Cooling tower at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant requires demolition after fire, IAEA chief says

A cooling tower at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) will require demolition after a fire on Aug. 12 rendered the structure unusable, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said during a visit to the plant.

A fire at the plant's cooling towers on Aug. 12 caused "significant damage," though it did not pose a threat to nuclear safety.

Both Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations as to which side started the fire at the cooling plant, with the IAEA saying that they were unable to determine the cause of the fire.

Grossi made his fifth visit to the ZNPP on Sept. 4 since the full-scale invasion began, inspecting various sections of the plant, including a pumping station as well as a nuclear fuel storage facility.

"Until today, we hadn't been able to get to this point, high up in the tower, so we can assess in a much better way the damage that occurred," Grossi said in a video filmed at the power plant.

"This big structure is not usable in the future, so it will probably be demolished at some point," he added, referring to the cooling tower.

Grossi did not provide a timeline as to when he expected the tower be dismantled.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Its position near the front line has led to heightened nuclear safety risks throughout Russia's full-scale war.

All six reactors at the ZNPP have reached a state of cold shutdown - a process that creates an extra safety buffer allowing more time before nuclear fuel cooling might become compromised in the event of a nuclear accident.

Prior to his visit to the ZNPP, Grossi visited the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant following allegations from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials that Ukraine has tried – or intends to try – to attack the plant amid the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in the area.

Ukraine has refuted Russian Putin's accusations that Kyiv had attempted to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

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