Category: Nuclear Weapons

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IAEA Hosts Event With Over 400 Female Nuclear Experts In Celebration of International Women’s Day

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) works to address the underrepresentation of women in the nuclear field through the IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme (MSCFP) and the Lise Meitner Programme (LMP). By enabling more women to enter and pursue careers in the nuclear field, the programmes help build the future nuclear workforce.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the IAEA will host an event, For More Women in Nuclear: IAEA Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship and the Lise Meitner Programmes, on 7-8 March. Over 400 programme recipients will participate in career talk sessions and networking activities, including with senior experts and representatives of the nuclear industry.

Director General Grossi will open the event on 7 March at 14:00 CET in Boardroom B, on the first floor of the M-Building of the Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria. The opening session, which is open to the media, will include a high-level panel discussion. The panel will focus on breaking barriers and supporting the next generation of women leaders.

The plenary sessions of the event are open to media and will also be live streamed. Click here for more information.

There will be a group photo opportunity with Director General Grossi on 7 March at 13:30 CET, from the first floor of the VIC Rotunda. At the closing session, also open to the media, a “Statement for more Women in Nuclear” will be presented by the programme recipients to the IAEA and will be published here.

This event will bring together MSCFP students and alumnae, and the LMP participants, to exchange ideas and to strengthen their network and leadership skills. This is also an occasion for industry to meet with this rapidly growing community of women nuclear experts and explore opportunities to advance their careers.

Watch the announcement of the event made by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi on 7 November 2023, the birthday of these two great scientists.

The IAEA welcomes partnering with public and private sectors, academia and civil society to work together for more women in nuclear. The programme is being finalized and will be made available here.

For more information and information on how to participate in the event, please contact press@iaea.org and  IWD2024@iaea.org.

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Japan’s Reports on Conditions at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 5 March 2024

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

On 5 March 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 January, 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 January. 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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IAEA Director General Briefs Board of Governors: Ukraine, Iran and Nuclear Energy Summit

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Nuclear safety and security in Ukraine

In his written statement, Director Grossi described the current challenges facing Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which he visited again in person last month, and called once more for “maximum restraint”. The Director General will shortly travel to the Russian Federation to hold high-level consultations as part of his ongoing efforts to ensure nuclear safety and security in the region.

Iran

Mr Grossi also spoke of the unresolved safeguards issues with the Islamic Republic of Iran, adding that he has “hopes to be able to continue this dialogue here or in Tehran or wherever we can because my reports are very clear in this regard: we are not in the place I would like us to be.

“Problems will not disappear. They will only get worse. So, we need to address this in a serious way.”

Syria

The Director General welcomed an invitation he had received from Foreign Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic, Faisal Mekdad, to “visit Damascus to re-establish a meaningful, constructive dialogue and process to facilitate the clarification of remaining issues from the past.” The visit will take place later in March, immediately after a visit to Iraq.

Nuclear Energy Summit

Mr Grossi also drew attention to the upcoming Nuclear Energy Summit, the first of its kind, which will be hosted jointly by the IAEA and the Government of Belgium. “It is going to be an excellent opportunity to discuss the place of nuclear energy in the current energy debates, especially after the watershed final declaration of COP28, which recognized the need to accelerate nuclear energy alongside renewable energies.”

Mr Grossi then emphasized that the IAEA was not only working on the mitigation side of climate change but also on adaptation and on monitoring the effects of global warming.

NUTEC Plastics

In January, the first IAEA scientific research expedition to investigate the scale of microplastic pollution was launched by Mr Grossi and the President of Argentina, Javier Milei. They then travelled to the Antarctic continent together to observe the scientists at work. This expedition is an example of how the IAEA’s NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) can help preserve one of the world’s most delicate marine environments.

“I think it’s very important that for the first time we have objective scientific information of the pollution in this pristine environment,” said Mr Grossi.

Atoms4Food

Mr Grossi and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu launched a joint IAEA and FAO Atoms4Food initiative last year. The joint initiative aims to increase global food security and tackle growing hunger through the use of nuclear techniques. Mr Grossi said the “first concrete projects” were beginning to take shape as many countries registered their interest.

Rays of Hope

Speaking of the IAEA’s flagship cancer initiative, Rays of Hope, Mr Grossi said: “We are getting more and more requests from countries to participate in this important project.” Last month’s Rays of Hope forum brought together supporters and beneficiaries of the initiative, including Khumbize Chiponda, Malawi’s Minister of Health, who spoke about the positive impact Rays of Hope is having in her country.

ReNuAL2 Underway

Mr Grossi said that many of the IAEA’s initiatives relied on the IAEA’s laboratories in Seibersdorf. He announced that good progress was being made in the final phase of the modernization initiative of  the Nuclear Application Laboratories (ReNuAL2). The Dosimetry Laboratory is close to completion and construction on the new greenhouses is set to begin soon, after the successful mobilization of resources.  

Together For More Women in Nuclear

Concluding his speech, Mr Grossi looked ahead to the IAEA’s Together for More Women in Nuclear event which will take place on 7 and 8 March, to commemorate International Women’s Day. The event brings almost 500 fellows and participants from the IAEA’s  Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme and the Lise Meitner Programme to the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters to exchange ideas and strengthen networking and leadership skills.

