Category: Global Bodies

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi met with senior Russian officials this week as part of the continuing efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help prevent a nuclear accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).

During Tuesday’s meeting in Kaliningrad with Alexey Likhachev, head of Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, Director General Grossi again raised those factors that the IAEA believes remain a real challenge for nuclear safety. Specifically, these include the vulnerability of the ZNPP’s off-site power lines, its need for reliable water supplies to ensure reactor cooling and other essential functions, and the situation related to staffing and equipment maintenance.

As Director General Grossi has repeatedly stressed, the IAEA must engage with both Ukraine and the Russian Federation on matters related to nuclear safety and security, which remains precarious, especially at the ZNPP.

“The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is continuing to face serious nuclear safety and security risks. We can’t afford to let our guard down for a single minute,” Director General Grossi said after the meeting in the Russian city. “In view of these challenging and unprecedented circumstances – with Europe’s largest nuclear power plant located in a war zone – there is an understanding that its six reactors should remain in cold shutdown for the time being.”

“Even with all six reactors in cold shutdown, plant safety and security remain extremely fragile. Any decision to re-start the ZNPP’s reactors in the future – when it is safe to do so – must be preceded by a very careful and detailed examination of all operational and regulatory aspects relevant for nuclear safety and security to ensure that the plant is not further put in jeopardy,” he said.

On the ground at the ZNPP, the IAEA experts stationed at the site have continued to hear explosions on most days over the past week, normally at distances away from the plant. However, on Sunday, the team was awakened by four explosions near the site. The ZNPP informed the team that there was no damage to the plant.

Also this week, the IAEA experts have conducted regular walkdowns to monitor nuclear safety and security, including ongoing and planned maintenance activities on parts of the safety systems, such as the emergency core cooling system of the unit 1 reactor, and on the main electrical transformer of unit 2.

The IAEA team visited the ZNPP’s maintenance workshop, where they were told that all machines are in operational condition and able to perform necessary maintenance tasks.

During a visit to the reactor building and safety systems rooms of unit 4, the IAEA experts observed equipment including steam generators and the main cooling pumps. They noted that generally the housekeeping was good, but they did observe some oil on the floor of the reactor hall coming from the overhead cranes, as well as boron deposits on the floors of some of the safety systems rooms, which are not uncommon for such facilities. The ZNPP confirmed these would be addressed through cleaning and maintenance.

Over the past week, the IAEA team also observed the successful performance of routine testing of emergency diesel generators of units 4 and 6.

The experts visited four levels of the turbine building of unit 5 where they observed the status of different types of equipment, including the main feedwater pumps, main steam valves and the main condenser, but once again were denied access to the western side of the building.

The IAEA experts also met with the site’s Chemistry Control Division, where they were informed of the technological process used for water treatment and were also told that all necessary consumables and chemical reagents have been supplied from the Russian Federation. The team was further informed that the division has sufficient staff, including personnel that have come from Russian nuclear power plants (NPPs).

While visiting the ZNPP’s thermal mechanical warehouse, the IAEA team saw its diesel generator spare parts and electrical equipment. The team observed spare parts from various manufacturers, including from Western suppliers before the conflict, as well as some from the Russian Federation. The ZNPP informed the team that it had completed its transition to a Russian-based spare parts and equipment database.

The IAEA experts also went to the temporary shelters located inside each reactor building, which were established by the ZNPP in 2022 due to the unavailability of the original shelters. The team was informed that up to 1000 people can be sheltered on site in these temporary shelters.

As the summer approaches, the warmer temperatures and drier climate have contributed to wildfires in the areas around the ZNPP. Late last week, the IAEA experts could both see and smell smoke from what the ZNPP said was a forest fire on the other side of the Dnipro river. On Tuesday, the IAEA team saw a wildfire south of the 750 kilovolt (kV) open switchyard, but it appeared to have been extinguished later in the week and did not cause any damage to electrical systems.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA experts present at the Khelmnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including air raid alarms on several days over the past week.

Over the past week, two reactor units at the Rivne NPP successfully re-started after the planned outages for refuelling and maintenance were safely completed ahead of schedule. The Rivne NPP now has three units in full power operation, while the fourth reactor is being prepared for shutdown for planned refuelling and maintenance. Meanwhile, the planned maintenance activities at one of the reactor units at the South Ukraine NPP are continuing according to schedule.

