Category: News Story

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

In 2023, the IAEA conducted more than 3,000 in-field verification activities at over 1,300 nuclear facilities and ‘locations outside facilities’ around the world, according to the Safeguards Statement and Background for 2023, published recently. As a result of this verification effort, the IAEA was able to draw safeguards conclusions for 189 States with safeguards agreements in force.

IAEA safeguards verify countries’ commitments to use nuclear material and technology only for peaceful purposes. The Safeguards Statement presents the IAEA’s findings and conclusions for all countries for which the IAEA implemented safeguards during the year.

“During 2023, our safeguards inspectors spent over 14,000 calendar days at nuclear facilities and ‘locations outside of facilities’ to conduct nuclear verification activities,” said Massimo Aparo, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards. “This represents the IAEA’s critical mission to verify that the ever-growing amounts of nuclear material around the world remain in peaceful use.”

Of the 189 States where the IAEA implemented safeguards during the year, 181 had a comprehensive safeguards agreement in force, of which 136 also had an additional protocol in force. The additional protocol significantly increases the IAEA’s ability to verify the peaceful use of nuclear material by providing the Agency with access to additional safeguards relevant information, nuclear sites and locations.

Among the 136 States with a comprehensive safeguards agreement and an additional protocol in force, the IAEA was able to conclude that “all nuclear material remained in peaceful activities” for 74 countries. The IAEA drew this conclusion, also known as the ‘broader conclusion’, for the first time for Lesotho. For the other 62 countries, because evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities remained ongoing, the IAEA was only able to conclude that declared nuclear material remained in peaceful activities.

For the 45 States with a comprehensive safeguards agreement in force, but no additional protocol in force, the IAEA was also only able to conclude that declared nuclear material remained in peaceful activities.

As of the end of 2023, four States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)  had yet to bring into force comprehensive safeguards agreements with the Agency. For these countries, the IAEA could not draw any safeguards conclusions.

For the countries with item-specific – rather than comprehensive – safeguards agreements in force (India, Israel and Pakistan), where the Agency does not have access to all nuclear facilities in the country, the IAEA concluded that “nuclear material, facilities or other items to which safeguards had been applied remained in peaceful activities”.

For the five officially acknowledged nuclear weapons States with voluntary offer agreements in force (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States), again where the Agency does not have access to all nuclear facilities in the country, the IAEA concluded that “nuclear material in selected facilities to which safeguards had been applied remained in peaceful activities or had been withdrawn from safeguards as provided for in the agreements”.

During the year, a new comprehensive safeguards agreement with a small quantities protocol entered into force for Sao Tome and Principe.  The protocol is based on the revised standard text for States with minimal or no nuclear material and without any existing or planned facilities. An additional protocol also entered into force for the Plurinational State of Bolivia and for Sao Tome and Principe.

As called for by the IAEA Board of Governors in 2005, the revised small quantities protocol reduces the number of provisions of the comprehensive safeguards agreement that are held in abeyance. In 2023, Nauru amended its original small quantities protocol accordingly, meaning that by the end of the year only 21 States still had operative small quantities protocols that had yet to be amended or rescinded.

During the year, the IAEA continued to assist States in their efforts to strengthen and sustain the effectiveness of State systems of accounting for and control of nuclear material (SSACs) and State or regional authorities responsible for safeguards implementation (SRAs). In March 2023, the Agency concluded the pilot phase of COMPASS — the IAEA Comprehensive Capacity-Building Initiative for SSACs and SRAs — in seven participating States. During the pilot phase, the IAEA conducted a total of 96 collaborative activities, such as technical visits and training events, between the pilot countries and the Agency. These included 28 activities implemented in cooperation with Member State Support Programmes (MSSPs) and other supporting IAEA Member States. COMPASS will now continue as part of the suite of activities through which the IAEA provides safeguards assistance for States.

Notably, two new MSSPs were established in support of IAEA safeguards in 2023 – by Norway and the United Arab Emirates. By providing financial and in-kind contributions, MSSPs play an important role in addressing specific safeguards development and implementation support needs through collaboration, research and development, provision of equipment, training materials, and access to facilities for training or equipment testing purposes.

