Category: Nuclear Energy

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The discharge of treated water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) is progressing in accordance with the Implementation Plan approved by Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), the Task Force set up by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed.

The Task Force completed its second four-day mission to Japan since the start of the water releases in August 2023, to assess whether the approach taken by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the Government of Japan to discharge ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) treated water is consistent with international safety standards. The standards constitute the worldwide reference for protecting the public and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

Japan began discharging the treated water on 24 August 2023, and IAEA expert analysis of the five batches released since then have confirmed the tritium concentration in each batch of ALPS treated water released to date is far below Japan’s operational limit.

During the mission from 23 to 26 April, the Task Force – comprised of IAEA and international experts – visited facilities used for discharging the ALPS treated water at the FDNPS. Accompanied by TEPCO staff, the Task Force observed the tanks holding the water prepared for discharge, the transfer pumps building driving the water through the discharge system, the emergency isolation valves, the seawater pipe header diluting the water with seawater and the vertical shaft from where the diluted treated water travels to the sea. The Task Force also examined the radiation monitors and flow rate detectors feeding live data to the IAEA’s dedicated real time monitoring page.

The Task Force engaged in technical discussions with TEPCO – operator of the site – with reference to available source and environmental monitoring data and operational experience gathered during the first five discharges that occurred from August 2023 to April this year. TEPCO began the release of the fifth batch of diluted ALPS treated water on 19 April. The Task Force also met with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Nuclear Regulation Authority.

In the IAEA Comprehensive Report on the Safety Review of the ALPS-Treated Water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station that was released prior to the discharge, the Task Force provided several topics that it would review during the discharge of ALPS treated water. 

Gustavo Caruso, Chair of the Task Force, said, “The Task Force reviewed the consistency of activities before and during the operation of the ALPS treated water discharges with the relevant international safety standards. The independent and science-based work of the IAEA and the Task Force will continue throughout the process, as we are focused on the ongoing and long-term activities.”

The main outcomes from the Task Force’s mission this week will be summarized in a report to be made publicly available later this year. The report on the First Review Mission to Japan after the Start of ALPS Treated Water Discharge (October 2023) is available online.

The IAEA Task Force has conducted seven ALPS-related missions to Japan since February 2022.

IAEA’s independent safety review

The IAEA’s independent, Comprehensive Report issued on 4 July 2023 found Japan’s approach to discharging the treated water is consistent with international safety standards and the results of the radiological environmental impact assessment performed by TEPCO show that the release as planned would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment. It was a culmination of two years of work by the IAEA Task Force, which includes external experts from 11 countries – Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi established an IAEA office at the FDNPS in July 2023 and signed an agreement with Japan in September 2023 that outlines the IAEA’s comprehensive and continuous safety review at the site and at sea. Conducting Task Force review missions is one way in which the IAEA will continue its multiyear safety review. “The IAEA said, and I said, that we would be monitoring the controlled discharge of the treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant before, during and after the operation. The IAEA is here, and we will continue to be here until the very last drop,” Mr Grossi said during his visit to Japan in March.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have continued to hear military activity in the region where Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is located, but there have been no reports of new drone attacks on the site over the past week, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

Earlier this month, a series of drone strikes targeting the ZNPP sharply heightened concerns about the already precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the plant, prompting Director General Grossi to call for an immediate end to these “reckless attacks” and maximum military restraint in an address to the United Nations Security Council on 15 April.

Three days later, on 18 April, the ZNPP told the IAEA team of experts stationed at the site that there had been another attempted drone attack on the plant’s training centre.

“We are not aware of any drone attacks since this reported incident one week ago, which is encouraging. However, we know from experience that the situation can take a sudden turn for the worse from one minute to the next. The situation remains highly unpredictable,” Director General Grossi said.

On Monday, the IAEA experts visited the training centre just outside the ZNPP site perimeter for the first time since the reported drone attacks on the building on 7, 9 and 18 April. They were not able to see its roof but were told by a representative of the training centre that it had not been damaged on this occasion. However, it had been a stressful and frightening experience for staff, the representative added.

The IAEA team did note that the training centre building was being repaired following damage it sustained in 2022, when the plant was hit several times.

The team has continued to hear outgoing artillery fire daily from locations at various distances from the ZNPP site. Last Friday, an air raid alarm was announced on the on-site speaker system instructing personnel to stay indoors, lasting for 90 minutes.

The IAEA experts have continued to conduct walkdowns across the site, where all units remain in cold shutdown. These included a visit to the reactor building and safety systems rooms of unit 3, where they observed the status of the main coolant pumps, steam generators as well as the operation of one low-pressure core cooling pump and one spent fuel pool cooling pump. They also went to the same unit’s pumping station, noting that the equipment appeared to be well-maintained.

