No restart for ZNPP amid safety concerns

Following his talks in Kiev with Ukraine’s Energy Ministry, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General General Rafael Mariano Grossi went to Kaliningrad for talks with Rosatom focusing on the situation at the Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP).

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev described the negotiations with Grossi as frank and professional. “The talks were meaningful both on the agenda as a whole, and deep in the degree of studying the issue,” Likhachev told reporters after the talks. “The conversation was very frank, very professional, sometimes friendly, sometimes sharp,” Likhachev said.

Grossi described the talks in a post on X as a “comprehensive and necessary” exchange “on the current safety, security and safeguards situation” at ZNPP “and the essential role” played by the IAEA experts stationed at the plant “to prevent a nuclear accident”.

The Russian delegation, headed by Likhachev, included the head of regulator Rostekhnadzor, Alexander Trembitsky; the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to International Organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov; the Deputy Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mikhail Kondratenkov; the head of the Radiation, Chemical & Biological Protection forces Alexey Rtishchev; and the Head of the Main Directorate for the Protection of Rosgvardiya Facilities, Vladimir Mashevsky.

The IAEA delegation, led by Grossi, included the Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, Massimo Aparo; and experts from the IAEA Department of Nuclear & Physical Security.

Alexander Trembitsky reported on the overall assessment of the situation at the ZNPP from the position of the regulator, emphasising the priority of ensuring nuclear safety regardless of the external situation. He touched upon licensing issues and spoke about the results of practical interaction between Rostekhnadzor employees and IAEA experts in the framework of monitoring and supervisory activities at the plant.

During the talks Likhachev noted the ongoing work on preparing for the restart of ZNPP, while Grossi shared his understanding of the situation around the plant and discussed his recent international contacts. Other topics included the rotation of the IAEA teams, Rosatom said the focus was on ensuring the nuclear and physical security of the ZNPP against the background of incessant shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine.

Russia took control of the six-unit ZNPP in March 2022 and the following September a referendum was held in Zaporozhye region in which according to Russian officials of the Central Election Commission 93.11% (of 541,093 voters) favoured joining the Russian Federation on a turnout of 85.4%. On 5 October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree formally transferring ZNPP to Russian jurisdiction under nuclear utility Rosenergoatom (part of Rosatom). A Russian Federal State Unitary Enterprise, JSC Zaporizhia NPP, was established by nuclear utility Rosenergoatom to operate the plant. However, Ukraine continues to claim ownership of the plant. All six units are currently in cold shutdown.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, Likhachev said: “A comprehensive plan has been prepared, a multi-level plan for the phased commissioning of the NPP. The plan is currently being approved… by the government, the Ministry of Energy in cooperation with the grid operator.” He stressed: “This plan can only be implemented if all military threats are removed… both direct attacks and any other sabotage actions aimed at disrupting the safe and stable operation of the station.”

He added that this opinion is shared by both the Russian side and the IAEA representatives. Grossi told the press briefing: “Any attacks on a nuclear facility, and in particular on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, are absolutely unacceptable.” However, Likhachev noted that against the background of negotiations with Ukraine, attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on ZNPP will only increase. He described the IAEA as an “island of objectivity” in covering the situation with attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He said the IAEA specialists stationed at the plant were “an information window for the whole world about the real state of affairs”.

He added: “We are seeing an increase in provocations and shelling of civilian facilities. Unfortunately, this has primarily affected ZNPP and the city of Energodar. Rosenergoatom is doing everything it can to restore power supply after each shelling, using backup connections and a network of mobile diesel generators. However, these shellings continue. There have been several attacks on the infrastructure of the plant, including the training centre.”

Asked about problems of water supply to ZNPP, Likhachev said: “Everyone knows the problems with water supply caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, so at the moment, with the additional 11 wells, we are ensuring complete safety and have already started building a floating modular pumping station with a capacity of up to 80,000 cubic metres per hour, which will solve all the water supply problems when the units are put into operation.”

There were also questions about problems posed by the presence of US-made nuclear fuel at ZNPP. American fuel is loaded into the core of four of the six units. There is also one set in the fresh fuel in storage and “a fairly large number of assemblies in the used fuel pools,” Likhachev noted.

The IAEA is ready to act as a mediator on the US fuel issue, if the parties agree on this, Grossi told the press briefing. “For our part, we have closely followed the speeches made by Rosatom CEO Mr Likhachev on the use of US fuel,” he said. “I want to say that the IAEA will be able to play its role as a mediator, and we are ready for such a role if both sides come to an understanding of cooperation on this fuel issue.”

Likhachev explained: “We were informed of the concern of the American side, represented both by the company [Westinghouse] and the Department of Energy about the need to coordinate actions regarding the protection of intellectual property of American products. In fact, we have repeatedly said that any solution to the fuel problem is possible for us, from use of this fuel to unloading and returning it to the supplier.”

He added: “We are ready to solve any problem but based on our principle of non-violation of international agreements and fulfilment of all our obligations, we are ready to carry out this work with the American side through the mediation of the IAEA.”

On his return to Vienna, Gross told a press conference there was a “common view” between the Russian side and the IAEA that it would be inadvisable to restart the plant in the current military situation. “Under the current circumstances, restarting [the plant] is impractical and should probably be avoided,” he said.

He added: “There are other more technical aspects like, for example, the availability of enough water to cool down the reactors or also the availability of sufficient, stable, external power so you can rest assured that if it’s started there will be no blackout, and the plant will be able to operate.” He added: “Apart from that we know that they have the intention to restart it at some point – some plans were shown to us – but that is a matter which has other interconnections with wider negotiations that are taking place.”

Grossi told reporters he intended to visit ZNPP again. “The technical negotiations that I held in Kiev and Kaliningrad were very important for me at this stage… And initially I wanted to go [to ZNPP] this time, but there were other factors that forced me to reconsider my plans and focus exclusively on technical negotiations”. He added that he had visited the plant five times and intended to go there again.