“The IAEA welcomes both Norway and the UAE into our family of MSSPs,” said Aparo. “We continue to seek ever more effective and efficient safeguards implementation in collaboration, and with the assistance of, our Member States. I thank each of our 24 active MSSPs for their commitment and contributions in supporting our work.”

Read the Safeguards Statement and Background for 2023.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Isotope hydrology is a nuclear technique that reveals how water moves through the land, ocean and atmosphere, providing information about the water’s origin, age, quality and movement. 

Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Water (H₂O) being composed of two atoms of Hydrogen and one of Oxygen, each drop has a unique isotopic ‘fingerprint’ or ‘signature’, depending on where it comes from. Scientists can track the movement and pollution of water along its path through the water cycle. 

For sixty years, the IAEA has been supporting researchers around the world gather and analyse water samples and created the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation, the worldwide monitoring network built by the IAEA to provide governments and researchers with the long-term, large-scale data they need to gain insights into climate processes at the local, regional and global scale.

Data and information help countries meet Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and deliver on the Water Action Agenda.

Since 1962, water samples have been sent to the IAEA’s laboratories in Vienna.  The results provide scientists with detailed information on the origin and age, and this information is entered into the largest online isotopic hydrology database. 

“This large amount of data allows researchers to better understand the water cycle globally and locally. For example: when, where, and how groundwater is recharged. This is key to decision makers to manage water resources, particularly in the light of climate change,” explains IAEA Isotope Hydrologist Lucia Ortega. 

The IAEA datasets and maps are freely available for analysts around the globe to study how changing global rainfall patterns affect local water resources. 

These help countries understand how precipitation patterns change and how different rainfall events transfer to the groundwater system and help them also identify the exact source of water pollution when it occurs.  

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi is in Switzerland this week to engage with insurance executives about the potential of nuclear power. 

As part of growing interest from non-traditional audiences about the potential of expanding nuclear energy to meet climate goals, the Director General travelled to Zurich on Tuesday to address the Nuclear Pools’ Forum.

The forum, a nuclear insurance conference, was organized by the Swiss Pool for the Insurance of Nuclear Risks and hosted by Swiss Re.

Mr Grossi spoke on how a secure, thriving and sustainable future requires the use of nuclear power, calling it our opportunity and responsibility. He described the clear consensus on the necessity of using nuclear energy for the world to reach net zero climate emissions, as was agreed at COP28, the first climate change conference ever to feature nuclear in the list of low emission technologies that need accelerating. 

“We see good perspectives for nuclear but need technology, finance and regulation to continue advancing, and the IAEA is working actively on this,” he added.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi is in Switzerland this week to engage with insurance executives about the potential of nuclear power. 

As part of growing interest from non-traditional audiences about the potential of expanding nuclear energy to meet climate goals, the Director General travelled to Zurich on Tuesday to address the Nuclear Pools’ Forum.

The forum, a nuclear insurance conference, was organized by the Swiss Pool for the Insurance of Nuclear Risks and hosted by Swiss Re.

Mr Grossi spoke on how a secure, thriving and sustainable future requires the use of nuclear power, calling it our opportunity and responsibility. He described the clear consensus on the necessity of using nuclear energy for the world to reach net zero climate emissions, as was agreed at COP28, the first climate change conference ever to feature nuclear in the list of low emission technologies that need accelerating. 

“We see good perspectives for nuclear but need technology, finance and regulation to continue advancing, and the IAEA is working actively on this,” he added.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

“Spent nuclear fuel has been successfully managed for many decades, and while the established practices are safe and effective, it is important for the nuclear power community to be adaptive as the energy landscape evolves,” said Amparo Gonzalez Espartero, the IAEA’s Technical Lead for Spent Fuel Management and Co-Scientific Secretary of the conference.  

“It is vital that all countries with spent fuel management responsibilities, current and future, proactively meet the moment, and this conference represents a great opportunity to share lessons learned and discuss innovative techniques as well as their potential integration in the current programmes.” 

