Category: IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

All six reactor units of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are now in cold shutdown for the first time since late 2022 after unit 4 reached this operational state early today, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

In line with the ZNPP’s plans, previously reported by the IAEA, the plant started transitioning unit 4 from hot to cold shutdown on Friday morning, a process that was completed at 7:30am today. It decided to take this step after the nearby town of Enerhodar – where most plant staff live – recently ended the winter heating season.

“I welcome this development which has been recommended by the Agency for some time, as it enhances the overall safety of the facility. The Agency will continue to closely follow the operational status of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and provide technically viable alternatives in a context of rapid changes and challenges,” Director General Grossi said.

The ZNPP stopped generating electricity for the national grid in September 2022, but it has kept at least one of its six units in hot shutdown since October 2022 to provide district heating as well as process steam for liquid waste treatment at the site.

After the plant earlier this year started operating four newly-installed diesel steam generators to produce steam for the treatment of such waste, as recommended by the IAEA, reactor unit 4 remained in hot shutdown primarily to help keep Enerhodar warm. The five other reactors were in cold shutdown, and have now been joined by unit 4.

When in cold shutdown, in case the heat removal is interrupted for any reason, there is an additional response margin of several days before the cooling of the nuclear fuel in the reactor might be challenged. The reactor also needs less cooling water than in hot shutdown, an issue that became more challenging after the destruction of the downstream Kakhovka dam in mid-2023.

Although the measure is positive for nuclear safety, the situation remains extremely fragile at a time when Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is facing severe dangers, with several drone strikes targeting the facility over the past week.

“The decision to have all six units in cold shutdown is positive in itself, as the cooling down of the reactor provides an additional buffer in case of an accident. But it doesn’t address the fundamental issue of a recent sharp deterioration of the situation at the plant. Without a doubt, nuclear safety and security at this major nuclear facility remains very precarious,” Director General Grossi said.

The potential risks were underlined again this morning, when the team of the IAEA experts stationed at the site reported hearing sixteen rounds of outgoing artillery fire in less than half an hour – some at near distance, others further away but still clearly audible.

Ukraine’s national regulator, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), has previously issued regulatory orders to limit the operation of all six units of the ZNPP to a cold shutdown state.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was yesterday informed by Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), that localized corrosion and flaking of paint was discovered on three tanks used to store treated water at the site.

During a routine walkdown of the tanks emptied after transferring the water – the tanks used at FDNPS to store the ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) treated water – TEPCO staff noted the corrosion and flaking on three tanks. These three tanks are currently empty, and an assessment determined that the corrosion bore no impact on the structural integrity of the tanks, and no water has leaked.  

The corrosion does not pose any safety risk, and there is no environmental impact. The event is not related to the discharge of the ALPS treated water. The damaged section will be repaired prior to using the tanks again to store ALPS treated water.

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 Nuclear Regulatory Authority in Japan.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi today called for maximum military restraint and full observance of the five concrete principles for protecting Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), days after a series of drone attacks had “significantly” increased the risk of a nuclear accident at the site.

Addressing an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Director General Grossi said it was of paramount importance to ensure that “these reckless attacks do not mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war”.

The IAEA Director General will address the United Nations Security Council in New York on Monday.

Today’s session of the 35-nation Board was convened by its Chair after he received two separate requests from the Russian Federation and Ukraine for such a meeting.

“I firmly appeal to military decision makers to abstain from any action violating the IAEA’s five concrete principles to prevent a nuclear accident and ensure the integrity of the plant and I urge the international community actively to work towards a de-escalation of what is a very serious situation,” Director General Grossi said in his opening statement.

The meeting was held less than a week after three drone strikes hit the site of the ZNPP, endangering nuclear safety and security and deepening concern about the already highly precarious situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP), located on the frontline of the armed conflict.

It was the first time since November 2022 that the ZNPP was directly targeted in military action. It also represented a clear violation of the five principles aimed at protecting the facility that were established by Director General Grossi at the United Nations Security Council in May last year and, he told the Board, “shifted us into an acutely consequential juncture in this war”.

Although the strikes – as well as others reported by the plant both before and after Sunday’s events – did not cause damage compromising nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP, they marked a “major escalation” of the dangers, Director General Grossi said.

