Category: Nuclear Weapons

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The presence of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants (NPPs) remains an “invaluable asset” for the international community and must be preserved, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told Member States after the completion of a delayed team rotation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).

“Difficult conditions have in the past month complicated and delayed the latest rotation of experts, which was safely completed in recent days,” Director General Grossi said in his written introductory statement to the IAEA Board of Governors, which is holding its regular March meeting this week.

In December, a drone attack severely damaged an official IAEA vehicle during a rotation, and in February intense military activity forced the cancellation of the most recent planned rotation, which was finally concluded earlier this month. The current team at the ZNPP is the 27th since Director General Grossi established a continued IAEA presence at the site, where nuclear safety and security remains precarious.

Director General Grossi emphasized that “all the IAEA’s activities in Ukraine are being conducted in line with relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and of the IAEA policy-making organs”.

At the ZNPP, the IAEA team has continued to hear explosions on most days over the past week, at varying distances.

The IAEA team at the ZNPP was informed that scheduled maintenance of part of the safety system of reactor unit 1 had been completed and returned to service. At the same time, maintenance began at another part of the same reactor’s safety system.

At the Chornobyl site, firefighters have made progress in extinguishing the fire on the roof of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) caused by a drone strike on 14 February. The IAEA team at the site was informed that no smouldering fires had been detected over the past two days. The site continues to use thermal imaging and surveillance drones to monitor the structure.

The Chornobyl site has continued to perform frequent radiation monitoring and report the results to the IAEA team. The IAEA team has also undertaken its own independent monitoring. To date, all monitoring results have shown that there has not been any increase in the normal range of radiation levels measured at the site nor any abnormal readings detected.

The IAEA team at the Chornobyl site also reported multiple air raid alarms during the past week. In addition, the IAEA was informed by the Ukrainian regulator that the site recorded drone flights in the area early on 1 March.

Last week, a team of IAEA experts conducted another round of visits to seven electrical substations identified as critical for nuclear safety and security in Ukraine.

As during the previous visits last year, the team observed the current status of the substations and collected relevant information to assess any potential impacts of attacks in recent months to the safe operation of Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and to identify any further technical assistance that could be provided by the IAEA.

The IAEA teams at Ukraine’s operating NPPs – Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – have continued to monitor the nuclear safety and security situation at these sites. The teams report hearing air raid alarms on most days, with the team at the Khmelnytskyy NPP having to shelter at the site on Monday. One reactor unit at the same plant last weekend began a planned outage for refuelling and maintenance.

Separately, the IAEA has continued with its comprehensive programme of nuclear safety and security assistance to Ukraine, with three new deliveries of equipment bringing the total number since the start of the armed conflict to 111.

The Hydrometeorological Centre and Hydrometeorological Organizations of the State Emergency Services of Ukraine received survey meters, the Centralised Spent Fuel Storage Facility of Energoatom received thermal imaging cameras and the medical unit of the Khmelnytskyy NPP received medical equipment and supplies. The deliveries were supported with funds provided by the European Union, Norway and the United States.

“We are grateful to all 30 donor states and the European Union for their extrabudgetary contributions, and I encourage those who can, to support the delivery of the comprehensive assistance programme, for which EUR 22 million are still necessary,” Director General Grossi told the Board.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

In 2024, 147 incidents of illegal or unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive material were reported to the Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB), a number aligned with the historical average. The new data released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today underlines the need for continued vigilance and improvement of regulatory oversight for security of nuclear and other radioactive material. 

Out of 147, three incidents reported in 2024 were likely related to trafficking or malicious use, and there was insufficient information to determine the intent of 21 other incidents. Furthermore, 123 incidents were not connected to trafficking or malicious use but most likely resulted from unauthorized disposal, unauthorized shipment or the discovery of radioactive material.

In 2024, the number of incidents involving manufactured goods, such as used pipes, contaminated with radioactive material increased. “This indicates the challenge for some countries to prevent the unauthorized disposal of radioactive sources, and at the same time, it confirms the efficiency of the detection infrastructure,” said Elena Buglova, Director of the IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Security.

All types of nuclear material – including uranium, plutonium and thorium – as well as naturally occurring and artificially produced radioisotopes, and radioactively contaminated material such as scrap metal are included in the ITDB. The ITDB receives information on incidents involving illegal possession, attempted sale and smuggling of nuclear and other radioactive material, as well as unauthorized disposal and the discovery of lost radioactive sources. A total of 4390 incidents have been reported since 1993. 

International cooperation for nuclear security

One of the key functions of the ITDB is to encourage information sharing on relevant nuclear security incidents. Last year’s incidents were reported by 32 of the 145 ITDB participating States.

