Category: News Story

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Marine and coastal ecosystems play a critical role in the health of the ocean and the planet, but their delicate balance must be maintained. One of the major threats to this balance comes from oil spills, which can have devastating impacts on these ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.

When faced with oil spills, countries need as many tools and as much information as possible to help mitigate the environmental impacts, identify the source of spills and evaluate seafood for contamination from toxic substances. Using nuclear and isotopic techniques, the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco support them in achieving these goals.

“Each oil spill is different and requires unique sets of questions to be asked,” said Philippe Bersuder, Head of Marine Environmental Studies Laboratory at the IAEA. “Using nuclear and isotopic techniques to accurately measure and trace oil spills, we provide countries with the tools they need to mitigate the damage and assess the risk to human health.”

Crude oils consist of complex mixtures of hydrocarbons and other substances, and they vary depending on geographical origin and producer. The complexity of these mixtures provides an identifying “fingerprint” that can be used to trace oils spilled into the marine environment to the source of the pollution – which is critical to post-spill mitigation.

When marine oil spills do occur, IAEA scientists use equipment such as gas-chromatography mass-spectrometers to identify the chemical makeup of oil samples. “We use these fingerprinting techniques to determine the origin of the spilled oil, which can provide countries with scientific evidence needed to help identify responsible parties and develop long term monitoring strategies,” said IAEA research scientist Imma Tolosa. Through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme, the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories also build capacity in countries affected by oil spills and provide national environmental scientists with equipment to conduct analyses, as well as reference materials for laboratory quality assurance purposes.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

With support from the IAEA Platform on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and their Applications, Jordan is making strides towards the introduction of nuclear power to produce both electricity and drinking water. Jordan recently benefited from an IAEA expert mission on SMRs for electricity and potable water production, after previously hosting an IAEA workshop on nuclear desalination.

Jordan, 75 per cent of which is covered by desert, has scarce water resources—and demand is rising. Powered by an SMR, Jordan’s envisaged desalinisation plant would produce fresh water from the Red Sea for delivery to the 4 million residents of Amman, the fast-growing capital.

The expert review mission, held at the Agency’s Vienna headquarters in August 2023, comprised 18 IAEA and three external experts who evaluated Jordan’s studies to support decision making on deploying SMRs. Areas covered by the review included nuclear power technology and safety, siting and licensing, nuclear desalination, nuclear law and stakeholder engagement, among others.

“This endeavor exemplified an Agency-wide collaborative effort that addressed all aspects of the feasibility study, providing essential guidance on IAEA services that Jordan could benefit from in enhancing the assessment and progress of our SMR project,” said Khalid Khasawneh, Commissioner for Nuclear Power Reactors at the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC).

Jordan is one of a growing number of countries that have expressed interest in SMRs. To better assist countries, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi established the SMR Platform in 2021 to provide coordinated, Agency-wide support on all aspects of SMR development, deployment and oversight. Countries interested in requesting support can contact the SMR Platform.

“In many ways, Jordan’s interest helps to explain why small modular reactors and their applications are of such intense interest around the world right now,” said Mikhail Chudakov, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy. A fraction the size of conventional reactors, “SMRs offer not only lower upfront costs, but greater flexibility for a variety of users and applications and are set to play an important role in helping to ensure energy security as well as supporting the clean energy transition,” Chudakov said.

SMRs’ variable output and flexibility makes them good partners for intermittent renewables, as well as non-electrical applications such as desalination, process heat for industry and hydrogen production. Crucially for Jordan, some SMR designs do not use water for cooling, unlike conventional reactors.

Per capita, Jordan has some of the smallest available water resources in the world. The country has a relatively young demographic, and the pressure on its water resources has been exacerbated in recent decades by an influx of refugees. The proposed long term solution is the desalinisation of sea and brackish water – a technique used in similar situations elsewhere in the world.