The IAEA continues with the delivery of much-needed equipment and supplies for maintaining nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. This week, the Agency organized two deliveries of nuclear safety and security equipment to Ukraine, bringing the total number of deliveries to 49 since the start of the armed conflict. The KhNPP, SUNPP and USIE Izotop – a Ukrainian state enterprise involved in the management of radioactive material intended for medical, industrial and other purposes – received physical protection equipment and atmospheric probing systems. The equipment was procured using extrabudgetary contributions from the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) temporarily lost the connection to its sole remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) off-site power line this afternoon due to a reported short-circuit, leaving it reliant on a single back-up line for more than three hours, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The disconnection of the 750kV Dniprovksa line once again underlines the extremely precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the ZNPP during the armed conflict. It occurred at 1:31pm local time around six kilometres away from the ZNPP’s 750 kV open switchyard, in Russian-controlled territory. The ZNPP informed the IAEA experts stationed at the site that it was caused by a short-circuit, without providing further details. The line was re-connected at 4:49pm, the plant said.

The event also amplifies concerns around attacks on the electrical power infrastructure elsewhere in Ukraine, as indicated last week, highlighting the risk to the ZNPP as well to the other operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the country. When the 750 kV line was disconnected, the ZNPP received external electricity from its only 330 kV back-up line and it is particularly vulnerable to such disruptions, as illustrated by today’s event. Before the conflict, the plant had four 750 kV and six 330 kV lines available.

“For Europe’s largest nuclear power plant to depend on one or two power lines is a deep source of concern and clearly not sustainable. Our concerns also extend to the operating NPPs across Ukraine, where a disruption to off-site power supplies could have very serious implications for nuclear safety,” Director General Grossi said.

Earlier this week, the ZNPP also informed the IAEA of a drone attack on a transport workshop in the nearby industrial area, reportedly causing some damage but no casualties, Director General Grossi said. If confirmed, Wednesday’s purported strike, around four kilometres from the ZNPP site, would further underline the continuing military-related risks facing this major nuclear facility, following last month’s drone attacks targeting the site itself, Director General Grossi said.

The ZNPP said a civil communications network antenna was damaged in the attack at the transport workshop, where buses used for transporting plant personnel to the nearby town of Enerhodar are kept.

In addition, the IAEA team of experts stationed at the ZNPP have continued to hear explosions at various distances from the plant over the past week.

“For the outside world, the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant may have appeared relatively calm in recent weeks, since the drone attacks on the site confirmed by our experts in mid-April. But this is not the way we see the situation on the ground. The stark reality is one of constant danger. The nuclear safety and security situation at the site remains extremely vulnerable,” Director General Grossi said.

Over the past week, the IAEA team of experts has continued to carry out walkdowns across the site, visiting the reactor building and safety systems rooms of unit 3, where they observed key equipment including steam generators and a main cooling pump, as well as a planned change of the duty spent fuel pool pump.

The team did not observe any boron deposits but noted a small water leak from the ventilation system piping, which the ZNPP stated would be serviced as part of planned upcoming maintenance. The team also visited the turbine hall of unit 3, where they were able to observe some of the equipment but were – once again – not granted access to the western side of the hall.

The IAEA experts are continuing to monitor the maintenance activities at the ZNPP, which are crucial for long-term nuclear safety and security, as the Director General has repeatedly emphasized.

Maintenance work on part of the safety systems of unit 1 resumed this week, after it was postponed in March, as previously reported. Electrical maintenance activities on the unit 2 main transformer as well as on one of the plant’s backup power transformers, began this week. The cleaning of one of the sprinkler ponds, which supplies water for the cooling of unit 6 and its safety systems has been completed while the cleaning of a unit 5 sprinkler pond is expected to finish today.

In addition, the IAEA team observed the successful performance of routine testing of an emergency diesel generator for unit 1, activities that need to be carried out regularly, especially in view of the site’s fragile off-site power situation.

With all six reactor units in cold shutdown – and therefore no longer generating heat or steam – the ZNPP informed the IAEA team that it had, once again, put two of the nine mobile diesel boilers back in operation to generate hot water for the site’s own needs.

In addition, the IAEA experts visited the ZNPP training centre where they observed main control room staff undergoing training on the full-scope simulators, while also having some discussions on the training of personnel.

Also this week, the team went to the site’s main warehouse facility, located outside of the ZNPP perimeter, to examine a range of electrical spare parts including small and medium sized transformers and electrical control cabinets, as well as larger electrical and mechanical equipment, all stored properly and in good condition.

However, the team noted that much of the electrical equipment originated from western suppliers and was delivered prior to the start of the armed conflict. The ZNPP representative explained that the transition to a new software system for managing spare parts is almost complete and that the plant is now able to publish tenders for the procurement of new spare parts and equipment from potential suppliers in the Russian Federation.