Across the world, considerable progress is being made in the areas of both recycling and disposal of nuclear fuel after it has been used to generate power. Spent fuel retains more than 90 per cent of its potential energy even after five years of use in a nuclear power reactor. Recycling spent fuel involves recovering fissile and fertile materials, through reprocessing the spent fuel, so that they can be used as new nuclear fuel.  

Russia is looking to expand its commercial reprocessing capacity from 400 tonnes per year to up to 1600 tonnes annually over the next 10-15 years, while France announced earlier in March that it plans to extend its existing recycling facilities beyond 2040 and construct additional facilities as well. 

Operations at Finland’s Onkalo spent fuel repository, the world’s first deep geological repository for final disposal of high level radioactive waste, are set to begin around 2025, while Sweden commenced construction of its own final repository facility earlier this year. In France, the construction licence application for the Centre Industriel de stockage Géologique (CIGEO) facility for high level waste disposal was submitted in 2023, with authorization expected by 2027. Canada is preparing to select a site for its deep geological repository by the end of 2024.    

“As with spent fuel from existing reactors, and taking into account the lessons of the past, early planning for the long-term safe management of spent fuel from new technologies is a national responsibility,” said Gerard Bruno, Head of the IAEA Radioactive Waste & Spent Fuel Management Unit and Co-Scientific Secretary of the conference. “The IAEA remains available to provide appropriate support for the safe management, including disposal, of spent fuel and all types of radioactive waste.” 

The conference will consist of panel sessions on national strategies, innovation including how new technologies can be integrated into current spent fuel management strategies, and stakeholder engagement as well as technical sessions on topics including storage, recycling (current and future technologies), transportation, the impacts of advanced energy systems and integrated management of spent fuel.  

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The SIT pilot project, which was initiated n the coastal city of Fort Myers, has already been tested out on Captiva Island in Florida, around 30 miles away, during a successful pilot project between 2020 and 2022. Male mosquitoes were mass-reared and sterilized before being released to mate with wild females. At the peak of releases, approximately 400 000 sterile males were released per week in Captiva Island. The releases led to a significant reduction of the population in the first year, 2020, and complete suppression in 2021 and 2022. Scientists were able to compare ecological indexes between Sanibel Island (the control area) and Captiva Island, where the sterile mosquitoes were released. Rachel Morreale, Manager of the Applied Science and Technologies Department at LCMCD, stated “it was remarkable to see the impacts that our sterile male releases had on the population of Ae. aegypti on Captiva.” 

Hurricane Ian devastated both Captiva and Sanibel islands completely in September 2022, making it impossible to access by car, and putting an end to the pilot project.

The damage caused was so significant that LCMCD determined that the best course of action would be to move the release programme to a new area on the mainland. Using lessons learned from the pilot project on Captiva Island, LCMCD collected baseline data to better inform their releases of sterile male Ae. Aegypti in Fort Myers, which was initiated in February 2024. While the move to this new area was sooner than initially planned, the pilot project on Captiva Island allowed LCMCD to validate SIT as a component of an integrated mosquito management operation for the County. Using the knowledge gained from mass-rearing, releases, and fieldwork, LCMCD is hopeful to have similar successful outcomes in Fort Myers and provide relief and protection to local residents.

According to David Hoel, Executive Director of LCMCD, “the unique attributes of this programme and technical expertise provided to us by the IAEA is enabling LCMCD to gain a foothold in suppression of this mosquito which is difficult at best to control by conventional mosquito control techniques and shows great promise for future prevention of mosquito-borne disease threat in Lee County, Florida.”

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

In his opening statement to the IAEA’s Board of Governors today, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi spoke of how the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) came under direct attack in April for the first time in one and a half years, describing the “precarious and very fragile situation” at the plant.  

“These attacks violated the first of the five concrete principles for protecting the Zaporizhzhya NPP that I laid out to the Board for the first time one year ago,” said Mr Grossi in his statement to the Board, which is meeting at the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters from 3-6 June. 