Stressing that “no one can conceivably benefit or gain any military or political advantage” by attacking a nuclear power plant, he said:

“I urge you to make this your highest priority and to support me and the IAEA in doing everything in your power to stop this devastating war becoming unconscionably more dangerous through further attacks on the Zaporizhzhya NPP or any other nuclear power plant.”

At the site in southern Ukraine, the team of IAEA experts stationed there have continued to report about the frequent sound of military action, including numerous rounds of outgoing artillery fire from near the facility.

Despite the heightened military-related challenges in recent days, the IAEA experts have conducted walkdowns across the site over the past week, visiting the main control rooms of the six reactor units, the off-site radiation monitoring laboratory, as well as the site’s radioactive waste storage facility.

However, they were not granted access to parts of the turbine hall of unit 2 when they went to this reactor, nor to some parts of the waste facility, which meant they were not able to verify its current status. As reported previously, the ZNPP has not provided timely and appropriate access for the IAEA experts to all areas that are important to nuclear safety and security.

“In these extremely challenging circumstances, the presence of IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is more important than ever. Their impartial and technical work enables us to inform the world about events there in an independent and timely manner. In order to carry out these crucial tasks, they need prompt and unrestricted access to all areas that are important for nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said.

Separately, the ZNPP informed the IAEA experts that it intends to start transitioning unit 4 to cold shutdown from tomorrow morning, after the nearby town of Enerhodar – where most plant staff live – officially ended the winter heating season.

The ZNPP stopped generating electricity for the national grid in September 2022, but it has kept at least one of its six units in hot shutdown to provide district heating as well as process steam for liquid waste treatment at the site.

After the plant earlier this year started operating four newly-installed diesel steam generators to handle such waste, as recommended by the IAEA, reactor unit 4 has remained in hot shutdown primarily to help keep Enerhodar warm. The five other reactors are in cold shutdown.

When in cold shutdown, in case the heat removal is interrupted, there is an additional response margin of several days before the cooling of the nuclear fuel in the reactor might be challenged. The reactor also needs less cooling water than in hot shutdown.

“Switching to cold shutdown is a positive step for nuclear safety and security, although one that is currently overshadowed by the great military dangers facing the plant,” Director General Grossi said.

The ZNPP separately informed the IAEA team that the plant – throughout the past week – once again had access to its only remaining back-up power line, which was lost in early April. The plant now has access to one of its four main 750 kilovolt (kV) power lines, as well as the last of six 330 kV back-up lines, which was disconnected for a few days.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA experts at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as at the Chornobyl site have reported that nuclear safety and security continues to be maintained, despite multiple air raid alarms that occurred over the past week. Units 1 and 4 at the Rivne NPP are in planned outage. The IAEA experts at the Khmelnytskyy NPP rotated on 8 April.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed about a further drone attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) today, in the latest indication of a major worsening of the nuclear safety and security situation at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

The IAEA team of experts stationed at the plant – who verified the impact of several such attacks on Sunday – reported hearing bursts of rifle fire followed by a loud explosion at 11:05am local time today, the same time that the ZNPP later said an incoming drone had detonated on the roof of the facility’s training centre.

The incident added to deepening concern about the already highly precarious nuclear safety and security situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which has been shelled several times since the conflict started in February 2022 and lost all off-site power eight times.

The training centre is located just outside the site perimeter, around half a kilometre from reactor unit 1, and the incident did not pose any threat to nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP, whose six reactors have all been shut down for the past 20 months. However, there are ZNPP staff routinely present in the training centre. The IAEA team requested immediate access to the building to assess the possible impact but was informed that the military security situation did not allow it. The team will continue to seek such access, as they did and received on Sunday.

“Today’s reported incident – although outside the site perimeter – is an ominous development as it indicates an apparent readiness to continue these attacks, despite the grave dangers they pose to nuclear safety and security and our repeated calls for military restraint. Whoever is behind them, they are playing with fire. Attacking a nuclear power plant is extremely irresponsible and dangerous, and it must stop,” Director General Grossi said.

