Assessing groundwater contamination risks near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
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Map of Ukraine (left) showing its nuclear power plants and the study area of 40,000 km2 around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which is highlighted by a dashed rectangle and presented in a more detailed aerial image (right).
As the war in Ukraine continues, the risk of environmental disasters grows, particularly around critical infrastructure like the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
LLNL and collaborators recently conducted a study, published in ACS EST Water, to assess the vulnerability of groundwater contamination in the region surrounding the nuclear power plant, using a model called DRASTIC. The model helps to evaluate contamination risks by analyzing seven key environmental and geological factors, such as water table depth, soil type, and aquifer properties.
The study focused on a 40,000 km² area around the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and currently located in an active war zone. The team found that groundwater northeast of the plant is at a higher risk of contamination due to shallower water tables, higher precipitation, and coarser soils. In contrast, areas to the southwest are less vulnerable because of deeper water tables and a drier climate.
Stream channels and floodplains, particularly near the Dnipro River about 135 km southwest of the city of Zaporizhzhia, were also identified as hotspots where contaminants could more easily infiltrate the groundwater. Alarmingly, 8% of historical groundwater wells in the region were found to be in high-risk zones, highlighting the need for targeted monitoring and the prioritization of remediation strategies.
While the study relied on older data and did not account for recent changes in the environment, such as the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023, it serves as a solid proof-of-concept of the DRASTIC model’s effectiveness in assessing contamination risks, even in conflict zones where recent on-the-ground data is unavailable.
This work was supported by LLNL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program (22-ERD-019).
[E.W. Slessarev, A. Nezgoduk, J.K. Golla, B. Faybishenko, D. Dwivedi, P.S. Nico, J.T. Birkholzer, D. O’Ryan, O. Alvarez, A.B. Kersting, M. Zavarin, Application of the DRASTIC Model to Assess the Vulnerability of Groundwater Contamination Near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine, ACS ES&T Water (2024), doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.4c00891.]
–Physical and Life Sciences Communications Team
