Category: Nuclear Energy

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Nuclear Advocates Call for More Nuclear Energy

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Nuclear energy’s contribution to net zero is gaining momentum, and advocates are adding their voices to highlight the role nuclear technology can play in the battle against climate change. This year will see the first ever Nuclear Energy Summit, hosted jointly by the IAEA and Belgium, on 21 March 2024. Co-chaired by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, it will be the highest-level meeting to date exclusively focused on the topic of nuclear energy. 

Thanks to:

  • Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director General
  • Alexander De Croo, Belgian Prime Minister
  • Kaylee Cunningham, Nuclear Engineering PhD Student MIT Dr
  • Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency
  • Professor Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, WMO
  • Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French Energy Minister
  • Lucia Ortega, Isotope Hydrologist
  • Andreas Baumgartner, Radiation Technician
  • Isabelle Boemeke, Nuclear Energy Influencer ‘Isodope’ Ia Aanstoot, Climate Activist
  • Princy Mthombeni, Energy Activist
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New Radiotherapy Technique for Treating Head and Neck Cancer Could Reduce Treatment Times by Nearly Half

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

For head and neck cancer patients around the world, a new evidence-based, resource-efficient approach has the potential to increase access to radiotherapy. In 2010, the IAEA launched a  coordinated research project (CRP) – the HYPNO trial – to test an advanced treatment technique on a disease that disproportionately affects LMICs. Conventional treatments for head and neck cancers normally require patients to undergo seven weeks of radiotherapy. Previous clinical trials explored the viability of intensified treatment regimens that delivered either a higher overall dose over the same seven-week period (hyperfractionated radiotherapy) or the same total dose but over a shorter period of five to six weeks (normo-fractionated accelerated radiotherapy, as seen in the IAEA-ACC study). Both approaches were found to be safe and effective, with the latter notably using fewer radiotherapy-related resources.

Building on this body of evidence, the IAEA conducted applied research that examined a more intensified treatment regimen (hypofractionated radiotherapy): fewer but higher doses of radiation over the course of four weeks – nearly half the time that standard radiotherapy takes. Under this first-ever comparison, 729 patients received either normo-fractionated accelerated radiotherapy or hypofractionated radiotherapy. Patients in both groups showed similar outcomes and survival rates, demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of fewer but higher doses in a condensed time frame.

The trial’s practice-changing results were presented at the 65th annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) by its principal investigator, Søren M. Bentzen, Professor of Radiation Oncology and Director of the Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Held in San Diego, California from 1 to 4 October, ASTRO’s annual meeting drew over 11 000 healthcare professionals from around the globe who specialise in treating patients with radiation therapies.

 “There is a great opportunity and need to conduct randomized controlled trials in LMICs to define evidence-based best practices within these settings,” Bentzen said highlighting the HYPNO trial as a good example of such research. “The IAEA played a crucial role in facilitating the trial via the long term relationships they have built with clinicians in cancer centres all over the world,” he pointed out.

As a direct result of the HYPNO trial, radiation oncologists can now treat more head and neck patients while maintaining similar clinical outcomes. For providers and patients alike, hypofractionation offers a cost-effective and convenient tool to navigate resource constraints. 

“HYPNO fundamentally demonstrates both the impact of conducting funded research that corresponds to global cancer needs and the importance of multi-national trials to inform clinical decision making through powerful, real-world data on the impacts of treatments,” said May Abdel-Wahab, Director of the IAEA Division of Human Health. “Innovation in cancer care, which the IAEA supports through its coordinated research activities and its Rays of Hope Anchor Centres, will be key to ensuring that all patients, regardless of where they live, can receive the timely and high-quality care that they deserve,” Abdel-Wahab emphasised.

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Update 207 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost its immediate back-up power supply to the reactor units for several hours this week, in the latest incident underlining persistent nuclear safety and security risks at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

Thursday’s failure of two of the ZNPP’s back-up power electrical transformers showed the continuing vulnerability in the availability of external power, which the plant needs to cool its six reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions.

Even though the back-up 330 kilovolt (kV) line remained available and could have provided power to the ZNPP if the 750 kV line was lost, the failure reduced the redundancy of the already fragile power supply. These two power lines are the only ones that remain available for Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP), compared to four 750 kV lines and six 330 kV lines before the conflict.

The back-up power supply was restored eight hours later when two other back-up power electrical transformers were put into operation. The ZNPP is investigating the cause of the failure, informing the IAEA experts at the site that there was no sign of external transformer damage.

The incident came just a few weeks after the ZNPP – following discussions with the IAEA – carried out work on the back-up power electrical transformers so that the 330 kV line could immediately deliver electricity if the 750 kV line were to fail, as has happened repeatedly during the armed conflict.

“The plant’s vulnerable power status remains one of the main dangers for nuclear safety and security at the site. The situation remains extremely worrying in this respect. The site has already lost all off-site power eight times since August 2022, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators,” Director General Grossi said.