Sunday’s drone strikes signalled a serious new threat to plant safety as it was the first time since November 2022 that the ZNPP was directly targeted in military action. It also represented the first clear violation of the five concrete principles for protecting the facility established by Director General Grossi at the United Nations Security Council in May last year.

In addition to the incidents on Sunday and today – which were backed up by the observations of the IAEA team – the Agency experts were also informed by the ZNPP about other similar events over the past few days. On Friday, the ZNPP said there had been a drone strike near the site’s oxygen and nitrogen production facility. On Sunday, the team heard explosions, in addition to those already reported, and were informed of two other alleged drone attacks outside the site perimeter, at the nearby port and at the training centre. Yesterday, the ZNPP said a drone had been shot down above the turbine hall building of reactor unit 6, without causing an explosion. In all cases, the IAEA team requested to visit these locations, but were denied access due to security reasons.

Reflecting the recent days’ severe turn for the worse at the site, Director General Grossi said he plans to brief the United Nations Security Council about the situation next week. It will be the seventh time he addresses the 15-nation body on the situation in Ukraine in just over two years.

“I remain determined to do everything in my power to prevent a major nuclear accident during this tragic war. At this moment of great danger, I will underline the seriousness of the situation in my address to the Security Council, whose support is of paramount importance for the IAEA’s persistent efforts to help prevent a major nuclear accident, with potential consequences for people and the environment in Ukraine and beyond,” he said.  

The IAEA experts have continued to hear the continuous sound of military activities near the plant over the past few days, including explosions, small arms fire as well as outgoing artillery fire from near the plant.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Drone strikes hit the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) today, in a serious incident that endangered nuclear safety and security, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

For the first time since November 2022, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was directly targeted in military action that also represents a clear violation of the five basic principles for protecting the facility established by Director General Grossi at the United Nations Security Council in May last year. 

“This is a major escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. Such reckless attacks significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident and must cease immediately,” Director General Grossi said.

At this point, there are no indications of damage to critical nuclear safety or security systems at the site. However, the military strikes were another stark reminder of persistent threats to the ZNPP and other nuclear facilities during the armed conflict, despite the IAEA’s efforts to reduce the risk of a severe accident that could harm people and the environment in Ukraine and beyond.

“As I have repeatedly stated – including at the Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors – no one can conceivably benefit or get any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities. Attacking a nuclear power plant is an absolute no go,” he said. “I firmly appeal to military decision makers to abstain from any action violating the basic principles that protect nuclear facilities.”

After receiving information from the ZNPP about the drone attacks, the IAEA experts stationed at the site went to three affected locations. They were able to confirm the physical impact of the drone detonations, including at one of the site’s six reactor buildings where surveillance and communication equipment appeared to have been targeted. While they were at the roof of the reactor, unit 6, Russian troops engaged what appeared to be an approaching drone. This was followed by an explosion near the reactor building.

The IAEA team reported that they observed remnants of drones at this and two other impact locations at the site. At one of them, outside a laboratory, they saw blood stains next to a damaged military logistics vehicle, indicating at least one casualty.

The experts reported hearing explosions and rifle fire on the site throughout the day. Additionally, the IAEA team heard several rounds of outgoing artillery fire from near the plant.

While the team so far has not observed any structural damage to systems, structures, and components important to nuclear safety or security of the plant, they reported observing minor superficial scorching to the top of the reactor dome roof of Unit 6 and scoring of a concrete slab supporting the primary make-up water storage tanks.

“Although the damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, this was a serious incident that had the potential to undermine the integrity of the reactor’s containment system,” Director General Grossi said.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost the connection to its only remaining back-up power line today amid renewed indications of military activity in the area, in yet another incident highlighting persistent nuclear safety and security risks during the conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The IAEA experts stationed at the ZNPP reported that the sole remaining 330 kilovolt (kV) line was disconnected at 10:06am local time, leaving the plant entirely dependent on its sole remaining 750 kV line for off-site power. Before the conflict, the ZNPP had four 750 kV and six 330 kV power lines available.

The cause of the latest outage was not immediately clear, but it followed reports of military activity in the region and beyond. This was also confirmed by the IAEA team on the ground who heard numerous rounds of outgoing artillery fire this morning, as well as on Wednesday, when the firing of rockets was heard by the team. 

