WANO Statement on Nuclear Safety at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant

WANO continues to believe that one of the most accurate and credible sources of information about the situation at ZNPP is from IAEA, which has staff on site. The links to key recent IAEA statements are as follows:

• Update 167 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine | IAEA
• Update 166 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine | IAEA
• Update 165 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine | IAEA
• IAEA Director General Statement to the IAEA Board of Governors | IAEA
• IAEA Director General Statement to United Nations Security Council | IAEA

Note that in the statement to the United Nations Security Council, the IAEA 7 pillars of Nuclear safety were supplemented by 5 specific concrete principles. WANO supports these requested actions.

Throughout the conflict in Ukraine WANO has been steadfast in its view that the operators at the NPPs must be able to safely perform their vital work without interference. In our view, conditions continue to exist that challenge the NPP operators and reduce the margin of nuclear safety.

WANO calls on all parties to:

1. Prevent further damage to off site power sources that provide essential electricity to nuclear power stations, and allow repair of redundant off site power sources. Grid instabilities are causing NPP plant transients. Loss of redundancy further complicates operators’ ability to control and cool reactors and fuel pools. At Zaporizhzhya NPP, backup power lines should be returned to service.
2. Respect the need to protect on site electrical capabilities by preventing direct damage to emergency generators or loss of ability to fuel or cool these components if off site power is lost. Spray ponds, on site reservoirs, and ultimate heat sinks must be maintained available. At Zaporizhzhya NPP, the secondary cooling pond must be protected from damage.
3. Refrain from military operations on or near NPPs that could cause additional damage to safety systems or prevent operator response to loss of power or cooling events.
4. Given the above situation, WANO requests that the reactors at Zaporizhzhya NPP remain in nuclear shutdown at this time and that no units be returned to nuclear operation until an independent assessment of nuclear safety can be conducted on site in the future, to be performed by IAEA. WANO also plans to conduct an operational readiness review, which is WANO’s common practice prior to returning units to service after an extended shutdown.