 “Now, thanks to the programmes we put together and the generosity of all of you Member States, we have a powerful and ever-growing community of women pursuing careers in nuclear physics, nuclear engineering and other specialties,” he said.

Mr Grossi noted the progress made towards gender parity at the IAEA Secretariat.  Under his helm, the number of women in professionals and higher categories has increased from 30 per cent to almost 46 per cent since December 2019. 

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Update 214 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

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.

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Obesity Crisis: New IAEA Database to Help Countries Tackle Nutrition Challenges

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

To mark World Obesity Day on Monday 4 March, the IAEA will launch a body composition (BC) database aimed at helping countries devise better health policies to combat growing obesity challenges worldwide. Learning more about body composition, which refers to the relative amounts of fat and lean tissue that make up the body, can help experts and policy makers make more informed decisions, as body composition is a proven indicator of nutritional health.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. Around 800 million adults worldwide are living with obesity and the number of children living with obesity is expected to reach 250 million by 2030. The 2022 Global Nutrition Report reported that there is currently a global nutrition crisis, stating “poor diets and malnutrition in all its forms are among the greatest societal challenges of our time, impacting our health, our economies, and our environment”. Obesity is now rising the fastest in lower- and middle-income countries, with around 70 per cent of  globally overweight or obese people living in these countries.  People living with obesity are at increased risk from other chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease and are more likely to develop 13 types of cancer.

“To effectively prevent and manage obesity, interventions need to be based on accurate, informative and relevant data” said Alexia Alford, a Nutrition Specialist at the IAEA. “The new database will bring together body composition data collected using nuclear techniques from across all global regions and from all stages of life. This data will contribute to understanding the complex condition of obesity and provide evidence to support the design of nutrition interventions for the prevention and management of obesity.”

The new IAEA BC database is being populated by countries’ data obtained using the non-invasive stable isotope technique of deuterium dilution. This will enable researchers to examine obesity with reference to body composition data rather than data based only on body proportions, such as weight and height. The IAEA’s new database is a growing global collection of studies, currently representing 13 countries from Latin America, Asia and Africa with datapoints from around 2600 study participants.

The database is open to contributing researchers and will be available to those interested in accessing body composition data for secondary data analysis once the initial phase of data submissions is complete. The IAEA, with the assistance of a management group of experts, will coordinate data usage requests, ensuring that the data is responsibly used for scientific purposes. New data submissions can be made to the Body Composition database here.

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International Women’s Day: Hundreds of Women Building a Career in Nuclear Gather at the IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The first Lise Meitner Programme participants at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, USA. (Photo: IAEA)

The first visiting professional programme was hosted at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, USA in June 2023. The cohort had the opportunity to visit a nuclear power plant, research reactor, fuel factory, and research labs, among other activities.  

“Attending the Lise Meitner Programme was an eye-opening experience,” said Simona Miteva, an LMP Visiting Professional from Bulgaria. “Witnessing the latest advancements in the nuclear field and engaging with industry experts has reinforced my passion for this industry. The programme has not only expanded my knowledge but also ignited a drive to contribute to the future of women in nuclear engineering.”   

The second 2023 cohort took place in October 2023, and the visiting professionals shared their time between the Oak Ridge National Lab and the Idaho National Lab, in the USA. This visit focused on strengthening the participants’ individual technical expertise, as well as nuclear reactor modelling, simulations, and virtual environment. Participants also had the chance to visit the nuclear research labs and computational facilities. 

“The Lise Meitner Programme was extraordinary. I got familiar with a suite of tools for reactor physics modelling and simulation. These tools are crucial to my organization, for safety analysis of nuclear reactor structures systems and components during normal and accident conditions,” said Diana Musyoka, a Senior Environmental Scientist from Kenya’s Nuclear Power and Energy Agency. “I also enjoyed the mentorship sessions which opened doors to the careers and lives of women in nuclear. I learnt a lot of best practices that I am currently applying to advance my career in nuclear and to help other young women develop their careers too. The international networks created are proving to be very valuable.” 

The third LMP visit is expected to take place from 25 March to 5 April 2024 in the Republic of Korea and will focus on nuclear power. The fourth LMP application cycle will be announced here, and you can read more participants’ testimonials from past cohorts here. The fifth MSCFP application cycle will be announced here, and you can read more students’ testimonials here.  

“Supporting the higher education of young women and their career growth in the nuclear sector is pivotal for the field. With these two programmes, the IAEA supports women at the most crucial stages: their entry to the field and, afterwards, their continued professional development,” said Mikhail Chudakov, Deputy Director General of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy. “We will continue to support women from all corners of the globe to fulfil their aspirations and contribute to a better world, through nuclear science and technology.” 

The IAEA works to address the underrepresentation of women in the nuclear field through the IAEA MSCFP and the LMP. The IAEA welcomes partnering with public and private sectors, academia and civil society to work together for more women in nuclear. Partner with us. 