Jordan is considering using an SMR to provide the electricity to operate the reverse osmosis desalination plant as well as to pump an estimated 300 million cubic meters of drinking water each year from the Red Sea coast to Amman, about 400 kilometres away and 700 meters above sea level. The decarbonized and continuous supply of electricity needed for such tasks highlight how nuclear energy can be one of the most effective solutions to the challenge facing Jordan, one of the first countries considering using a nuclear reactor exclusively for desalination needs, according to the IAEA’s Francesco Ganda, who led the expert mission.

The mission reviewed whether reports submitted by JAEC include all the necessary information to support the decision making for deploying an SMR for power generation and desalination. It also suggested areas where the work could be expanded or improved. The mission followed an IAEA workshop last year in Amman, which explored the technologies and requirements for nuclear desalination.

“Both this expert mission and the workshop are prime examples of the kind of support that the IAEA can provide to countries through the SMR Platform,” said Dohee Hahn, Coordinator of the IAEA SMR Platform. “In particular, newcomer countries looking to add nuclear power to their energy mix stand to benefit from the full range of Agency services accessible through the SMR Platform.”

The expert mission, which found Jordan’s reports provide a good basis for a feasibility study, also had suggestions for further development. These included conducting a study on the selection of the nuclear unit size while taking into account the need to strengthen electrical connections to the nodal points of the grid and to neighbouring countries; and exploring potential alternative fuel suppliers.

“The IAEA support for Jordan’s nuclear program, particularly the SMR project, is highly valued and plays a pivotal role in enhancing our capabilities and advancing our endeavors,” Khasawneh said. “We eagerly anticipate continued collaboration with the IAEA across all aspects of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.”

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The journey of the IAEA Safety Standards publications was showcased at a side event on 26 September, during the 67th General Conference. This event marked 65 years of the publications that serve as the global reference for national nuclear regulatory authorities to help protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

Margaret Doane, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Management, facilitated a panel discussion that explored past and present safety standards from various perspectives. “Multilingual publication has enabled countries to make the IAEA Safety Standards the cornerstone of global nuclear safety and advancements in communication, including milestones in digital access and content has now a multiplier effect,” she said, adding that “‘Safety Series No. 1 – Safe Handling of Radioisotopes’ was the IAEA’s very first publication, which dates back to 1958, released a year after the Agency was established.”

Today, the IAEA Safety Standards comprise a series of publications developed through international consensus, which cover a range of requirements for the safe and peaceful use of nuclear science and technology. They serve as a technical basis for the IAEA to carry out its safety review missions and for countries to report on their national obligations as parties to multiple safety conventions.

 “The IAEA Safety Standards are flagship publications for the Agency, due to the IAEA mandate and the unique history of their development,” said Lydie Evrard, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, who participated in the event. Highlighting how the IAEA Statute authorizes the Agency to establish and adopt safety standards, she explained their role in international cooperation activities and, in particular, advisory service and peer review missions. “Safety standards are the reference documents for all IAEA activities conducted to support the strengthening of nuclear and radiation safety infrastructures throughout the world,” she added.

Over the decades, shaped by research and the growing peaceful uses of the atom, a growing number of safety considerations and concepts have been incorporated in the Standards to reflect best practices in the safe use of nuclear science and technology. As the content and format of the Safety Standards have evolved, in parallel, the development and drafting process have also progressed to ensure and reflect international consensus.

“In the ’50s and ’60s, the Safety Standards were individual books covering different technical areas.  But that began to change in the 1970s when we saw a framework coming into place in 1974 with the Nuclear Safety Standards Programme,” said Khammar Mrabit, a panellist who worked with the Safety Standards both as an IAEA staff member and in his capacity as former Director-General of the Moroccan Agency for Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security. He highlighted the significance of the Safety Standards in creating a community of practice that supported the “atoms for peace” vision at the core of the IAEA’s establishment. 

