Category: Nuclear Control

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IAEA Report Highlights Two Years of Efforts to Prevent an Accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and IAEA staff crossed the frontline of the conflict in Ukraine to reach the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.  (IAEA)

The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a new report today on its efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security during the conflict in Ukraine, two years after Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi crossed the frontline to establish the IAEA’s presence at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) site and help prevent a nuclear accident.

The 28-page report highlights the challenges and achievements of the IAEA’s activities to protect Europe’s largest nuclear power plant since Director General Grossi launched the historic mission on 1 September 2022. During this time, the IAEA teams at the site have reported on incidents including shelling and drone strikes at the facility, which has also suffered repeated loss of off-site power events.

Underlining the IAEA’s “unwavering support for nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine”, today’s report also provides information about the IAEA’s continued presence at Ukraine’s other nuclear sites, as well as details on its comprehensive programme of assistance to the country.

The situation at the ZNPP remains precarious and very fragile, Director General Grossi said in the report’s foreword.

“Two years into the IAEA’s continued presence at the occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, our commitment to helping prevent a nuclear accident remains resolute,” he said. “Amid the significant challenges and risks to nuclear safety and security, we are steadfast in our mission to assess the situation and keep the international community informed.”

The report was issued as Director General Grossi travelled this week to the plant in southern Ukraine for the fifth time during the conflict. Since he last went to the ZNPP site in February, it has been hit by drone strikes, experienced loss of power lines and, last month, a fire caused significant damage to one of its two cooling towers.

Director General Grossi said “the objective and impartial assessments of the situation provided by our teams have made a significant contribution to maintaining nuclear safety, security and safeguards” at the ZNPP.

A few months after the establishment of the IAEA presence at the ZNPP, Director General Grossi set up similar missions at the four other nuclear facilities in Ukraine – the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine nuclear power plants, as well as the Chornobyl site.

The new report also summarizes developments, activities and assistance at these sites since the IAEA missions were set up there in early 2023.

“Our work at these facilities remains essential and I am immensely proud of the courageous work the teams continue to perform,” Director General Grossi said.

In total, the IAEA has conducted 139 Support and Assistance Missions to the nuclear sites in Ukraine. In addition, the IAEA’s comprehensive assistance to Ukraine has facilitated 61 deliveries of equipment to Ukraine, with a total value of over €10 million. The IAEA has also continued its vital safeguards verification activities across Ukraine, ensuring that there is no diversion of nuclear material for military purposes.

“As I conduct my fifth visit to the ZNPP, and my tenth to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, I want to reassure the international community that the IAEA, and I as Director General, will continue to do everything possible within our mandate to assist in averting a nuclear or radiological accident at any of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities,” Director General Grossi said.

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IAEA Steps Up Nuclear Safety Assistance to Ukraine, Director General Grossi Announces in Kyiv

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will further expand its assistance to Ukraine by taking a more proactive stance to protect the status of vital energy infrastructure to ensure it does not impact nuclear safety. This follows a number of missile attacks that have either directly caused the disconnection of several nuclear power reactors, or led to dangerous instability of the national grid, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today.

An IAEA expert team will soon travel to some of the damaged Ukrainian sub-stations – electrical switchyards forming the backbone of the grid – that have been identified as essential for nuclear safety. They will assess the situation at these sites and report back to headquarters for possible follow-up actions.

“The safety of operating nuclear power plants is dependent on a stable and reliable connection to the electricity grid. As a result of the war, the situation is becoming increasingly vulnerable and potentially even dangerous in this regard. I agreed with President Zelensky that the IAEA will widen its determined activities to help prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict and look closer at this important aspect of nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said.

“Our experts will apply the Agency’s nuclear industrial safety and critical infrastructure protection expertise to assess these sub-stations,” he added.

The IAEA already has specialist teams stationed at all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants (NPPs) to help maintain nuclear safety and security during the military conflict. The sub-stations essential for nuclear safety are located in different parts of the country, making the evaluation of these facilities also relevant.

