Russians switch ZNPP unit into hot shutdown mode – Energoatom

Russian occupiers at the Zaporizhzhia NPP have put the plant's power unit into a hot shutdown state, which creates risks to nuclear and radiation safety.

Source: Energoatom, the national nuclear energy company; the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate (SNRI)

Quote from Energoatom: "On 24 July, power unit No. 4 was put into a hot shutdown state in accordance with the order of the illegitimate management at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Such actions are a gross violation of the licence requirements for the operation of this nuclear installation. Currently, power unit No. 4 of the ZNPP must be operated exclusively in a cold shutdown mode."

Note: Earlier, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate explained that switching the power unit to a hot shutdown mode would create new significant risks for nuclear and radiation safety.

In particular, such risks are caused by the long-term downtime of power unit No. 4 equipment, the lack of proper routine maintenance and repair of equipment important for safety, and the insufficient number of qualified personnel at the ZNPP.

Quote from SNRI: "Keeping all reactors of the ZNPP in a cold shutdown state is the optimal mode for reducing nuclear safety risks, the probability of equipment damage and the rational use of currently available water resources in the conditions of the loss of a reliable source of water supply for the Zaporizhzhia NPP – the Kakhovka Reservoir – as a result of the detonation of the Kakhovka HPP by the occupiers."

More details: Petro Kotin, president of the national nuclear energy company Energoatom, stressed that the Russians are violating the plant's nuclear and radiation safety standards by putting the reactor into a hot shutdown mode.

Energoatom called on the IAEA to take measures to make the occupiers of the ZNPP put the power units into a cold shutdown mode.

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