During the panel discussion, Dana Drábová, Chair of the Czech State Office for Nuclear Safety, referred to the practical support provided by the IAEA and highlighted how the implementation of nuclear safety conventions, combined with the industry standards and detailed national requirements, have established a consistent basis for protecting people and the environment. Drábová, who chaired the 5th and 6th terms of the IAEA Commission on Safety Standards from 2012 to 2019, noted that after the Chornobyl accident in 1986, several international conventions were based on the safety fundamentals hat existed in the 1990s.The three safety fundamentals that covered the safety of nuclear installations, the principles of radioactive waste management and radiation protection and the safety of radiation sources were then combined in 2006 to a single Safety Fundamental (SF1).

“Still today, the Safety Standards serve as a reference for countries to meet their obligations stated in these conventions,” she said. She went on to explain how every safety accident and incident are reflected in the Safety Standards, highlighting that the Safety Standards and guides were revised in light of the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Maria Rentetzi, Professor of Science, Technology, and Gender Studies at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, reflected on the process of developing international standards from a science diplomacy perspective. “The history of radiation protection and the development of radiation standards is far from a linear story of progress. Rather it reflects a broader conception of international relations, nuclear diplomacy and the circulation of knowledge and expertise, which point to the role of international organizations as well as national regulatory institutions,” said Rentetzi, who researches the history of radiation protection and the role of the IAEA in setting radiation standards.

The side event linked milestones in the evolution of the Safety Standards with the current range of IAEA services, which support countries to access, understand and adopt the recommendations in the Safety Standards, enabling them to develop and adopt their own national safety standards. Whether in digital formats or on paper, in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish the IAEA is ensuring the availability and accessibility of the Safety Standards to all countries, while carefully preserving the historical records of the standards that came before them.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Finding the tools and avenues to communicate and engage with the public is crucial to advocate for the use of atoms for peace and development, President Akufo-Addo said. Since Ghana gained its independence in 1957, the population has increased from 6 million to over 32 million people today. The country must find a carbon-free, reliable and cheap source of energy to provide electricity for such a fast-growing population, and nuclear presents all these advantages, President Akufo-Addo explained. Advocacy is crucial for this process, as well as engaging the population to discuss this, especially the young generation, he added.  

Ms Eisenhower and Secretary Granholm agreed on the importance of communication and youth engagement. “Advocacy must be brought to the right level. People on top have to endorse it, while also people from small villages should be involved in decision making, especially looking at the discussion around decarbonization,” Ms Eisenhower said.  

Furthermore, “we should be giving voice to the young generation and using their voices on social media to promote the use of nuclear and its role in combating climate change,” Secretary Granholm said. Earlier this month, the IAEA launched an essay competition for young adults. The competition is designed to commemorate Eisenhower’s speech and to posit ways the IAEA and the international community can address today’s biggest challenges within the IAEA mission of “Atoms for Peace and Development.” 

Since the 1953 speech and establishment of the Agency, the IAEA, which has 177 Member States, has helped people around the world benefit from the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology.  

“Personally, having worked in the field of national security and arms control, and now nuclear energy, I admire the work of the IAEA,” Ms Eisenhower said. “I think Dwight Eisenhower would be so gratified to see how this Agency has managed some of the most important issues facing our globe. Not only has it provided the safeguards around illegal development of nuclear weapons, but the IAEA is also at the cutting edge of solutions for the future. This is exactly what my grandfather hoped for in that speech in 1953.” 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The IAEA Board of Governors elected by acclamation Ambassador Holger Federico Martinsen as the Chairperson of the IAEA’s Board of Governors for 2023–2024. His one-year term commences today. He succeeds Ambassador Ivo Sramek of the Czech Republic. 

Ambassador Martinsen is Argentina’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations. He also serves as the designated ambassador for Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia. Prior to his appointment, he was Head Legal Adviser of Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship. 

A career diplomat, Ambassador Martinsen has held several positions in the Argentine Foreign Ministry, including as Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization. During his service with the Mission of Argentina to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Martinsen was a member of the Argentine delegation to the Security Council in 1995 and in 1999/2000. 

