Category: IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi took stock of the nuclear safety and security situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in person this week as part of the ongoing efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help prevent a nuclear accident during the current conflict.

During his fourth visit to the ZNPP in south-eastern Ukraine since the war began almost two years ago, Director General Grossi noted that there had been no shelling at this major facility since the establishment in May last year at the United Nations Security Council of the five concrete principles for the protection of the plant. These principles state, among others, that there should be no attack of any kind from or against the plant, and that the ZNPP should not be used as a storage or a base for heavy weapons or military personnel that could be used for an attack from the plant.

But he warned against any complacency towards the very real dangers that continue to face Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP). Located on the frontline, it came under fire several times in 2022. It has also lost all off-site power eight times – most recently in December – forcing it to temporarily rely on emergency diesel generators to provide the power it needs for reactor cooling and other important nuclear safety and security functions.  

“We can see that in the observance of the five basic principles established at the United Nations Security Council, the physical integrity of the plant has been relatively stable, which is a positive development, though we take it with enormous caution,” the Director General said at the site at the end of Wednesday’s visit.

Director General Grossi also focused on other nuclear safety and security challenges at the ZNPP, including assessing the plant’s measures in recent months to find an alternative source of cooling water after the destruction in June 2023 of the downstream Kakhovka dam, draining the huge reservoir that had been providing water to the site for decades. Director General Grossi last travelled to the ZNPP just days after the dam collapsed.

To provide a constant supply of water to the sprinkler ponds cooling the site’s six reactors, the plant has drilled 11 wells that are now operating, as witnessed by Director General Grossi this week.

“For now, with all the reactors in shutdown, the plant has sufficient water for its needs. But this is not a sustainable solution, especially if and when it starts producing electricity again,” he said.

Director General Grossi also raised the crucial issue of staffing at the ZNPP, following last week’s announcement by the plant that from 1 February no workers employed by Ukraine’s national operator Energoatom are being allowed at the site. The Director General  was told at the site that the current staffing is enough considering the shutdown state of the plant and that further recruitment is ongoing.

“The number of staff had already been significantly reduced from the pre-war level of some 11,500 employees. Even though the six reactor units are in shutdown, the plant still requires sufficient numbers of qualified personnel to conduct both operational tasks and to ensure that equipment important for nuclear safety and security is properly maintained. We will continue to closely monitor the situation in this regard,” he said.

The Director General also stressed the importance of the teams of IAEA experts present at the site since September 2022 receiving the access they need to monitor adherence to the five concrete principles and also to assess the seven pillars of nuclear safety and security that he outlined early in the conflict, something which has not always been the case.

“It is important that they have access and can ask questions. There were situations where there were suggestions that they look but not talk. That is not good,” he said.

In a positive step, the ZNPP has informed the IAEA experts that they can visit all the main reactor control rooms.

Director General Grossi also went to one of the large turbine halls – of unit 4 – during his visit, as well as the same reactor’s control room, where the presence of experienced staff is especially important. This unit is the only one that is currently in hot shutdown to produce steam and heating, including for the nearby town of Enerhodar, while the five other reactors are in cold shutdown.

He was also able to see the four new diesel steam generators, which recently started operating. The IAEA has been informed that the steam generated by the new equipment will be used to process liquid waste at the plant. The ZNPP has not yet confirmed whether the steam generated by this new equipment will enable it to also place unit 4 in cold shutdown. Earlier this week, the IAEA team of experts observed liquid waste being treated in a special building, using the steam from the new diesel steam generators.

Accompanying the Director General, a new group of IAEA experts replaced the previous Agency team at the site. It is the 16th team of the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) since it was established on 1 September 2022.

Director General Grossi said the visit had confirmed the crucial role of the IAEA’s permanent presence at the site and that its job was not yet done.

“Until the conflict ends without a nuclear accident with radiological consequences, we will not be able to say that our job is complete. We continue and today has been an important part of this effort,” he added.

The IAEA teams stationed at the other four sites in Ukraine continue to perform their activities despite frequent air raid alarms. The team at the Khmelnytskyy NPP was required to take shelter yesterday.

The IAEA is also continuing to support nuclear safety and security in Ukraine by delivering equipment and other assistance. In the past two weeks, two new deliveries took place, taking the total so far to 36. Thanks to funding by the United Kingdom, new equipment has been provided to the Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as to the Izotop facility for radiation protection purposes or to complement available physical protection measures.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) operator, today informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that water containing radioactive materials was found to have leaked from a caesium absorption tower at the plant. The estimated 5,5 cubic metres (m3) of water was assessed to have leaked from a valve left open during cleaning work at the absorption tower.

The leaked water was from the system filtering water as part of the ongoing decommissioning activities at the site. The event is not related to the discharge of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water.

TEPCO has confirmed that there was no significant fluctuation in radiation measurements recorded at the site. The event does not pose any risk to the public and there is no environmental impact off-site.  

The IAEA was informed that at around 8:53 AM today a contractor at the FDNPS noted that water had leaked from a caesium absorption tower within the High Temperature Incinerator Building, a facility used to remove caesium and strontium from contaminated water collected at the site. Water being used to flush the valves in preparation for valve inspection leaked through an open valve. Workers at the site closed the valve at 9:10 AM and the water stopped leaking at 9:16 AM.

