Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate (SNRI) has inspected unit 1 of the Zaporozhe NPP with a view to extension of its service life, the plant said on 1 August. The inspectors paid special attention to issues of seismic stability, qualification of the equipment and some safety justification. Boris Stolyarchuk, deputy chief state inspector for nuclear and radiation safety said SNRI did not find any critical issues which could prevent service life extension.

The SNRI’s findings will be presented in the draft state review statement. The 30-year design service life of Zaporozhe 1 ended on 23December 2015 and on 14 December the unit was placed in the cold shutdown “for the period of organizational and technical measures to justify a possibility of its long-term operation”.