He has also been a member of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission since 2022. 

In the field of academia, Ambassador Martinsen served as a professor of multilateral practice, multilateral diplomacy and public international law at his alma mater, the Institute of Foreign Service of Argentina. He has been an assistant professor of public international law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires since 1990. 

He is married and has three children. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The 67th annual IAEA General Conference has adopted resolutions related to nuclear and radiation safety, nuclear security, and strengthening the effectiveness and improving the efficiency of Agency safeguards. Strengthening the IAEA’s technical cooperation activities, as well as activities related to nuclear science, technology and applications were also adopted, among other resolutions.

IAEA resolutions and decisions will guide the IAEA’s implementation of activities in the coming year. The resolutions and decisions will be posted here as they become available.

This year, over 2800 participants registered for the conference, including around 2550 Member State representatives and 242 representatives from international organizations and non-governmental organizations. Delegates from 150 of the 177 IAEA Member States attended.

In his opening statement to the General Conference on Monday, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reflected on the work of the Agency since he assumed office four years ago and the events – the global pandemic and war in Europe – that have made “it more difficult – and urgent – to tackle the ever-more-present calamity of climate change and the very serious challenges of poverty, disease, hunger and food, water and energy insecurity.”

Watch the opening of the conference.

The General Conference elected 11 countries to serve on the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors for the 2023–2024 period. The newly elected Board members are the following: Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Paraguay, Spain and Ukraine. 

The annual General Conference and Board of Governors are the two IAEA policy making bodies. The 35-member Board examines and provides recommendations to the General Conference on the IAEA’s financial statements, programme and budget.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The General Conference, held annually in Vienna, is an opportunity for IAEA Member States to jointly consider matters related to the IAEA’s ongoing work, budget and priorities. The resolutions and decisions adopted by the 67th General Conference will be posted here as they become available.

Over 2800 participants registered for the conference, and delegates from 150 of the 177 IAEA Member States attended throughout the week of 25–29 September.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

International cooperation among nuclear safety regulators to assist new countries in developing nuclear power programmes and meet the challenges of new advanced nuclear reactor designs was top of the agenda for participants at the 2023 Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) Plenary Meeting.  

“International cooperation is vital for strengthening nuclear safety worldwide, and one of the added values of the RCF is to enable the RCF members to exchange information among regulators in diversified directions — for example, advanced recipients to other recipients, providers to providers,” said Lydie Evrard, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Safety and Security in her opening remarks to the meeting.   

Evrard emphasized the IAEA’s commitment to further strengthen international cooperation, through varied modalities, such as development of documents; information sharing meetings; and peer review missions. She expressed appreciation for the providers and advanced embarking countries for their valuable support for the RCF. Introductory presentations from Michal Koc, National Atomic Energy Agency, Poland and Emmanuel Ampomah-Amoako, Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Ghana described how RCF support had helped facilitate bilateral assistance for the development of regulatory infrastructure in those countries.  These included the implementation of “Advanced Licensing Exercise Project (ALEP)” from the United States to Poland which assists its capacity building for regulatory review and assessment, and the initiation of the “European Instrument for International Nuclear Safety Cooperation (INSC)” from the European Commission to Ghana. This is intended to assist in areas such as the development of an integrated management system and human resource management in Ghana.  

Construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant is planned to begin in 2026, and the country plans to build six reactors in the country by 2040. Ghana is also planning to add nuclear power to its energy mix to enhance economic development and provide a stable and affordable supply of electricity to its people. 

Two consecutive panel discussions examined new strategic priorities for the RCF: the first discussed how to coordinate RCF activities with other networks for nuclear safety for enhanced effectiveness. The panel included presentations from the Technical and Scientific Support Organization Forum (TSOF), the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Regulators’ Forum, the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network (GNSSN) and the Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA).  

