Category: Nuclear Weapons

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has delivered a new ambulance and other medical equipment to help Ukraine provide adequate health care for the personnel operating its nuclear power plants (NPPs) in challenging conditions during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

The ambulance was handed over to the Emergency Technical Center of the national nuclear energy company Energoatom last Friday, during a 12-day IAEA mission to review the medical capacities of Ukraine’s three operating NPPs, the Chornobyl site as well as nearby hospitals and health facilities that provide critical medical support and care to plant staff.

“Nuclear safety and security require a well-functioning workforce that has timely access to medical services, including mental health support. The personnel of these facilities have been working in extremely difficult circumstances for more than three years now, enabling the continued safe production of much-needed electricity. Their physical and psychological well-being is of paramount importance for nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said.

In addition to the new ambulance – the third such vehicle provided by the IAEA to Ukraine – an ultrasound system was delivered to a specialised health care facility in the city of Netishyn, located close to the Khmelnytskyy NPP.

During the recent mission to Ukraine, IAEA medical and procurement experts discussed the impact of assistance delivered so far under its Medical Assistance Programme for Operating Personnel at NPPs in Ukraine as well as future needs with medical personnel and psychologists, both at the NPPs’ own health care units and nearby hospitals. The IAEA team also visited the National Research Centre for Radiation Medicine (NRCRM).

“It was a very important mission to obtain a better understanding of the many challenges and difficulties these medical professionals face daily in carrying out their extremely important work. Based on the team’s findings, we will be able to direct our medical support to where it is most needed,” Director General Grossi said.

Over the past week, the IAEA has also continued to provide other technical support and assistance to Ukraine to help maintain nuclear safety and security, with 120 deliveries since the start of the armed conflict valued at a total of 16 million euros.

Last week, the Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital received ultrasound and radiographic equipment. It was part of an IAEA initiative to support – through the delivery of equipment using nuclear or isotopic-based techniques – the areas severely affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in 2023.  More deliveries are planned in the coming months.

Separately, State Enterprise USIE Izotop – involved in the management of radioactive material intended for medical, industrial and other purposes – received vehicles to support their daily field activities in nuclear and radiation safety and security.

The recent deliveries of equipment were supported by Canada, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Malta.

Despite such assistance, the general nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine remains precarious, based on the assessments of the IAEA teams continuously deployed at all the NPP sites.

At the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the IAEA team reported hearing military activities at varying distances away from the site. The team continued to monitor nuclear safety and security, conducting a walkdown of the reactor buildings of units 1, 3 and 5 and of the turbine halls of units 1 and 2.

Elsewhere, the IAEA teams based at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as the Chornobyl site reported hearing air raid alarms over the past week. At Chornobyl, the team also heard a loud explosion and a drone in the evening of 30 March.

Over the past week, the IAEA teams at the Rivne, South Ukraine and Chornobyl sites rotated, with newly-arrived staff replacing their colleagues who have been monitoring nuclear safety and security there for the past several weeks.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team based at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) visited the site’s diesel storage tanks today and saw no signs of damage or spillage, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The IAEA team requested access to the storage tanks to assess the situation there first-hand following an unconfirmed report this week about a significant leak of diesel fuel.

During their visit to the fuel storage area located outside the ZNPP perimeter, the IAEA team reported that the levels in the storage tanks were normal, there were no traces of spilled fuel and no evidence of any repair work being carried out.

The status of the ZNPP’s three storage tanks is important for nuclear safety and security as the plant relies on diesel emergency generators for power if all access to electricity from the grid is lost, as has happened eight times during the military conflict. The ZNPP needs power to cool its six reactors and for other essential safety functions.

“As the IAEA is continuously present at the ZNPP, we were able to quickly examine the storage tanks ourselves and provide independent and reliable information about the situation there to the international community. This is another example underlining the importance of the IAEA’s presence at the nuclear facilities in Ukraine. We will remain at these sites for as long as it is needed to help prevent a nuclear accident,” Director General Grossi said.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team has this week been observing operational tests of diesel generators at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) as part of ongoing efforts to help prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict in Ukraine, where the off-site power situation remains challenging, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The ZNPP has repeatedly lost all access to external electricity during the conflict, forcing it to temporarily rely on diesel generators for the power it needs to cool its reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions. The tests carried out in recent days were designed to confirm that they are fully operational.  

“As the off-site power situation at ZNPP is still highly precarious, it is very important that these diesel generators can immediately start up without any issues. Our experts were this week able to confirm that the diesel generators that were tested can fulfil their function if the plant once again were to lose its external connections. Continued vigilance in this respect is necessary,” Director General Grossi said.

The plant has 20 emergency diesel generators (EDGs) for its six reactors. Six mobile diesel generators (MDGs) were installed by Ukraine as part of the safety measures introduced in light of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident – four of which are connected to reactor units and two of which are being used outside of the ZNPP site. Last year, the ZNPP procured three new MDGs that are located adjacent to the turbine buildings of three of the reactor units, but have yet to be connected. This week, the IAEA team based at the site witnessed the testing of one EDG and one of the new MDGs.

Separately, the IAEA is aware of a report of a purported spillage of fuel held in storage for the ZNPP’s diesel generators. When asked about the report, the ZNPP told the IAEA team that it was “fake” and that no such leaks had been detected from the site’s fuel tanks. In addition, the plant said it has enough fuel in storage for a minimum of ten days of operation of its diesel generators. The IAEA has requested access to the fuel tanks to independently assess the situation there first-hand.