“Incident reports submitted by participating countries to the ITDB over the past 30 years have strengthened global efforts to combat illicit trafficking and other unauthorized activities involving nuclear and other radioactive material out of regulatory control,” Buglova said. “Analysing information in the ITDB provides, among others, insights to the types of material involved, nuclear security threats at regional level, as well as trends.”

In the last decade, about 65 per cent of all thefts reported to the ITDB have occurred during the authorized transport of nuclear and other radioactive material. These materials are typically transported by road, rail, air and waterways for various applications in health, industry and scientific research. “Data from the ITDB highlights the ongoing importance of strengthening transport security measures and overall, the regulatory control for the security of radioactive sources,” Buglova said.

About the ITDB

The ITDB fosters global information exchange about incidents that involve nuclear and other radioactive material falling out of regulatory control because they were lost, stolen, improperly disposed of or otherwise neglected. The database also includes reports about material returning under regulatory control through various means, for example, through the detection of orphan radioactive sources in metal recycling facilities. The ITDB data is voluntarily reported, and only participating States and relevant international organizations, such as the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO), can access it.

The ITDB covers incidents involving nuclear material, radioisotopes and radioactively contaminated material. By reporting lost or stolen material to the ITDB, countries increase the chances of its recovery and reduce the opportunities for it to be used in criminal activities. States can also report scams or hoaxes where the material is purported to be nuclear or otherwise radioactive.

States wishing to join the ITDB need to submit the request to the IAEA through the official channels (i.e. Permanent Mission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a national competent authority for nuclear security matters).

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Two weeks after it was hit by a drone, Ukrainian firefighters are still trying to extinguish smouldering fires within the large structure built over the reactor destroyed in the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear accident, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

With unrestricted access, the IAEA team based at the site has been closely monitoring the situation following the strike early in the morning on 14 February that pierced a big hole in the New Safe Confinement (NSC), designed to prevent any potential release into the atmosphere of radioactive material from the Shelter Object covering the damaged reactor, and to protect it from external hazards.

Frequent radiation monitoring carried out by Ukraine and independent measurements conducted by the IAEA continue to show normal levels within the NSC as well as elsewhere at the site of the Chornobyl plant.

Aided by thermal imaging including the use of surveillance drones, Ukrainian experts have located smouldering fires in the insulation between the layers of the arch-shaped NSC structure, injecting water to put them out.

Working in shifts, more than 400 emergency response personnel have been participating in the site’s efforts to manage the aftermath of the drone strike.

“The firefighters and other responders are working very hard in difficult circumstances to manage the impact and consequences of the drone strike. It was clearly a serious incident in terms of nuclear safety, even though it could have been much worse. As I have stated repeatedly during this devastating war, attacking a nuclear facility must never happen,” Director General Grossi said.

Further underlining persistent nuclear safety challenges during the military conflict, the IAEA team at the Chornobyl site has reported multiple air raid alarms during the past week, at times forcing the suspension of the activities to extinguish the fires in the NSC roof.  The IAEA was also informed of the presence of drones within five kilometers of the site, including two above one of the intermediate spent fuel storage facilities.

Separately in Kyiv today, an IAEA expert team observed the remains of a drone that Ukraine said were collected following the strike on the NSC. The team observed drone parts that they assessed are consistent with a Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle. However, the team did not make any further assessment regarding the origin of the drone.

Also this week, an IAEA team has been in Ukraine to conduct further visits to assess the status of electrical substations that are critical for the safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants (NPPs), but which suffered damage during widespread attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure in recent months.

NPPs rely on such facilities both to receive the electricity they need for reactor cooling and other nuclear safety functions and to distribute the power they generate themselves.

The IAEA team monitored the current condition of the substations and collected information to identify any further action that could be taken or technical assistance the Agency could provide to strengthen nuclear safety.

At Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the IAEA team reported that the site’s only remaining back-up 330 kilovolt (kV) power line was once again available after it was lost for around a week earlier in February due to unspecified military activities. However, the off-site power situation remains highly challenging at the site.  

The IAEA team has continued to hear explosions on a daily basis, including some near the ZNPP site. On the evening of 24 February, the team heard multiple bursts of machine gun fire. No damage to the site was reported.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA teams at the three operating NPPs – Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – have continued to hear air raid alarms on most days, with the team at the Khmelnytskyy site having to shelter at their hotel on one occasion this week.

The team at the South Ukraine NPP was informed of drones observed three kilometers east of the site early on 25 February. The same morning the team heard anti-aircraft fire followed by an explosion some distance away.