Advanced nuclear power reactor designs, including SMRs are expected to play a crucial role in meeting the twin goals of increasing access to electricity and powering economies while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. However, novel approaches to their design and deployment pose challenges to the existing regulatory framework. 

Ramzi Jammal, chair of this panel and RCF Chair, said that “the RCF is now trying to enhance its coordination functions through increased transparency of bilateral and international assistance to the recipient countries among RCF members. The coordination with other networks for nuclear safety can further strengthen and optimize international cooperation for achieving a high level of safety in the safe deployment of innovative technologies such as SMRs”.     

The second panel discussion, which included presentations from RCF members Finland, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates, examined lessons learned and members’ expectations from the RCF.  

Faizan Mansoor, Chair of this panel and RCF Vice-Chair, said, that “the added value of the RCF is confirmed with the introduction of members’ successful experiences, which can be the initiative for expanding the forum to non-RCF members.” 

In these panels, the meeting heard about the results of a comprehensive survey conducted to assess the programme. The Evaluation Report on the comprehensive survey found strong support for the RCF in its role of facilitating and coordinating support for regulatory infrastructure development, and suggested areas for enhancement, which were discussed during the panel.  

Anna Hajduk Bradford, Director of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety, commended the RCF on the comprehensive survey conducted to assess further improvement of its programme. “The IAEA will implement the proposed actions as RCF Secretariat, for example, transparency of the RCF to non-RCF members and more coordination and cooperation with other networks such as the SMR Regulators Forum”. 

The RCF was founded in 2010 as a member-driven forum of nuclear safety regulators. The Forum has long served as a platform for the sharing of regulatory knowledge and experience through international cooperation with the goal of achieving a high level of nuclear safety that is consistent with the IAEA safety standards. At this meeting, RCF members, who include both representatives from countries with advanced nuclear power programmes and countries that are planning to expand or introduce the use of nuclear power, discussed how to enhance the strategic value of the RCF for its members, and ensure that it continues to offer best value.  

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The challenges related to the development of a sustainable radiation and nuclear safety infrastructure aligned with the IAEA safety standards and international good practices were presented during the Tenth Plenary Meeting of the Global Nuclear Safety and Security Network (GNSSN). The event also spotlighted the winners of the Young Professionals Competition on Effective Nuclear and Radiation Regulatory Systems, presenting the innovative solution – the Nuclear Ferris Wheel Application.

During the presentation of Winners of the African Students’ Competition on the Benefits of Nuclear Sciences, student videos on the role of nuclear science and technology in addressing challenges in cancer, climate change and agriculture were featured. The competition aimed to strengthen students’ knowledge of the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology and to motivate young people to consider careers in the nuclear sector.

The 20th Anniversary of the International Expert Group on Nuclear Liability (INLEX) event highlighted the INLEX’s role in raising awareness and improving understanding of the nuclear liability instruments adopted under the IAEA’s auspices. As an expert advisory body to the Director General, INLEX provides authoritative advice and guidance on nuclear liability issues.

A year after its inception, the Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI) is finding common ground among regulators, designers, operators and other stakeholders to support the safe and secure deployment of these advanced reactors, including small modular reactors. The event on The IAEA NHSI for Effective Global Deployment of Safe and Secure Advanced Nuclear Reactors provided insights into the goals and progress achieved by the regulatory and industry tracks.

The IAEA’s International Conference on Nuclear Security (ICONS) has become a key event for the nuclear security community around the world. The event ICONS 2024: Shaping the Future of Nuclear Security featured a panel discussion as a prelude to the ICONS 2024 at the IAEA’s Headquarters, from 20–24 May 2024. ICONS 2024 will inform preparation of IAEA’s next Nuclear Security Plan, which will cover the period 2026–2029.

The Supporting the Development of the Africa Continental Power System Masterplan event presented the main outcomes and the endeavours of global organizations in the development of Africa’s energy blueprint. Since its launch in March 2021, this initiative has been supported by the IAEA and the International Renewable Energy Agency as modelling partners.