Increased pressure on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the past six months have caused instability in the grid, posing serious problems for Ukraine’s NPPs. Access to reliable supplies of off-site power forms part of the Seven Indispensable Pillars for maintaining nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict outlined by Director General Grossi in March 2022.

On 26 August, widespread strikes targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused major fluctuations in the power supply and led to the temporary shutdown or disconnection of reactor units at the Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs, one of which has still not returned to full operation. The off-site power situation at the Khmelnytskyy NPP and Chornobyl site was also affected.

The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), located on the frontline of the conflict, has suffered eight complete loss of power events during the conflict, forcing it to temporarily rely on diesel generators. Just this week, the plant on Monday evening lost its connection to its sole remaining 330 kilovolt (kV) back-up power line, leaving it dependent on one single 750 kV line.

Director General Grossi will later this week travel to the ZNPP for the fifth time during the conflict, but he also underlined the nuclear safety and security risks at Ukraine’s other sites.

“The heightened vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is deeply concerning for nuclear safety at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, as we saw last week when several reactors stopped operating because of damage to the energy infrastructure elsewhere in the country,” Director General Grossi said.

“Ensuring that the sub-stations can operate normally for safety related purposes is also of paramount importance for energy security in Ukraine, as the country to a large extent relies on the nuclear power plants for much of its electricity generation,” he said.

In Kyiv, Director General Grossi also agreed with President Zelensky that the IAEA will provide technical support and nuclear safety advice for Ukraine’s plans to purchase equipment from the interrupted Bulgarian project in Belene for the Khmelnytskyy NPP. This will help Ukraine ensure that this ongoing project continues in accordance with safety standards.

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New IAEA Publication about Detecting Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material out of Regulatory Control

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

A new publication to support competent authorities that have a role in designing, implementing and sustaining nuclear security systems and measures.

A new IAEA publication titled Detection in a State’s Interior of Nuclear and Other Radioactive Material out of Regulatory Control offers law enforcement agencies and frontline officers detailed guidance to support them in combatting criminal acts involving nuclear or other radioactive material that has fallen out of regulatory control.   

“The new publication is added to a variety of tools offered to countries by the IAEA to help them fulfil their national responsibilities for nuclear security,” said Itimad Soufi, Head of the IAEA’s Nuclear Security of Materials Outside of Regulatory Control Section.  

The comprehensive guidance in the publication will assist countries in planning and implementing appropriate nuclear material detection operations to mitigate the current threats and risks they face within their territory. This includes in-depth information on integrating systems and measures to detect criminal or other unauthorized acts involving nuclear and other radioactive material into existing security measures.  

The publication also outlines operational steps and provides examples for conducting detection operations, both with and without the use of radiation detection equipment. In addition, a template for developing a joint detection operation plan, guidance on how to manage information alerts and details about radiation detection equipment are among the practical tools included in the publication.  

The publication will also serve as a reference manual for frontline organizations and officers to guide human resources development and the selection of detection equipment. This will benefit authorities responsible for managing nuclear security systems within a country, in particular law enforcement agencies, ministries, national security organizations, emergency services, national regulators and medical and health professionals.  

This publication is jointly sponsored by the IAEA together with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL), the International Criminal Police Organization-INTERPOL (ICPO-INTERPOL), the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

“The publication offers detailed guidance with a focus on better supporting different roles in nuclear security. It is part of the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Series, which provides international consensus guidance on all aspects of nuclear security to support countries as they work to fulfil their responsibility for nuclear security,” Soufi said.  

The new publication is available free of charge here. Further information on the IAEA’s Nuclear Security Series, including resources in six languages, can be found here. 

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Climate-Smart Agriculture Enables Asian Farmers to Increase Rice Productivity

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

A farmer in Viet Nam applies a second top-dressing fertilization. (Photo: Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences)

For example, farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab and Sind provinces were trained to employ climate-smart agriculture technologies based on this research to optimize productivity, such as the perfect mix of combining chemical and organic fertilizer for local soils and crops – known as the IAEA/FAO Integrated Option.  