“As has happened repeatedly during this devastating war, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has lost a key source of the electricity it needs to cool its reactors as well as for other essential nuclear safety and security functions. This morning’s developments once again underline the very real dangers facing this major facility,” Director General Grossi said.

Also before these latest events, the IAEA experts have continued to hear daily explosions over the past week, at various distances from the site.

Since August 2022, the ZNPP has suffered eight events with a complete loss of off-site power, most recently in December last year. The 330 kV line was also disconnected for three weeks earlier this year, but the main 750 kV line remained available at that time.

Separately today, Ukraine’s national regulator, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), informed the IAEA that a research and development facility in the country’s north-east – used before the war to produce radioisotopes for medical and industrial applications – had once again lost off-site power due to shelling. The facility now relies on emergency diesel generators, as it did during a previous week-long outage, from 22-29 March 2024. The on-site radiation situation is within the normal limits, SNRIU said.

The subcritical Neutron Source installation, located in the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT), was transferred to a deep sub-critical state at the start of the conflict, and its radioactive inventory is low. In November 2022, an IAEA safeguards and nuclear security expert mission found that the facility had been heavily damaged by shelling, but without any indication of radiological release or diversion of declared nuclear material.

“As this facility has been shut down since the start of the armed conflict more than two years ago, we do not currently expect the situation to have any consequences for public safety. But it also underlines the potential risks to nuclear safety and nuclear security during the military conflict and we will continue to monitor the situation at the facility,” Director General Grossi said.

Earlier this week at the ZNPP, the IAEA team was informed that the plant was assessing the future operational status of its only heat-generating unit after the nearby town of Enerhodar – where most plant staff live – officially ended the winter heating season.

The ZNPP stopped producing electricity for the national grid in September 2022, but it has kept at least one of its six units in hot shutdown to provide district heating as well as process steam for liquid waste treatment at the site. After the plant earlier this year started operating four newly-installed diesel steam generators to handle such waste, reactor unit 4 has remained in hot shutdown primarily to help keep Enerhodar warm. The five other reactors are in cold shutdown.

This week, however, the IAEA experts stationed at the site were informed that on 1 April, Enerhodar decided to end its heating season for 2023-24 and shut down its own local heat generation, prompting the ZNPP to also re-consider the situation regarding unit 4.

“A decision to move unit 4 to cold shutdown would be more favourable for nuclear safety and security, but it should not detract from the fact that the situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant remains highly precarious, as this morning’s power loss once again demonstrated,” Director General Grossi said.

The IAEA team this week continued to conduct walkdowns at the site, including to some of the reactor units as well as the ZNPP inlet and discharge channels, where they also observed the cooling towers and their pumping station.

At the waterworks facilities, the team was informed that the ZNPP cooling pond currently receives approximately 400 m³/h of water from the sprinkler ponds as well as from the discharge channel of the nearby Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant. The water supplied from the eleven underground wells is providing enough cooling water for the six units in shutdown, but still not enough to maintain the water inventory in the ZNPP cooling pond.

During a visit to the unit 4 reactor building the team observed the chemical analysis laboratory and the safety system rooms. No leaks or traces of boric acid were seen. But the experts noted what appeared to be some crystallised boric acid in one of the sump intakes during a visit to unit 1 sumps for the ECCS (Emergency Core Cooling System). Borated water is used in the primary coolant to help maintain nuclear safety functions. Although leaks may occur, prompt investigation, repair, and clean-up are crucial to prevent potential damage to any system important to nuclear safety.

During the walkdowns over the past week, the experts were not granted access to the cooling pond isolation gate, a location the IAEA last saw in November 2023, nor to the western part of the turbine hall of unit 6. As reported previously, the ZNPP has not provided timely and appropriate access for the IAEA experts to all areas that are important to nuclear safety and security.

The IAEA teams at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as at the Chornobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security continues to be maintained, despite multiple air raid alarms over the past week. Maintenance in the unit 2 turbine hall at the Khmelnytskyy NPP has been completed and the reactor has returned to nominal power. Unit 4 at the Rivne NPP remains in planned outage. The IAEA experts at the South Ukraine and Rivne NPPs rotated during this past week.