The IAEA experts present at the Khelmnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including air raid alarms on several days over the past week.

Two of the four reactor units at the Rivne NPP have completed refuelling activities and are expected to resume generating power in the near future, while the maintenance and refuelling activities at one unit at the South Ukraine NPP are progressing according to schedule.

At the Chornobyl site, the IAEA experts visited the State Specialized Enterprise Ecocentre (SSE-Ecocentre) to discuss the activities performed to monitor the radiological situation in the area and the challenges faced as a result of the armed conflict.

The IAEA teams at the Khelmnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs have all rotated over the past week.

The Agency continues with the delivery of much-needed equipment and supplies for maintaining nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. In the 47th delivery since the start of the armed conflict, Ukraine’s USIE Izotop, a Ukrainian state enterprise involved in management of radioactive material intended for medical, industrial and other purposes, this week received a physical protection system funded by the United Kingdom. With this delivery, Ukraine received almost €9.4 million worth of nuclear safety and security equipment thanks to the support provided by a number of donors to the Agency.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Over 130 countries meet at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this week to strengthen nuclear security efforts to counter the threat of nuclear terrorism and other malicious acts in the face of emerging risks.

At yesterday’s opening session of the International Conference on Nuclear Security, a major nuclear security event happening every four years, the Co-Presidents released a joint statement recognising how the growing use of nuclear science and technology requires robust nuclear security measures to enhance and protect nuclear material and other radioactive material against theft and nuclear facilities against sabotage.

The joint statement from Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, and Sungat Yessimkhanov, Vice-Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan, the Co-Presidents of the Conference, was finalised following negotiations with all IAEA Member States. It highlights how emerging and innovative technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), present both challenges and benefits for nuclear security.

The joint statement reaffirmed that nuclear security measures may enhance public confidence in the peaceful use of nuclear applications. The global application of nuclear technology continues to expand, spanning from clean energy to life-saving advancements such as radiotherapy for cancer patients, and even the development of novel crop varieties through irradiation.

Nuclear security is a national responsibility and involves preventing, detecting and responding to malicious acts with nuclear material, radioactive substances or their associated facilities. The increasing global use of digital technologies means that concrete vigilance is needed to precisely address computer security threats, cyberattacks and any potential vulnerabilities that digital technologies have and are presenting.

“The many benefits from nuclear applications depend on a strong and adaptive global nuclear security regime and laser-focused vigilance. Groups with malicious intent must not be given a chance to use nuclear and radioactive material to cause panic or harm,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi at the opening of the week-long conference at IAEA headquarters.

The joint statement reaffirms the common goals of nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy and recognizes that nuclear security contributes to international peace and security.

National statements delivered messages on achievements in nuclear security since the last ICONS conference in 2020 and supported the central role of the IAEA in assisting Member States, upon request, in establishing and improving effective and sustainable national nuclear security regimes, including through guidance development, peer review and advisory services and capacity building.

“Our attendance at ICONS, a key event for our global nuclear security community, signals our shared commitment to strengthening nuclear security,” said Assistant Minister Watts. “It provides an opportunity for us to progress aligned commitments and priorities and to work closely on our respective national nuclear security regimes.”

“Despite some risks and challenges — from climate change and natural disasters to global pandemics — AI products and advanced computing technologies offer new opportunities to strengthen nuclear security regimes,” said Vice-Minister Yessimkhanov. “Strengthening national nuclear security regimes helps to prevent the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radioactive material.”

About the International Conference on Nuclear Security

Over 2000 participants from more than 130 IAEA Member States and organizations are gathering for the International Conference on Nuclear Security: Shaping the Future (ICONS2024). It follows earlier high-level IAEA nuclear security conferences held in 2013, 2016 and 2020. The conference covers topics including policy, law and regulations for nuclear security; technology and infrastructure for nuclear security prevention, detection and response; capacity building for nuclear security, as well as other cross-cutting nuclear security topics.

Since the ICONS 2020 conference (February 2020), the IAEA has expanded its nuclear security work. A Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre was inaugurated in October 2023, and 28 events have already been held in this the first international training centre on nuclear security. The Agency has provided support to 22 major public events, including the 28th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) held in Dubai in December 2023 and the Africa Cup of Nations held in Cote D’Ivoire in January 2024.

The Agency yesterday also released the 2024 Factsheet for the IAEA Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB), citing 168 incidents reported by 31 States in 2023. A total of 4243 incidents of illegal or unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive material have been reported since 1993.