Last Friday, they went to the turbine building of reactor unit 5 where they were able to visit areas on three levels of the building but were not allowed access to the western parts of the building.

The ZNPP separately informed the IAEA team that it is preparing to upgrade the fire protection system at the plant.

In addition, the IAEA experts this week also checked the status of the spent fuel casks in the site’s dry spent fuel storage and did not observe anything unusual, including with regards to the integrity of the seals on the casks. The experts were informed that the ZNPP conducts monthly visual inspections on the external integrity of the casks, annual integrity assessments with instrumentation to check for cracks and erosion and internal integrity checks every four years using cameras and other instrumentation.  

During recent discussions with the ZNPP regarding emergency preparedness and response, the IAEA experts were informed that an emergency drill is being prepared in the near future based on a scenario related to the cooling systems at the site, which are important for nuclear safety. The IAEA experts have informed the ZNPP about the team’s interest to observe this drill, and are awaiting notification from the plant on the date.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA teams present at the Khelmnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including air raid alarms on several days over the past week.

Scheduled maintenance and refuelling activities are progressing at two of the four reactor units at the Rivne NPP and one unit of the South Ukraine NPP. The IAEA experts at these two sites also rotated this week.

The Agency has continued to deliver equipment for maintaining nuclear safety and security in Ukraine. Last week, Ukraine’s VostokGOK facility received equipment aimed at enhancing its physical protection and yesterday, the South Ukraine NPP received a beta spectrometer, bringing the total number of deliveries to Ukraine to 44. The equipment was procured with funding from Japan and the United Kingdom.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Poland is making progress towards adding nuclear power to its energy mix, including in developing the necessary infrastructure for a safe and sustainable nuclear power programme, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review mission.

An IAEA team of experts today concluded an 11-day mission to Poland to review its infrastructure development for the Polish Nuclear Power Programme (PNPP). The PNPP was approved in January 2014 by the Polish Council of Ministers. The establishment of nuclear power is an objective of the Energy Policy of Poland until 2040, which sets the framework for the country’s energy transition to strengthen energy security and to reduce reliance on coal power plants to meet climate goals. In 2022, the Polish Government announced that the country’s first nuclear power plant will be comprised of three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, and it expects the first unit to be commissioned in 2033.

The Phase 2 Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) was carried out from 15 to 25 April, at the invitation of the Government of Poland, and hosted by the Ministry of Climate and Environment. The team reviewed the status of 19 nuclear infrastructure issues using the IAEA evaluation methodology for Phase 2 of the Milestones Approach, which evaluates the readiness of a country to make a knowledgeable commitment to a nuclear power programme.

Prior to the Phase 2 INIR mission, Poland prepared a self-evaluation report covering all 19 nuclear power infrastructure issues and submitted the report and supporting documents to the IAEA. The team comprised of three experts from Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as seven IAEA staff.

The team identified good practices that would benefit other countries developing nuclear power in the areas of contracting approach, strategic approach to funding, early authorization of technical support organizations to support the nuclear regulator, engagement with the electrical grid operator, stakeholder involvement and industrial involvement.

“The Polish nuclear power programme was initiated with clear objectives and is progressing towards the construction stage in a structured way,” said mission team leader Mehmet Ceyhan, Technical Lead of the IAEA Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section. “We observed strong and dedicated teams in each of the key organizations that will help to achieve the government’s objectives for the PNPP.”

The team also made recommendations and suggestions aimed at assisting Poland in making further progress in the development of its nuclear infrastructure and its readiness to build the first nuclear power plant in the country. The team highlighted areas where further actions would benefit Poland, including the need to further review its legal and regulatory framework, and finalize the preparatory work required for the contracting and construction stages.

“Poland’s cooperation with the IAEA is a long-term collaboration, and the review mission is extremely valuable and beneficial for the implementation and execution of the Polish Nuclear Power Programme. We would like to thank the Agency’s experts for their commitment, professionalism and valuable opinions provided during the Phase 2 INIR mission. The conclusions we drew after talks with the Agency’s experts will allow us to improve the implementation of the Polish Nuclear Power Programme,” said Miłosz Motyka, Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of Climate and Environment of Poland.

Based on the outcomes of the INIR mission, the IAEA and Poland will update their Integrated Workplan to continue providing coordinated support in line with the future development of the country’s nuclear power programme.

In September 2023, Poland also hosted an IAEA Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission, which found that Poland’s nuclear regulatory framework is in line with IAEA safety standards and that its regulatory body is competent and prepared for the launch of the country’s nuclear power programme.

