Category: Nuclear Energy

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been without back-up power for the past ten days, leaving the facility entirely dependent on its only remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) line for the external electricity it needs to cool its six reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The IAEA experts stationed at the site reported that the ZNPP expects the 330 kV back-up line to be reconnected soon – perhaps even later today – but the plant’s off-site power situation remains a source of deep concern, Director General Grossi said.

“Out of a total of 10 off-site power lines available before the conflict – four 750 kV and six 330 kV – only one remains operational today. Even if one back-up line becomes available again, it is far from sufficient,” Director General Grossi said.

“Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has suffered eight instances of a complete loss of off-site power in the past 18 months, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators. In the history of nuclear energy, this is an unprecedented situation and clearly not sustainable. I remain extremely concerned about nuclear safety and security at the plant,” he said.

The ZNPP informed the IAEA experts this week that all scheduled preventative maintenance activities on safety-related equipment are suspended until the 330 kV line is reconnected, except for routine testing of the safety systems, including the emergency diesel generators.

Further underlining the persistent dangers facing the plant, the IAEA team has continued to report about the sound of explosions and other indications of military activity in the area, which is on the frontline of the conflict.

Early on Wednesday morning, the experts heard an explosion some distance away from the plant followed by what appeared to be small arms fire close to or on the site. The ZNPP informed the IAEA team that Russian troops had taken measures to “protect the plant” against drones in the area, but that the ZNPP itself had not been attacked and there was no damage or casualties. No further details were immediately available of this incident. The IAEA experts requested access to the area but were told there was no damage to inspect, and that the area was outside the plant’s control.

Earlier this week, the plant informed the IAEA team that a drone attack had allegedly occurred in Enerhodar on Sunday evening, targeting a roof with telecommunications equipment, the latest in a series of reported drone strikes in the town, where many plant staff live. The following day, the IAEA experts went to Enerhodar to see the building where the attack purportedly took place. The team was able to observe the outside of the building. No signs of damage were visible at the time of the visit.  

Throughout the week, the experts conducted walkdowns across the ZNPP site, including the cooling pond facilities as well as the cooling towers and sprinkler ponds, which provide cooling water for the six reactors, five of which are in cold shutdown and one in hot shutdown. The sprinkler ponds are full and continue to receive cooling water from the 11 groundwater wells which were constructed after the destruction of the downstream Kakhovka dam in mid-2023.

The team also visited the isolation gate of the discharge channel of the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP), but they were not able to access the isolation gate of the large ZNPP cooling pond, a location IAEA experts last saw in November last year.

During the past week, the IAEA experts conducted a walkdown of the safety systems rooms of reactor unit 5, observing that routine testing of some safety system pumps was underway. The team also visited the two fresh fuel storage facilities on the site.

During the walkdowns conducted by the IAEA experts over the past week, they observed that anti-personnel mines were once again visible within the perimeter fences that are inaccessible to personnel, after they had appeared to be gone in early February.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA experts present at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) as well as at the Chornobyl site have reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the challenging war-time circumstances, including the frequent sound of air raid alarms at some of the facilities. The team at the Khmelnytskyy NPP were required to shelter twice on Wednesday.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have confirmed that the tritium concentration in the fourth batch of diluted ALPS treated water, which Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started discharging yesterday, 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 28 February. The IAEA’s independent on-site analysis confirmed that the tritium concentration is far below the operational limit of 1,500 becquerels per litre.

Japan is discharging the ALPS treated water from the FDNPS in batches. The previous three batches – a total of 23,400 cubic metres of water – were also confirmed by the IAEA to have contained tritium concentrations far below operational limits.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will visit Japan in March during which time he will review the status of the water discharge at the FDNPS, as part of his commitment to be there before, during and after the discharge that began in August last year.

The IAEA’s comprehensive report issued on July 4 last year 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 and data evaluation will be available on the IAEA website.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Powerful explosions shook windows at the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) this week, underlining the urgent need for maximum military restraint to reduce the danger of a nuclear accident as the conflict enters its third year, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

IAEA experts stationed at the ZNPP reported hearing explosions every day over the past week, including one late last Friday that appeared to occur close to the plant itself. There were also several explosions yesterday. One of them was unusually loud, indicating very close proximity to the site.

It was not possible to conclusively determine the origin or direction of the blasts, with the exception of yesterday’s large explosion, which according to the ZNPP was part of “field training” with no shelling of the plant nor any damage to it. There were no physical injuries or casualties, the plant added.

The ZNPP separately informed the IAEA team that a mine exploded outside the site perimeter earlier yesterday, without causing damage or injury.  

“I remain deeply concerned about the nuclear safety and security situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, located on the frontline of the war. The reports of our experts indicate possible combat action not far away from the site. Once again, I call on all parties to strictly observe the five concrete principles for the protection of the plant and avoid any attack or military activity that could threaten nuclear safety and security there,” Director General Grossi said.

In another indication of persistent nuclear safety and security risks facing the ZNPP, the site remains without back-up power, three days after the connection to its last 330 kilovolt (kV) line was cut due to a problem that occurred on the other side of the Dnipro river.

The ZNPP is still receiving the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other nuclear safety and security functions from its only remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) line, but it currently has no back-up options available for off-site power. The ZNPP said it had been informed by the Ukrainian grid operator that the 330 kV line was not expected to be reconnected to the site before 1 March.

“This situation leaves the plant very vulnerable to further disruptions in the supply of off-site power. It is essential that the back-up power line becomes available again as soon as possible,” Director General Grossi said.

Earlier this week, the IAEA team went to the site’s 750 kV electrical switchyard and observed that its status was unchanged since a previous visit last month. In addition to the single line that remains connected, the team saw spare parts for the repair of a second line, out of four 750 kV lines before the conflict. However, the site has no plans to start the repair work due to the conflict.

Yesterday, the IAEA team observed the periodic testing of one of the emergency diesel generators of reactor unit 4, the last line of defence to provide the electricity needed in case of a loss of all off-site power, which has happened eight times since the start of the armed conflict.

The experts also met with the ZNPP’s electrical department to discuss the maintenance plans for the year and also visited the electrical control room where they could observe the status of the on-site and off-site power systems. The IAEA experts were informed that all ageing cabling and equipment related to the safety systems, including switchboards and batteries, have been replaced.

The team performed a walkdown of all six main control rooms in the reactors on 19 February. The team was able to collect safety parameters in reactor units 2, 3 and 4 and had the opportunity to view the regulatory authorizations of personnel. The team was informed that many of the operating staff present were in the process of transitioning from their Ukrainian licenses to “authorizations” issued by Rosteckhnadzor, the nuclear regulator of the Russian Federation.

The IAEA teams stationed at Ukraine’s other nuclear power plants – Rivne, Khmelnytskyy and South Ukraine – rotated this week. The teams report that these three facilities as well as the Chornobyl site continue to perform their activities despite frequent air alarms, with no reports of nuclear safety and security issues at these sites. At the Chornobyl site, the team has recently observed increased military activity.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

In view of the continued volatile situation around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP),  IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi today reiterated his call for maximum restraint and strict observance of the five concrete principles established by him at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on 30 May 2023.

Director General Grossi particularly emphasized the need to protect, at all times, the physical integrity of the ZNPP and avoid any attack or military activity that could impact the safety and security of the facility.