TEPCO conducted an assessment and confirmed to the IAEA that the leaked water is a mix of contaminated water from the absorption system and filtered water used for cleaning. TEPCO calculated that the leakage totalled around 5,5 m₃ of water containing an estimated 0,022 Terabecquerel (TBq) of radioactive substances.

TEPCO assessed that the water may have resulted in minor contamination to the soil surrounding the absorption tower and has taken precautionary measures. It has restricted access to the area and has collected soil for analysis.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority has been informed and inspectors at the plant are conducting an on-site investigation.

The IAEA remains in contact with authorities in Japan.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) travels to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) next week to discuss and assess important issues and recent developments related to the still fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the site, including the reduced number of staff working at this major facility.

It will be the fourth time Director General Grossi crosses the frontline of the war to visit the ZNPP, whose six reactors have all been in shutdown for nearly eighteen months and produce no electricity but still hold large amounts of nuclear fuel that must be kept safe, including adequately cooled, and secure.

Before heading to the plant in the country’s south-east, he will on Tuesday hold high-level talks in the capital Kyiv.

As part of the IAEA’s continuous efforts to help prevent a nuclear accident, the Director General is expected to address and seek to make progress on several current nuclear safety and security challenges at the ZNPP, including potential risks related to the plant’s equipment maintenance activities.

The Director General will also raise the crucial issue of staffing at the ZNPP and request further information about a new announcement by the plant that from today no workers employed by Ukraine’s national operator Energoatom will be allowed at the site. The staff working at the ZNPP now consists of former Energoatom employees who have adopted Russian citizenship and signed employment contracts with the Russian operating entity, as well as staff who have been sent to the ZNPP from the Russian Federation. The ZNPP told the IAEA team at the site today that there are enough certified personnel at the plant and all positions are fully filled.

“I will discuss this latest development when I visit the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant next week. It is of crucial importance that the plant has the qualified and skilled staff that it needs for nuclear safety and security. The number of staff has already been reduced significantly since the war began almost two years ago,” Director General Grossi said.

This week, prior to today’s announcement, the IAEA experts continued to ask the ZNPP to provide more detailed information to fully understand and assess the situation in this regard, in particular about staff operating the main control rooms and those responsible for the maintenance of critical safety infrastructure and processes.

The ZNPP stated to the IAEA experts earlier this week that nominal staffing levels for nuclear power plants operated by Rosatom are significantly lower than the corresponding staffing levels of Ukraine. The IAEA experts were informed that there currently are 4500 staff employed by the Russian operating entity at the ZNPP and 940 applications under consideration. Prior to the start of the armed conflict there were approximately 11500 staff working at the ZNPP.

At the United Nations Security Council on 25 January, Director General Grossi said the plant has been “operating on significantly reduced staff, who are under unprecedented psychological pressure – which despite the reactors being shutdown is not sustainable”.

At the ZNPP, the Director General will also stress the importance of timely access for the IAEA to all parts of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP) relevant to nuclear safety and security. Access is needed for the IAEA teams based at the ZNPP to fully assess the seven pillars of nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP and also to monitor adherence to the five concrete principles for the protection of the plant.

Accompanying the Director General, a new group of IAEA experts will next week replace the current Agency team at the site. It will be the 16th team of the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) since it was established on 1 September 2022.  

“The permanent presence of IAEA experts has been instrumental in helping to stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to some extent. But – as I told the United Nations Security Council last week – the world cannot afford to be complacent,” Director General Grossi said.

“I decided to travel to the site again to underline the potential risks the plant is continuing to face on a daily basis and to reiterate and reinforce the IAEA’s commitment to do everything in our power to help ensure nuclear safety and security at this site, as well as at Ukraine’s other nuclear facilities,” he said.

At the ZNPP, the current IAEA team of experts have conducted walkdowns across the site this week, visiting the reactor hall of unit 1 and its safety system rooms, in some of which they observed the presence of boric acid deposits. The IAEA experts have previously seen deposits of boric acid in units 3 and 6. Borated water is used in the primary coolant to help maintain nuclear safety functions.

This week, ISAMZ also visited the two fresh fuel storage facilities, the dry spent fuel storage facility and water sprinkler ponds. The team performed backpack radiation monitoring measurements on site, confirming that radiation levels were normal.

The 11 wells that were built near the sprinkler ponds following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam last June are providing cooling water for the six shutdown reactors and spent nuclear fuel.

Five of the ZNPP’s six reactors remain in cold shutdown, while unit 4 is in hot shutdown to produce steam and heat, including for the nearby town of Enerhodar, where most plant staff live.

On Monday, the team observed part of the commissioning work on the new diesel steam generators (DSG), and was today informed by the plant that they had started operating. The IAEA has been informed that the steam generated by the new equipment will be used to process liquid waste. The ZNPP has not yet confirmed whether the steam generated by this new equipment will enable it to place all reactor units in cold shutdown.

Due to recent milder temperatures, the site has been able to reduce the number of mobile diesel boilers operating to four, out of the nine such units. These boilers provide heating to the plant as well as to Enerhodar.

The team was informed that maintenance had been completed on the back-up power transformer, following a failure earlier this month, and has resumed operation. The ZNPP said it will soon inform the IAEA team about the cause of the failure.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA experts present at the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as at the Chornobyl site have reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the challenging war-time circumstances, including frequent air raid alarms at some of the facilities. The IAEA teams at the three operating NPPs rotated during the past week.