NEW PLAN FOR SAFE OPERATION OF CERNAVODĂ DURING LOW WATER LEVELS

BUCHAREST, SEPTEMBER 3 /SRNA/ - Romania`s National Committee for Emergency Situations has adopted a new intervention plan to ensure sufficient water flow for the safe operation of the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant during exceptionally low water levels.

The plan will be activated if the water level in the plant`s intake basin falls to 1.58 metres, and provides for several stages depending on how the situation develops.

The government announced the decision last night, following forecasts of a further decline in the Danube`s water level from September 10.

According to the committee`s decision, a temporary, modular, phased, and reversible intervention system will be established at the mouth of a downstream branch of the Danube near Cernavodă, close to the entrance to the Danube–Black Sea Canal, Agerpres reported.

In the first phase, several loaded vessels and/or barges will be positioned along a stretch of about 600 metres to divert a larger volume of water towards the plant`s intake.

The second phase provides for the installation of a modular barrier made of pontoons and hydrobarriers along a 170-metre stretch near the plant's connecting canal. As a contingency option, the system could be replaced with a temporary rock barrier.

If these phases fail to produce the expected results, the Romanian Water Management Authority and Nuclearelectrica will activate high-capacity pumps to deliver additional cooling water to the plant`s intake.