For information on how to participate in the event, please contact IWD2024@iaea.org.

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Tritium level far below Japan’s operational limit in fourth batch of ALPS treated water, IAEA confirms

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.

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Press Arrangements for IAEA Board of Governors Meeting (4–8 March 2024) and International Women’s Day Event

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors will convene its regular March meeting, starting at 10:30 CET on Monday, 4 March in Boardroom C, in the C building in the Vienna International Centre (VIC).

Board discussions are expected to include, among others: applications for membership of the Agency; Nuclear Safety Review 2024; Nuclear Security Review 2024; Nuclear Technology Review 2024; verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council resolution 2231 (2015); application of safeguards in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; implementation of the NPT safeguards agreement in the Syrian Arab Republic; NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran; nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine; transfer of the nuclear materials in the context of AUKUS and its safeguards in all aspects under the NPT and the restoration of the sovereign equality of Member States in the IAEA.

The Board of Governors meeting is closed to the press.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will open the meeting with an introductory statement, which will be released to journalists after delivery and posted on the IAEA website. The IAEA can also provide video footage upon request and will make photos available on Flickr.

A downloadable media package will be available from Monday here.

Press Conference:

Director General Grossi is expected to hold a press conference at 13:00 CET on Monday, 4 March, in the Press Room of the M building.

A live video stream of the press conference will be available. The IAEA can provide video footage from the press conference upon request and will make photos available on Flickr.

Photo Opportunity:

There will be a photo opportunity with the IAEA Director General and the Chair of the Board, Ambassador Holger Federico Martinsen of Argentina, before the start of the meeting on 4 March at 10:30 CET in Board Room C, in the C building in the VIC.

Press Working Area:

The Press Room on the ground floor of the M building will be available as a press working area from 09:00 CET on 4 March.

International Women’s Day Event:

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the IAEA will host an event, For More Women in Nuclear: IAEA Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship and the Lise Meitner Programmes, on 7-8 March. Over 400 programme recipients will participate in career talk sessions and networking activities, including with senior experts and representatives of the nuclear industry.

Director General Grossi will open the event on 7 March at 14:00 CET in Boardroom B, on the first floor of the M-Building of the VIC. The opening session will include a high-level panel discussion. The panel will focus on breaking barriers and supporting the next generation of women leaders.

The plenary sessions of the event are open to media and will also be live streamed. Click here for more information.

There will be a group photo opportunity with Director General Grossi, on 7 March at 13:45 CET, from the first floor of the VIC Rotunda.

Accreditation:

All journalists are requested to inform the IAEA Press Office of their plans to attend. Journalists with permanent credentials to the VIC need no additional credentials. We encourage those journalists who do not yet have permanent accreditation to request it at UNIS Vienna.

Other journalists who only intend to attend the Board event or the International Women’s Day photo opportunity should email press@iaea.org stating their name and affiliation as soon as possible but not later than 12:00 CET on Friday, 1 March.

Please plan your arrival to allow sufficient time to pass through the VIC security check.

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Virtual Reality in Cancer Care: Bridging Gaps in Education and Training

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Virtual reality goggles and the IAEA’s recently developed e-learning module “Patient Setup and Positioning for Cervical Cancer External Beam Radiotherapy”. (Photo: E. Harsdorf/IAEA)

This was the case in Mozambique, where IAEA debuted its virtual reality prototype in July 2023 during a national training course on high dose rate brachytherapy — a treatment that can be used for cervical cancer, which accounted for more than a third of the country’s new cancer cases in 2020. Under an IAEA project to strengthen the radiotherapy service at Maputo Hospital — Mozambique’s only facility equipped with an oncological ward — over a dozen medical professionals received this training.

“The brachytherapy unit was not yet operational to treat patients when we delivered the course, so the VR tool was a big help. It also gave the participants the chance to repeat certain e-learning modules right away, which you cannot do with a real patient, when every minute counts,” said Paulo Alfonso Varela Meléndez, one of the course’s instructors.

In a virtual environment, professionals can familiarize themselves with cancer treatment procedures, practice techniques and enhance their overall preparedness without direct patient involvement or before actual equipment is in place. This optimizes the overall learning experience and ensures that medical practitioners are well equipped to provide precise and effective care.

In Dakar, Senegal, the IAEA used its virtual reality tool in an e-contouring workshop it had organized during the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer’s (AORTIC) International Conference on Cancer in Africa. Through the training session on 3D brachytherapy for cervical cancer, over 160 radiation oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists and radiation therapists improved their practical medical knowledge and skills in outlining a patient’s organs and the tumour(s) that need treatment. For a continent which faces a disproportionate burden of cervical cancer deaths, the IAEA’s virtual reality model helps promote the safe, effective and efficient treatment of this disease.

“The 3D virtual reality tool is a crucial innovation, especially for early-career oncology professionals learning brachytherapy procedures. This model offers a patient- and radiation-free environment for learners to practice. Its easy-to-use and installation-free nature makes it invaluable in regions where radiotherapy facilities may be limited,” emphasized Ntokozo Ndlovu, one of the  workshop participants.

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Update 213 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

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.