During the past week, the IAEA experts discussed the plant’s maintenance activities with the ZNPP and were shown its high-level 2024 maintenance plan for such work, which is vital for nuclear safety and security. The ZNPP informed the IAEA team that the priority is to perform maintenance on the site’s safety systems as well as important activities not conducted last year. The annual maintenance plan includes the safety systems, diesel generators, unit transformers and the 750 kV electrical switchyard.

The IAEA team did not receive a copy of the maintenance plan for a detailed review. However, based on discussions and information provided to the team, the IAEA concludes that the ZNPP will not be implementing a comprehensive maintenance plan during 2024.

“A well-established maintenance plan and its timely implementation are essential to ensure plant safety and security,” Director General Grossi said. “This maintenance needs to be performed to ensure nuclear safety, especially in the current situation where the six reactors have been shut down for an extended period. It is important that the IAEA has a thorough understanding of the maintenance plans to be able to fully assess nuclear safety at the ZNPP. We will continue to monitor the maintenance situation closely.”

The IAEA team has continued to conduct walkdowns at the site, including to all six main control rooms yesterday, where the experts were able to observe staffing levels but could not ask questions about their qualifications and experience.

After being granted access to the reactor hall of unit 6 earlier this week, the IAEA experts are still seeking access to the other reactor halls, as well as to parts of all six turbine halls that they have not yet been able to visit, as well as to some of the reactor rooftops. Such access is needed to monitor nuclear safety and security as well as adherence to the five concrete principles for the protection of the ZNPP, Director General Grossi said.

The IAEA team has continued to monitor the situation and gather information regarding boric acid deposits in some of the safety system rooms of unit 6, which were first observed on 22 December. During yesterday’s visit to its main control room, the team confirmed that the level of boric acid in the storage tank was above the minimum level in the technical specifications, despite the previously observed leak of boric acid.

Mines along the perimeter of the ZNPP, in a buffer zone between the facility’s internal and external fences, which were previously identified by the IAEA team and were removed in November 2023, are now back in place. This is a restricted area inaccessible to operational plant personnel. Director General Grossi reiterated that the presence of mines is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA teams at the Rivne, Khmelnitsky, and South Ukraine NPPs as well as the Chornobyl site continue to report that nuclear safety and security is maintained despite multiple air raid alarms heard over the past week. The IAEA experts at the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs have reported air-raids on a near-daily basis with the teams at the Khmelnitsky and Rivne NPPs required to take shelter on several occasions. 

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Photo Essay: 10 Years of ARTEMIS

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Nuclear technologies benefit people everywhere. Radioactive sources are used to sterilize food and medical instruments, to develop improved crops and to diagnose and treat patients. Thirty-two countries use nuclear power for energy production. Research reactors are used in science and for producing radioisotopes for medical use. These various uses of nuclear technologies generate waste like many other processes. To ensure that it poses no risk to people or the environment now and in the future all countries using nuclear technologies have the responsibility to manage radioactive waste safely and securely.  

For 10 years, the IAEA’s ARTEMIS peer review service has given countries expert advice on managing radioactive waste and spent fuel, decommissioning and remediation programmes.  

ARTEMIS reviews provide independent expert opinion and advice drawn from an international team of specialists convened by the IAEA. Reviews are based on the IAEA safety standards, technical guidance and international good practices. 

The scope of ARTEMIS reviews varies with an emphasis on technology, safety or both. 

This service supports facility operators and organizations responsible for decommissioning and radioactive waste management, as well as for regulators, national policy makers and others. 

Read more about ARTEMIS 

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Japan’s Reports on Conditions at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 18 January 2024

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

On 18 January 2024, Japan provided the IAEA with a copy of a report on the discharge record and the seawater monitoring results at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station during December, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent to all international Missions in Japan.

The report contains information on discharges from the subdrain and groundwater drain systems, as well as on groundwater bypassing conducted during the month of December. In both cases, in advance of the action, TEPCO analyzes the quality of the groundwater to be discharged and announces the results. These results confirm that the radiation level of sampled water are substantially below the operational targets set by TEPCO.

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10 Years of ARTEMIS

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Nuclear technologies benefit people everywhere. Radioactive sources are used to sterilize food and medical instruments, to develop improved crops and to diagnose and treat patients. Thirty-two countries use nuclear power for energy production. Research reactors are used in science and for producing radioisotopes for medical use. These various uses of nuclear technologies generate waste like many other processes. To ensure that it poses no risk to people or the environment now and in the future all countries using nuclear technologies have the responsibility to manage radioactive waste safely and securely.  

For 10 years, the IAEA’s ARTEMIS peer review service has given countries expert advice on managing radioactive waste and spent fuel, decommissioning and remediation programmes.  

ARTEMIS reviews provide independent expert opinion and advice drawn from an international team of specialists convened by the IAEA. Reviews are based on the IAEA safety standards, technical guidance and international good practices. 

