Russians plan to put yet another power unit of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on hot shutdown

The Russians intend to switch the third power unit of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to a hot shutdown, despite the lack of compliance with the licensing requirements of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine with reference to Oleh Korikov, Head of Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, on the air of the national 24/7 newscast 

Quote: "The invaders intend to enable the reactor of power unit No 3, which was in scheduled repair as of early March 2022," said Korikov.

According to Korikov, the closure and deployment of the reactor plant of power unit No 3, which under the licensing requirements must be in cold shutdown for repairs, creates an increased risk of a nuclear accident. And the actual inoperability of the radiation monitoring system at the ZNPP industrial site makes it impossible to detect a possible radiation incident in a timely manner.

In addition, Korikov stressed that today there are not enough qualified personnel at the ZNPP who are able to efficiently perform the deployment of the reactor plant and control the quality of the work performed.

Thus, the change in the state of reactor plants, both power unit No 3 and Nos 4-5, is extremely dangerous.

"According to licensing requirements, all six power units at Zaporizhzhia NPP, without exception, should be in cold shutdown. In violation of the terms of the licences of the State Atomic Regulation, the invaders switched power units Nos 4 and 5 to a hot shutdown, that is, they warmed up to nominal parameters," Korikov emphasised.

Background: 

In early October, the Russians switched power unit No 4 of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNNP) from the cold shutdown state to the hot shutdown state, increasing the likelihood of a radiation accident.

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