International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have been granted access to the reactor hall of unit 6 of Ukraine’s Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) after previously having been denied access, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. Earlier ZNPP had not given permission for the IAEA Support & Assistance Mission to ZNPP (ISAMZ) team to access the unit 6 reactor hall, proposing instead that the team enter the area in about a week’s time. However, access was subsequently allowed and Grossi welcomed “this constructive step”.
While in the reactor hall, the team observed main components of the reactor, confirming the cold shutdown state of the reactor. While the team was present in the reactor hall, the operators transferred the operation of the cooling pumps of the used fuel pool from one safety train to another.
During a walkdown to the other areas of unit 6, the team visited the turbine hall of unit 6 but were once again denied access to some areas of the hall. The IAEA ISAMZ teams have been unable to access all parts of the turbine hall of each unit since 18 October last year.
The team also visited the safety system rooms of unit 6 to again assess the status of the boric acid deposits previously found. During its visit, the team observed the presence of boric acid deposits in three rooms. The IAEA experts also visited the unit 6 emergency diesel generators.