Mr Grossi explained he would be meeting with the Minister of Energy of Ukraine this week. He had met with Alexey Likhachev, head of Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, in Kaliningrad on May 28, to discuss factors the IAEA believes remain a challenge for nuclear safety. Although all six reactor units have been in cold shutdown since April, enhancing the overall safety of the facility, the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) has not received access to some areas of significance at the site, and has not been able to have open discussions with all relevant staff. 

The Director General presented his latest report on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran, once more expressing his deepest condolences following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and other delegation members. 

“I was in Tehran and Isfahan in early May, discussing very concrete initiatives in the area of verification and monitoring with late Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and others in the government,” he said.  

“I want to tell you that our work has continued. I had the pleasure to have a good conversation with acting minister Ali Bagheri Kani just a few hours ago. And the spirit is to continue our work as discussed in Tehran and Isfahan, which is of course extremely important.” 

Mr Grossi also spoke of how the “nuclear non-proliferation regime requires our constant efforts and determination to make sure that legitimate nuclear activities are carried out in a peaceful manner.” 

He added: “In this spirit, I met President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on 19 March and agreed a new engagement between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Agency.  As a result of those consultations, the IAEA, in coordination with the Syrian government, will undertake a process of clarification of the pending issues related to past activities in Syria that require further inquiry in order to exclude any proliferation concern.” 

The Board will also be kept updated on the IAEA’s technical consultations on naval propulsion with Australia and with Brazil, Mr Grossi said. 

Mr Grossi then drew the attention of the Board to the Annual Report for 2023, as well as the 2023 report of the IAEA Technical Cooperation Programme. He highlighted the progress being achieved in the implementation of the flagship initiatives of the IAEA, such as NUTEC Plastics, which aims to reduce and mitigate the impact of plastic pollution and Atoms4Food, developed in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to tackle global food insecurity.  

Last week, the IAEA hosted an International Symposium on Food Safety and Control and this year’s annual Scientific Forum, to be held on the margins of the 68th Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference, is entitled Atoms4Food: Better Agriculture for Better Life.  

“We are trying to deliver assistance on food security, in in many countries,” said Mr Grossi. In his written statement he elaborated: “We are stepping up our assistance to Member States through seven precise services that use nuclear technology, science and their applications to boost food security and tackle the growing hunger and malnutrition crisis.” 

More than 40 countries in Africa have already requested assistance under the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative, which aims to widen access to cancer care in countries with little or no access to treatments such as radiotherapy. Mr Grossi travelled to Nigeria last month to assist Nigeria and other African nations in enhancing their ability to bring cancer care to everyone who needs it. 

The Director General updated the board on how preparations for the IAEA’s Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme in November 2024 are progressing.  

Highlighting the impact that nuclear technology and science is having around the world, Mr Grossi spoke of the first Nuclear Energy Summit, jointly organized in March with the IAEA and the Government of Belgium. The IAEA has also begun a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the G20, under the Brazilian presidency.  

“I think it is very important to see how all these political platforms in the world are looking to nuclear with a focus and very concrete interest. And, of course, the work, of the IAEA is indispensable in that regard,” said Mr Grossi.  

Mr Grossi drew the attention of the Board to the World Fusion Energy Group, due to be held in the coming months with support from the government of Italy, which currently holds the G7 presidency. He also spoke of the upcoming International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management and Human Resources Development  and the International Conference on Small Modular Reactors and their Applications later this year. 

Last month, the International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS) – Shaping the Future, was held in Vienna. Mr Grossi concluded his statement by thanking the ICONS Co-Presidents from Australia and Kazakhstan for their leadership. “The ministerial-level event assessed current priorities, prepared for new challenges, and engaged in scenario-based policy discussions,” he said in his statement. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Paving the way for the introduction of the new radiotherapy facility, radiation safety experts also undertook assessments of capacity and needs related to the regulatory infrastructure in The Gambia to ensure the safe use of ionizing radiation in healthcare facilities.

“Advanced medical technologies have introduced new possibilities for diagnostics and treatment. However, it is necessary to provide assurance that it can be used safely. An adequate national infrastructure for radiation safety, including a fully functional regulatory body, should be in place to ensure the protection of workers, patients, and the public,” said Jovica Bosnjak, Radiation Safety Infrastructure Specialist at the IAEA Department of Nuclear Safety and Security.