This led to their basmati rice yield increasing by 188 per cent, while long-grain rice increased by 176 per cent in field trials conducted in six regions of Khyber Pakhunkhwa, Punjab and Sind provinces. By increasing rice production, farmers enhance food supply and security in their region while promoting sustainable farming practices that can be replicated by other countries. 

“The IAEA recommended the use of these innovative practices which increases farm productivity, providing me with extra income,” said Babul Hossain, a farmer in Bangladesh. “The practice has become popular and encouraging to other local farming communities.” 

The joint IAEA/FAO approach to climate-smart agriculture also reduced ammonia emissions by around 36 per cent in rice, according to Mohammad Jahangir, a professor at the Bangladesh Agricultural University who has been carrying out climate-smart agriculture trials in farmers’ fields across the country. “Under the climate-smart agriculture approaches, the soil became fertile and resilient against climate stress,” he added. Reducing ammonia emissions decreases air pollution, protects human health and helps prevent harm to the ecosystem. 

“The increase in productivity following the IAEA Integrated Option exemplifies how combining chemical and organic fertilizers can lead to higher yields and better soil health, paving the way for a future where food security and environmental sustainability co-exist harmoniously” said Javed Shah, a scientist at Nuclear Institute of Agriculture (NIA), Tandojam, Pakistan. 

“Nuclear science and technology play a key role in developing climate-smart agriculture. The result of the climate smart rice production towards sustainability and regional food security through nuclear and modern technology demonstrates the potential of climate-smart agriculture practices in increasing rice productivity and promoting sustainable farming, which can be replicated worldwide,” said Mohammad Zaman,  Head of the Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Section at the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. 

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Update 247 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will next week travel to Ukraine to hold high-level talks and assess developments at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), where nuclear safety and security remains precarious.

It will be the fifth time that the Director General crosses the frontline to access the ZNPP after he established a permanent IAEA presence at the site two years ago, on 1 September 2022, to monitor nuclear safety and security. It is the tenth time he is in Ukraine since the conflict began in February 2022.

“The IAEA acts promptly and decisively whenever and wherever there are threats to nuclear safety and security. Our pro-active presence is of paramount importance to help stabilize the situation.  My message has been loud and clear throughout this tragic war: a nuclear accident must be avoided at all costs, and a nuclear power plant must never be attacked. The consequences could be disastrous, and no one stands to benefit from it. I remain determined to do everything in my power to protect nuclear safety and security as long as the fighting continues,” he said.

At the ZNPP, the IAEA team stationed at the site has continued to hear explosions and other indications of military activities, at times near the plant itself. Due to reported drone threats in the area, the team was told to shelter indoors on 20 August and had to reschedule their planned walkdown on 26 August.

Since the Director General last went to the ZNPP site in February, it has been hit by drone strikes, experienced loss of power lines and, earlier this month, a fire caused significant damage to one of its two cooling towers.

“Two years after I launched our mission at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, it is needed more than ever. As these recent deeply concerning incidents make all too clear, the nuclear safety and security situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant remains extremely challenging. Our teams there and elsewhere in Ukraine are carrying out indispensable work on behalf of the wider international community in very difficult circumstances,” he said.

Over the past week, the IAEA team at the ZNPP has continued to conduct regular walkdowns across the site as part of their on-going nuclear safety and security assessment.

Among other activities, they went to the turbine halls of reactor units 5 and 6 but were again not allowed to access the western parts of the buildings, as was also the case when they visited the turbine halls of units 3 and 4 in mid-August, and unit 2 earlier in the month.

The IAEA team is also continuing to closely monitor the cooling water situation at the site. Following the destruction of the downstream Kakhovka dam last year, the ZNPP dug 11 new wells in order to obtain the water needed for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety functions.

