themselves,” the press service explained. In addition, they stressed that shelling the station could lead to serious consequences.

ZNPP has been under Russian control since the end of February 2022. Since then, the plant and the city of Energodar, where it is located, have been subjected to regular shelling by Ukraine. In early September last year, a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived at ZNPP. The organization called for an end to the attacks on the station and the establishment of a safe zone around it.

May 7 this year IAEA Rafael Grossi named the situation around nuclear power plants is less predictable and “potentially dangerous”. He stressed that he would insist on the need to protect a “large nuclear facility.”

On the night of June 6, about 150 km from the ZNPP, the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station was blown up. As a result of the incident, an uncontrolled discharge of water began, the level of which reached about 11 m. Earlier, a local emergency regime was introduced on the territory of the district, and an emergency regime was also introduced on the territory of the Kherson region.

After that, the IAEA reported that the organization’s experts at the Zaporozhye NPP were closely monitoring the situation. The destruction of the dam does not pose direct risks to the nuclear safety of the plant, the agency said.

The next day in the organization told, which control the situation with a decrease in the level of water used to cool the station. Grossi noted that every hour the water level in the tanks of the Zaporozhye NPP drops by 5-7 cm. In this regard, in the medium term, the plant may be left without water for cooling, which will lead to damage to the reactors.