About INIR Missions

INIR missions are based on the IAEA Milestones Approach, with its 19 infrastructure issues, three phases (consider, prepare and construct) and three milestones (decide, contract and commission/operate). INIR missions enable IAEA Member State representatives to have in-depth discussions with international experts about experiences and best practices in different countries.

In developing its recommendations, the INIR team considers the comments made by the relevant national organizations. Implementation of any of the team’s recommendations and suggestions is at the discretion of the Member State requesting the mission. The results of the INIR mission are expected to help the Member State develop an action plan to fill any gaps, which in turn will help the development of the national nuclear infrastructure. INIR follow-up missions assess the implementation of the recommendations and suggestions provided during the main mission.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts today completed a review of long term operational safety of Unit 3 at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Japan.

The SALTO (Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation) review mission  from 16 to 25 April was requested by the plant’s operator, Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO).

Unit 3 started its commercial operation on 1 December 1976. It underwent an outage of approximately ten years after the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station accident in March 2011. In 2015, KEPCO applied to extend the operational period of Mihama NPP Unit 3 from 40 to 60 years until November 2036. In 2016, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) approved the extension. In 2021, Unit 3 of Mihama NPP was restarted and commenced its long term operation.

The SALTO team assessed the strategy and key elements for safe long term operation (LTO) of nuclear power plants based on the IAEA safety standards. During the ten-day mission, the team reviewed the plant’s preparedness, organization, and programmes for safe LTO. The mission was conducted by an 11-person team comprising experts from the Czech Republic, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America as well as three observers from Finland and the Republic of Korea, and two IAEA staff members. The team had in depth discussions with staff from the Mihama NPP and conducted plant walkdowns during the review.

“The team observed that KEPCO is implementing measures for safe LTO in a timely manner and the staff at the plant are professional, open and receptive to proposals for improvement,” said team leader and IAEA Nuclear Safety Officer Martin Marchena. “Some ageing management and LTO activities already meet IAEA safety standards. We encourage the plant to address the review findings and implement all remaining activities for safe LTO as planned.”

The team identified good performances, including:

• The plant has developed and effectively implemented a comprehensive methodology for identification and management of design obsolescence. The use of this methodology constitutes a powerful tool to proactively address obsolescence issues and identify safety improvements.
• The plant has participated in benchmarking efforts related to ageing management of the steel containment and containment pressure testing and uses these benchmarking efforts to enhance the ageing management activities of the civil structures.
• The plant has put in place an effective mentoring programme using retired staff as mentors for new and current staff to develop their competencies and skills.

The team also provided recommendations and suggestions to further improve safe LTO; the most significant are the following:

• The plant should further develop and implement the LTO programme.
• The plant should fully develop and complete the Ageing Management Review process for mechanical, electrical, and Instrumentation and Control (I&C) components and civil structures.
• The plant should improve the programmes designed to confirm the resistance of components to harsh conditions, a so-called equipment qualification programme.

The plant management expressed a determination to address the areas identified for improvement and to continue its cooperation with the IAEA.

“KEPCO is wholly committed to improving upon the topics recommended and suggested through the SALTO review,” says Kazutaka Tsuru, the General Manager of Mihama Power Station. “As a pioneer in Japan’s nuclear power generation sector, we also intend to roll out the improvements to domestic nuclear power stations and contribute to maintaining and developing the country’s nuclear power generation. Harnessing the knowledge obtained from the review, we hope to make efforts to achieve higher standards with the support of IAEA members. I would like to express my appreciation again for the dedicated support the IAEA team provided for the review.”

The team provided a draft report to the plant management and to the NRA at the end of the mission. The plant management and the NRA will have an opportunity to make factual comments on the draft. A final report will be submitted to the plant management, National Regulatory Authority (NRA) and the Japanese Government after comments are addressed.

Background

SALTO peer reviews are comprehensive safety reviews addressing strategy and key elements for the safe long term operation of nuclear power plants. They complement OSART missions, which are designed as a review of programmes and activities essential to operational safety. Neither SALTO nor OSART reviews are regulatory inspections, nor are they design reviews or substitutes for an exhaustive assessment of a plant’s overall safety status.

LTO of nuclear power plants is defined as operation beyond an established time frame determined by the license term, the original plant design, relevant standards, or national regulations. As stated in IAEA safety standards, to maintain a plant’s fitness for service, consideration should be given to life limiting processes and features of systems, structures, and components (SSC), as well as to reasonably practicable safety upgrades to enhance the safety of the plant to a level approaching that of modern plants.

More information on SALTO missions can be found here.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have confirmed that the tritium concentration in the fifth batch of diluted ALPS treated water, which Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started discharging today, is far below the country’s operational limit.