As part of the mission, the team facilitated a two-day national stakeholders’ meeting where key findings from the imPACT review were incorporated into the final draft of the country’s National Cancer Control Strategy. This five-year strategy promotes cancer prevention and early detection whilst improving services for diagnosis and treatment, including palliative care. It builds on other global initiatives in the area of cancer care, including with WHO.

“We are working closely with the National Cancer Control Programme in The Gambia to prioritize the prevention and early detection of cervical, breast and child-hood cancers in line with the respective global cancer control initiatives,” said Gassama Momodou, Health Promotion Officer for The Gambia’s WHO Country Office.

Going forward, findings from the imPACT Review are expected to serve as a baseline from which to expand access to cancer diagnostic and treatment services through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme and Rays of Hope initiative.  

“The Gambia is a new IAEA Member State, and we expect the recommendations  from the imPACT Review to inform the design of priority programmes on expanding access to the use of radiation medicine under the Rays of Hope Initiative, in line with the first Country Programme Framework recently signed between the Gambia and the IAEA,” said Neil Jarvis, IAEA Programme Management Officer for The Gambia and Section Head, Division for Africa, IAEA Technical Cooperation Department. “The IAEA will assist the country to develop a strategic funding (“bankable”) document which will serve as a techno-economic feasibility study and will be useful for their resource mobilisation in the establishment of the proposed radiotherapy facility,” he added.

Helping countries to secure funding to reach their health sector developmental goals is a key support mechanism offered by the IAEA under the Rays of Hope initiative. “Through Rays of Hope, our objective is to bring together the different actors to deliver impactful and lasting change,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in his opening statement at the Rays of Hope World Cancer Day event held in Vienna earlier this year.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

“The symposium serves as a platform to explore mechanisms to enhance the resilience of food control systems and advancements in applying nuclear technologies to particularly strengthen food safety and control,” said James Sasanya, Acting Section Head, Food Safety and Control Section, at the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. “The event hopes to increase the uptake of nuclear and related techniques to tackle key issues affecting food safety and quality and contribute to food security and adapt to climate change,” he said. 

With an estimated 600 million cases of foodborne diseases annually, unsafe and poor quality food is a threat to human health. This symposium will provide a forum for information sharing on cutting edge research and developments in the application of nuclear technologies for food safety and control; networking opportunities between the public and private sectors; and the chance to define future research needs and directions.

Nuclear and isotopic techniques play an important role in analytical laboratory services to ensure that safe and good quality food is consumed. Nuclear science also contributes to reducing post-harvest losses as well as controlling pests and diseases that hinder exports

Organized through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, the symposium will focus on critical topics, such as food authenticity and fighting food fraud; food and phytosanitary irradiation; chemical residues and contaminants in food and feed; preparing for and responding to emergencies and incidents affecting the food supply: detection and characterization of pathogens in food; standard setting and risk assessment; and One Health — a Holistic approach to human, animal, and environmental health. The symposium will also discuss the Atoms4Food Initiative, with focus on food safety and control. Partnerships will also be discussed.

The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre and its Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory coordinate and support applied research through more than 25 coordinated research projects annually, fostering cooperation between 400 international and national research institutions and experimental stations. 

Food control systems assure food safety and quality, which are vital components of food security and are both necessary to safeguard international trade in food commodities. They also fight food fraud, ensuring fair practices that foster economic opportunities for all parties along the food supply chain.

Participants include representatives of IAEA and FAO Member States and members of organizations such as scientists, researchers, laboratory analysts, policy makers, regulators, food producers and other stakeholders concerned with food safety and control systems.

The peaceful uses of nuclear technologies play a fundamental role in protecting national and international food supply chains and in enhancing their resilience to food security and climate change-related challenges. The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, along with the IAEA technical cooperation programme, assists its members in developing and adopting nuclear and related techniques to offer science-based solutions for regulating food safety and quality.