Over the past week, the IAEA team has also continued to monitor maintenance of some of the ZNPP’s safety systems and discussed emergency preparedness and response arrangements with the site. Team members conducted a walkdown of the site’s waterworks facilities, and of the reactor building of unit 4, where the team observed traces of dried boric acid in some rooms as well as a defective seal on a pump.

The IAEA team was informed by the site that the 330 kilovolt (kV) switchyard of the nearby Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP) was reconnected to the ZNPP’s 750 kV switchyard last Friday, about a month and a half after the connection was cut as a result of damage to the ZTPP switchyard, which can now once again function as an alternative way of providing back-up power to the ZNPP.

Throughout the week, the IAEA team reported hearing military activities at varying distances away from the ZNPP.

The IAEA teams stationed at the other nuclear sites in Ukraine continued to monitor the status of the respective facilities – the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site.

At the Khmelnytskyy site, one 750 kV line was disconnected at the request of the grid operator on 21 March and was reconnected that same evening, while refuelling activities at one of the reactor units continues. At the Rivne NPP, one reactor unit has been shut down for planned refuelling. The IAEA team at the South Ukraine NPP was informed that the site has repaired a leaking pump and that unit 1 has since returned to nominal full power.

At the Chornobyl site, a fire caused an emergency outage of one 330 kV line that provides off-site power to the plant. It was switched back on after the Ukrainian State Emergency Service extinguished the fire.

The teams at all four sites reported hearing air raids over the past week. At Chornobyl, the IAEA team was informed that a drone was detected 3 km from the site in the evening of 21 March. At around the same time, the team heard a loud explosion and also witnessed a flying drone.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The discharge of treated water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) is proceeding in line with international safety standards, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Task Force confirmed today in its third report since the water discharge began in August 2023.

During its mission to Japan from December 9 to 12, 2024, the Task Force assessed the technical and regulatory aspects of the ALPS-treated water discharge. This included an on-site visit to the FDNPS facility to directly observe the equipment and infrastructure installed by Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the FDNPS for the water discharge. The report also summarised the Task Force’s discussions with the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The Task Force report reaffirmed the findings of the IAEA’s comprehensive safety review, stating that its overall conclusions remain consistent with those from its first and second missions conducted after the discharge began. It emphasized that Japan’s NRA has maintained a comprehensive inspection plan, including onsite monitoring to ensure the safety of the water that is discharged. Additionally, the Task Force confirmed that the equipment and facilities are operating in accordance with relevant international safety standards.

In the IAEA Comprehensive Report on the Safety Review of the ALPS-Treated Water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station that was released in July 2023 prior to the discharge, the IAEA found Japan’s approach to discharging the treated water to be consistent with international safety standards. It also said that the discharges as planned would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment. The IAEA Task Force has carried out eight missions as part of the safety review since the beginning of the IAEA’s multiyear review that began two years before the water discharge.

Today’s report also reviewed the IAEA’s ongoing independent verification of Japan’s monitoring programs, as well as onsite sampling and analysis conducted by IAEA experts at FDNPS since July 2023, when Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi established an IAEA office at the site. The IAEA’s onsite laboratory has analyzed the first eleven water discharges, confirming that the tritium concentration in each batch of diluted ALPS-treated water remains well below Japan’s operational limit consistent with international safety standards.

The Task Force noted the importance of the IAEA’s ongoing corroboration activities and the IAEA onsite independent sampling and analyses in providing a comprehensive, transparent and independent verification of the accuracy and reliability of the data reported by TEPCO and the Government of Japan.

Interlaboratory Comparisons

The IAEA has also released reports today on two interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) for determining radionuclides in ALPS-treated water and in marine environmental samples collected from near to FDNPS, part of the Agency’s comprehensive monitoring and assessment efforts.

ILCs involve multiple laboratories independently analyzing samples, then reporting their results to the IAEA for evaluation to assess their reliability and accuracy.

One report presents the findings from an ILC based on samples collected during a mission in October 2023 when the IAEA, with experts from third-party laboratories, observed Japan’s collection and pretreatment of samples of seawater, sediment, fish and seaweed from coastal and offshore locations and a fish market close to FDNPS. Laboratories in Canada, China and the Republic of Korea, as well as the IAEA’s laboratories in Austria and Monaco, analysed the samples and reported the results to the IAEA for intercomparison.

The IAEA report confirms that Japan’s methods for sampling follow the appropriate methodological standards and that Japanese laboratories have reported accurate results that demonstrate a high degree of proficiency. The IAEA notes that these findings provide confidence in Japan’s capability for conducting reliable and high-quality monitoring related to the discharge of ALPS treated water.

The second ILC report, also released today, corroborates Japan’s source monitoring of ALPS treated water from the eighth batch prior to discharge  in August last year. Water sampled from the tanks was analysed in laboratories in China, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland and the United States, as well as in the IAEA laboratories. Following assessment of the results submitted, the IAEA said the findings provide confidence in TEPCO’s capability for conducting reliable and high-quality source monitoring.

Corroboration of Internal Exposure Monitoring

Additionally, the Agency released a report today confirming that TEPCO is accurately monitoring the internal radiation exposure of workers handling ALPS-treated water.

The report presents the findings from ILCs organized by the IAEA last year, which corroborated results from IAEA, French and Japanese laboratories. The findings highlight that TEPCO has demonstrated both a high level of accuracy in their measurements and strong technical competence. A report focusing on external radiation exposure monitoring was published in November 2024.

All reports, as well as additional information such as frequently asked questions and a timeline of activities, can be found on the IAEA’s Fukushima Daiichi ALPS Treated Water Discharge webpage.