Experts stationed at the IAEA’s office at the site of the Fukushima nuclear power station (FDNPS) took samples after the treated water was diluted with seawater in the discharge facilities on 19 April. The IAEA’s independent on-site analysis confirmed that the tritium concentration is far below the operational limit of 1500 becquerels per litre.

The corroboration of data will be also conducted in the fifth batch using interlaboratory comparisons involving both IAEA laboratories as well as independent third-party laboratories from China, Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United States of America – all of which are members of the network of Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA).

Japan is discharging the ALPS treated water from the FDNPS in batches. The previous four batches – a total of 31,145 cubic metres of water – were also confirmed by the IAEA to have contained tritium concentrations far below operational limits.

The IAEA Task Force conducting the safety review of Japan’s release of the ALPS treated water will reconvene on 23 April and conduct its second mission to Japan since the start of the water discharges. It is the next in a series of missions that began in 2021 and will continue throughout the IAEA’s safety review of the discharges. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi visited Japan in March, as part of his ongoing commitment to monitor the discharge of treated water that began in August last year.

The IAEA’s comprehensive report issued on 4 July 2023 found Japan’s plan for handling the treated water to be consistent with international safety standards and that the release as planned would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.

All reports on sampling, independent analysis, data evaluation, as well as timeline, will be available on the IAEA website.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts said the operator of a Dutch research reactor used for research and radioisotope production has enhanced safety since a previous review mission in September 2021. The team also found the need to address recommendations related to operational radiation protection and commissioning, following major modifications to the research reactor.

The Integrated Safety Assessment for Research Reactors (INSARR) team concluded a follow-up mission to the Hoger Onderwijs Reactor (HOR) in the Netherlands on 18 April to review the level of implementation of the previous recommendations. The four-day mission was conducted at the request of the Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ANVS), the Dutch regulatory body, and was hosted by the operating organization TU Delft Reactor Institute (RID) at the Delft University of Technology. Earlier this month, the 3-megawatt research reactor ended a six-month shutdown for the installation of a cold neutron source, which uses very low energy neutrons to study materials with large dimensions. It has since resumed operation to complete the commissioning of the cold neutron source.

The mission team comprised of two experts from Argentina and India, as well as one IAEA official. They visited the reactor and its associated facilities and observed resumed operations, reviewed documents and held technical discussions with the reactor’s management and operating personnel.

“RID has addressed most of the review recommendations made in 2021 and achieved significant safety enhancement,” said Kaichao Sun, mission team leader and Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA. “Efforts remain needed to ensure the highest level of safety during the ongoing commissioning tests, following the recent major modifications at HOR.”

The team assessed that RID has strengthened the organizational effectiveness and operational programmes through:

• Completion of an analysis for RID organizational restructuring options and clarification of roles and responsibilities;
• Revision of operational limits and conditions, with clear distinctions between safety limits and safety system settings;
• Development of an asset management database for the HOR operating programmes and technical modifications; and
• Improvement of emergency preparedness by conducting drills.

The findings from the mission indicate the need for continued safety enhancements in areas that are related to:

• Reassessment and development of a specific set of operational limits and conditions associated with the commissioning stages of testing the new installation of the cold neutron source; and
• Revision of the area classification and zoning systems for radiological protection, considering the laboratories located within the reactor site.

“This INSARR follow-up mission effectively improved the safety awareness. In particular, the extensive and detailed discussions on the safety assessment gave us new insights on this topic,” said Camiel Kaaijk, Head of Reactor Development Department.

The mission team made a new recommendation on the training programme for the HOR reactor manager.

About HOR

The HOR is mainly utilized for neutron physics, medical radioisotope production, neutron activation analysis, materials irradiation, and education and training. The reactor began operating in 1963 and since then has gone through several modifications, including low enriched uranium conversion in 2005 and refurbishment of nuclear instrumentation and control systems in 2010. In December 2021, the HOR resumed operation after a more than two-year shutdown for the modification programme of its systems and components, including cooling circuits and the containment dome. In October 2023, the HOR was shutdown again to finalize the installation of the cold neutron source and entered the commissioning stages in April 2024.

In 2021, the IAEA and RID expanded their cooperation in neutron activation analysis to neutron beam-based methodologies – a key technique in materials research, biology and medicine. RID was first designated as an IAEA Collaborating Centre in 2010 and has since then supported the IAEA’s activities in neutron activation analysis.

About INSARR Missions

INSARR missions are an IAEA peer review service, conducted at the request of a Member State, to assess and evaluate the safety of research reactors based on IAEA safety standards. Follow-up missions are standard components of the INSARR programme and are typically conducted within two years of the initial mission. More information about INSARR missions can be found on the IAEA website.

The IAEA Safety Standards provide a robust framework of fundamental principles, requirements and guidance to ensure safety. They reflect an international consensus and serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.