As the ZNPP’s six reactors are all in cold shutdown, the water that these wells provide is sufficient for the site’s current needs, even though one of them was temporarily out of operation earlier this month.

The team has also been informed that the ZNPP is finalizing the implementation of a revised emergency response plan and is scheduling two exercises in the coming months, which the IAEA staff will request to observe.

Widespread attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, leading to instability in the national grid, is presenting a persistent nuclear safety risk at Ukraine’s other nuclear power plants (NPPs). Such attacks earlier this week led to the temporary shutdown or disconnection of some reactor units at the Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs. The off-site power situation at the Khmelnytskyy NPP and Chornobyl site was also affected. Although no complete loss of off-site power event was experienced at any of these sites, the safety of operating NPPs is heavily dependent on a stable and reliable connection to the electricity grid.

“While none of the plants lost all their access to the national electricity grid – which has happened repeatedly at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant over the past two years – I’m increasingly concerned about the growing vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and the potential impact this is having on the safety of all Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants,” Director General Grossi said.

The team at the Chornobyl site rotated late last week.

The IAEA has continued to deliver technical support and assistance to Ukraine to help with maintaining nuclear safety and security during the armed conflict. In the past few weeks, the Agency arranged three new deliveries. The Chornobyl site received mattresses that are intended to improve the living conditions for its staff. The Khmelnytskyy NPP received one spectrometer intended to improve its analytical capabilities, as well as an individual monitoring system with related accessories to enhance its capabilities for monitoring occupational exposures. The deliveries were supported with funding from the European Union, Japan and Norway.

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Understanding Human Calorie Needs: IAEA Supports FAO and WHO

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

These children in Mauritius are taking part in nutrition research using nuclear science. (Photo: J. Weilguny/IAEA)

Energy requirements reflect what an individual needs to maintain all bodily functions, including growth and development, depending on life stage as well as activity for long-term health, and are essential for evaluating how well food supplies can meet the nutritional demands of a population. These requirements vary in relation to a person’s age, gender, physiological status (e.g., pregnancy), level of physical activity, basal metabolic rate (BMR) (the amount of energy needed for basic life functions such as breathing and keeping the body temperature) and environment, to name a few factors. For certain groups, they encompass additional energy costs such as optimal growth in the case of children; tissue development in pregnant women; and milk production in lactating mothers. Estimating accurate energy requirements can consequently entail complex calculations and challenges – especially when attempting to do so for specific sub-populations around the globe. 

As early as the 1950s, the FAO and WHO collaborated with global nutrition specialists to assess energy requirements and, in turn, derive these estimates. Their most recent exercise in October 2001 notably developed key recommendations for specific groups.  It also maintained the use of international calculations first developed in 1985 (Schofield’s equations) to estimate BMR based on a person’s gender, age, weight and physical activity level. However, in the decades that have since elapsed, the field has seen a growing body of scientific evidence which challenges the adequacy and accuracy of some aspects of those equations for universal use.  

Discussing FAO’s seminal 2004 report on the topic, the meeting’s 15 nutrition and energy metabolism experts noted a number of developments affecting BMR: the dramatic increase in global obesity; documented variations in metabolically active tissues across different populations; and trends — specifically declines — in the amount of energy needed for essential bodily functions. They also identified several key data gaps, especially those concerning energy requirements of underrepresented populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); people over 90; and pregnant and lactating women. Experts formulated a roadmap which outlined next steps to update estimates of energy requirement while suggesting areas for future research. 

“A correct estimate of energy needs at different ages is needed to plan for actions to prevent and manage different forms of malnutrition. The update may help us reconsider the design of population programmes in LMICs,” said Francesco Branca, Director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety. 

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Mozambique is Prioritizing Cancers Affecting Women and Children

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The imPACT Review Team assessed capacities and needs for cancer early detection at Primary Health Care Centre Primeiro Maio in Maputo, Mozambique.