The scope of ARTEMIS reviews varies with an emphasis on technology, safety or both. 

This service supports facility operators and organizations responsible for decommissioning and radioactive waste management, as well as for regulators, national policy makers and others. 

Read more about ARTEMIS 

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Davos 2024: Nuclear Technologies for Climate and Cancer Highlighted

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Later that evening, the Director General took part in a high-level reception with Microsoft founder and nuclear energy advocate Bill Gates and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on ‘Clean Tech Innovation on the Road to Net Zero’. 

Prime Minister De Croo highlighted Belgium’s ongoing commitment to achieving a clean energy transition and Bill Gates emphasized its ability to support other green energy technologies. 

“We really need to get going with nuclear mixing with renewables,” Mr Gates said. “Nuclear is complementary to a lot more renewables, maybe fifty to ninety per cent of renewables.” 

The Director General discussed how important global inclusivity and non-proliferation are to this ongoing effort and introduced the first ever Nuclear Energy Summit, which will be held in Brussels in March. 

“It’s incredible that after seventy years of the commercial operation of nuclear power there was never an opportunity for world leaders to get together like this on this topic. In Brussels we will discuss the possibilities, discuss the issue of finance, and talk about addressing this global challenge of climate change.” 

The Director General is also attending other meetings that discussed the opportunities offered by low-carbon nuclear power, including a dialogue between engineering experts and senior policy-makers, and a session on how the Middle East and North Africa can best decarbonise their energy sectors. 

As well as engaging on nuclear power, the IAEA Director General also assembled a key event on the importance of nuclear technologies in cancer care, and ways to increase access to these therapies in low- and middle-income countries. 

The ‘affiliate session’ on access to radiotherapy [watch recording of livestream on YouTube] was held by the IAEA on Wednesday in conjunction with the Union for International Cancer Control and The Lancet Oncology journal. 

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Update 206 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts were yesterday granted access to the reactor hall of unit 6 of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) after previously having not been given access, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

On Friday last week, the ZNPP had not given permission for the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to the ZNPP (ISAMZ) team to access the unit 6 reactor hall, proposing instead that the team enter the area in about a week’s time. However, access was granted yesterday. Director General Grossi welcomes this constructive step.

While in the reactor hall, the team observed main components of the reactor, confirming the cold shutdown state of the reactor. While the team was present in the reactor hall, the operators transferred the operation of the cooling pumps of the spent fuel pool from one safety train to another.

During a walkdown to the other areas of unit 6 yesterday, the team visited the turbine hall of unit 6 but were once again denied access to some areas of the hall. The IAEA ISAMZ teams have been unable to access all parts of the turbine hall of each unit since 18 October last year.

The team also visited the safety system rooms of unit 6 to again assess the status of the boric acid deposits previously found. During its visit, the team observed the presence of boric acid deposits in three rooms. The IAEA experts also visited the unit 6 emergency diesel generators.

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Djibouti Steps Up Plans for its First National Cancer Centre

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Plans are well underway to build a national cancer centre in Djibouti – the first of its kind in a country that currently has no access to radiotherapy, a life-saving treatment estimated to help in approximately 50 per cent of all cancer cases.  Djibouti’s Ministry of Health invited experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to  conduct a comprehensive cancer assessment imPACT Review in the country in October 2023.

“Introducing radiotherapy is a top priority for our government,” said Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, Minister of Health for Djibouti, “as it will reduce unnecessary deaths from cancer and enable our citizens to avoid having to travel abroad to receive the life-saving treatment they deserve.”

Out of Djibouti’s population of one million, it has been estimated that over 750 new patients were diagnosed with cancer and over 500 people died from the disease in the year 2020 alone (GLOBOCAN – IARC). These numbers are expected to increase by 70-80 per cent in the next twenty years due to delays in diagnosis and limited treatment options within the country. However, they are only estimates because the country does not currently have a population based cancer registry in place to provide reliable data – something experts from the mission pointed out as a priority action area. “A comprehensive health information system is essential for the government of Djibouti to be able to plan, monitor and evaluate the success of different cancer control strategies and take informed decisions,” confirmed Renee Van de Weerdt, Representative for the WHO Djibouti office.

Following data gathering and desk review, eight specialists from the IAEA, WHO and IARC travelled to Djibouti to assess the situation first hand. Experts were fielded from institutions based in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal and Sudan underscoring the importance of regional cooperation in addressing pressing health priorities.

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Ocean Acidification: How Nuclear Techniques Could Provide Solutions

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ocean acidification, a consequence of climate change caused by the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2), is threatening the environment. Because of its global scale, addressing ocean acidification comes with its own challenges. The IAEA’s Environment Laboratories in Monaco overcome these challenges by utilizing nuclear and isotopic techniques to better understand the environmental and economic impacts of ocean acidification. With the help of these nuclear techniques, scientists can research potential solutions to this global issue.