Zaporozhye NPP reactors should remain in shutdown for now - IAEA chief

BRUSSELS. May 30 (Interfax) - All six reactors at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP) must remain in cold shutdown until the facility is safe, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said in a statement published on Thursday.

"In view of these challenging and unprecedented circumstances - with Europe's largest nuclear power plant located in a war zone - there is an understanding that its six reactors should remain in cold shutdown for the time being," the statement said.

"Even with all six reactors in cold shutdown, plant safety and security remain extremely fragile. Any decision to re-start the ZNPP's reactors in the future - when it is safe to do so - must be preceded by a very careful and detailed examination of all operational and regulatory aspects relevant for nuclear safety and security," it said.

Earlier this week, Grossi met with the head of the Rosatom state corporation, Alexey Likhachev.

Zaporozhye NPP is the biggest nuclear plant in Europe; it has six VVER-1000 pressurized water reactors. The facility has not been generating electricity since September 11, 2022. All of its six reactors are in cold shutdown.

The NPP is now owned by Russia through a federal state unitary enterprise called FGUP Zaporozhskaya AES. The facility is run by JSC Ekspluatiruyushchaya Organizatsiya Zaporozhskoy AES set up by JSC Rosenergoatom (part of Rosatom).