The sub-Saharan African country of Mozambique is currently experiencing a high burden of infectious disease coupled with a growing burden of non-communicable diseases including cancer. To address this challenge, the IAEA, the World Health Organization (WHO), MD Anderson Cancer Center and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) sent a team of experts to the country in May to carry out a comprehensive imPACT Review of the country’s existing National Cancer Control Programme, at the request of Mozambique’s government. Cancers affecting women and children were high on the agenda of the review.

“The rising numbers of cancer cases in Mozambique is of great concern and the Government is taking action to expand access to diagnosis and treatment, as well as further integration of cancer services within the primary health system,” said Armindo Tiago, Mozambique’s Minister of Health.

According to IARC’s GLOBOCAN  estimates, more than 26 000 cancer cases are diagnosed annually in Mozambique, with cervical cancer accounting for a third of all cancers among women. The number of Mozambicans with cancer is expected to more than double from current levels by 2045.

The Government of Mozambique set up a ten-year National Cancer Control Programme in 2019 following a previous imPACT review in 2014. It is also in the process of developing a cancer investment plan with support from WHO.

Severin von Xylander from Mozambique’s WHO Country Office said: “We are working closely with the National Cancer Control Programme in Mozambique to prioritize the prevention and early detection of cancers affecting women and children in line with the respective global cancer control initiatives.”

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IAEA Director General Statement on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Given the serious situation, I am personally leading the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in the Russian Federation.

The safety and security of all nuclear power plants is of central and fundamental concern to the IAEA.

Since new developments and increased levels of military activity in the vicinity of the KNPP, I have been closely following developments on the ground, especially with respect to the plant. It is important that when the Agency is called upon to fulfil its mandate to ensure that nuclear is used in a peaceful manner, we are present.  

It is also important that when the international community needs an independent assessment of the safety and security of a nuclear facility, we will be there. The only way in which the IAEA can validate the information is when we have an opportunity to independently assess what is happening.

I reiterate that the safety and security of nuclear facilities must, under no circumstances, be endangered. This is an evolving situation, and it is vital when I arrive at the plant tomorrow that I see first-hand the situation and discuss modalities for further activities as may be needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the KNPP.

It is imperative that the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety during an armed conflict and the five concrete principles – established to protect the Zaporizhzhya NPP but applicable to any nuclear power plant – be respected.

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Update 246 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost connection to its only remaining off-site back-up power line yesterday, leaving it once again precariously reliant on a single power source, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) was informed by the ZNPP that the plant’s 330 kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna 1 back-up power line was disconnected yesterday due to a short-circuit at approximately 16:00. The ZNPP confirmed that the Ukraine dispatcher had put the line under maintenance and that it was re-connected at 15:30 today.

The ISAMZ team was informed by the ZNPP that the cause of the short-circuit or the possible damage to the line is unknown. The team has confirmed that the line has been restored.

The latest outage follows reports of military activity in the region and beyond. The IAEA team have reported hearing explosions near the ZNPP over the past 24 hours.

“This all too often occurrence whereby Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is once again forced to rely on only one external source of electricity to maintain its essential nuclear safety and security functions underlines the vulnerability of this major facility,” Director General Grossi said. “This is not sustainable and it is essential that strengthened efforts be taken now to uphold the five concrete principles for protecting the facility.”

During the outage, the ZNPP was connected to its only remaining 750 kV Dniprovska line. Before the conflict, the ZNPP had four 750 kV and six 330 kV power lines available.

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IAEA Informed of Drone at Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, Director General Grossi to Assess Site

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed by the Russian Federation today that the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

The drone fragments were reported to have been located roughly 100 metres from the plant’s spent fuel nuclear storage facility.  The IAEA was informed that the drone was suppressed in the early morning of 22 August.

In this context, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed his intention to personally assess the situation at the site during his visit next week.

During his visit, Director General Grossi will assess the situation on site and discuss modalities for further activities as may be needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

“Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security. My visit to KNPP next week will provide us with timely access to independently assess the situation,” Director General Grossi said.