Category: Nuclear Weapons

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts stated that the operator of Paks Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Hungary has demonstrated a commitment to operational safety. The team also encouraged the operator to continue improvements in areas such as training on preventative measures and documentation to reduce the risk of human error.

The Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) concluded today an 18-day mission to the Paks NPP. The mission, conducted at the request of the Government of Hungary, took place from 4 November to 21 November 2024. Hungary hosted its first OSART in 1988. This was followed by subsequent OSART missions in 2001 and 2014.

OSART missions independently assess safety performance against IAEA safety standards. The aim is to advance operational safety by proposing recommendations and, where appropriate, suggestions for improvement.

Paks NPP, owned by Magyar Villamos Művek (MVM), is located about 100 kilometres southwest of Budapest. The plant is Hungary’s first and only nuclear power plant, and it has four 506 MWe pressurized water reactor units that were commissioned between 1982 and 1987. Last year, Paks NPP generated almost half of Hungary’s electricity.

The team made daily visits to Paks NPP to observe regular plant activities in areas such as:  maintenance and surveillance, radiation work permits, and training, and to interview personnel. The 13-member team comprised experts from Argentina, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Russian Federation, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and United States of America, as well as three IAEA officials.

“The team was pleased to see that the plant was very well prepared and cooperated fully and openly with IAEA experts during the mission,” said team leader Yury Martynenko, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA. “The managers and staff of Paks NPP are committed to improving the operational safety and reliability of their plant, and we were pleased to see many actions in progress.”

The team identified good practices to be shared with the nuclear industry globally, including:

• The development and implementation of a monitoring and repair programme for confinement systems.
• The storage of geospatial information on plant structures and components and the sharing of data on different platforms.
• The development of software to predict potential initiating emergency events and the progression of events.

The mission also provided some suggestions to further improve safety, including that:

• The plant should consider enhancing measures to maintain its measurement equipment, including inspections, calibrations, storage and traceability – arrangements to ensure plant and personnel safety.
• The plant should consider reinforcing its plant programmes and work practices to ensure that, in the event of an earthquake, the potential impact of non-fixed items on safety-related equipment is minimized.
• The plant should consider enhancing its processes, procedures and practices to provide personnel with the necessary instructions in the industrial areas of the plant.

“It was in the spirit of continuous learning that we had requested the IAEA review. The OSART mission has allowed us to make an in-depth assessment of our work. The recommendations and suggestions will help us to continuously improve the plant’s operational safety, and thanks to the expertise of our team, we can also contribute to the enrichment of global best practices,” said Péter János Horváth, CEO of MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd.

The team provided a draft report of the mission to the plant management. They will have the opportunity to make factual comments on the draft. These comments will be reviewed by the IAEA, and the final report will be submitted to the Government of Hungary within three months.

Background

General information about OSART missions can be found on the IAEA website. An OSART mission is designed as a review of programmes and activities essential to operational safety. It is not a regulatory inspection, nor is it a design review or a substitute for an exhaustive assessment of the plant’s overall safety status.

Follow-up missions are standard components of the OSART programme and are typically conducted within two years of the initial mission.

The IAEA Safety Standards provide a robust framework of fundamental principles, requirements, and guidance to ensure safety. They reflect an international consensus and serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) reduced electricity production as a precautionary measure this morning following widespread military activities across the country that reportedly targeted its energy infrastructure, putting nuclear safety and security under further pressure, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

Although the NPPs – Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – were not directly impacted and did not shut down, several electrical substations on which they depend suffered further damage during the strikes, Director General Grossi said, citing information from Ukraine’s national regulator. The main power lines from four of the substations were disconnected. At the moment, only two of the country’s nine operational reactors currently generate electricity at 100 percent capacity.

IAEA teams visited seven substations – located outside the NPPs across the country – in September and October to assess the damage from attacks in August and will assess whether further visits are required following today’s military activities, said Director General Grossi, who spoke to the head of the national regulator about the impact of the attacks.

The IAEA teams based at the NPPs heard air defence activities and sought shelter during the air raid alarms. At the Khmelnytskyy NPP, the IAEA team heard a loud explosion. At the Rivne NPP, two 330 kilovolt (kV) power lines were unavailable, the team there reported.

NPPs need reliable connections to the grid both to transmit the electricity they produce and to receive off-site power for reactor cooling. The increasing fragility of the grid has been one of the main challenges for nuclear safety and security throughout the armed conflict.

Of the nine currently operational reactors at the three NPPs, six reduced output during the morning, ranging from just over 40 percent of maximum capacity to above 90 percent. At the moment, only two operate at 100 percent capacity, with one in shutdown for maintenance. All NPPs continued to receive off-site power.

“The country’s energy infrastructure is extremely vulnerable, directly impacting nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said. “We are still assessing the full extent of the damage. At this critical time, I reiterate the importance of adhering to the seven indispensable pillars for nuclear safety and security during the conflict, in particular pillar four that states there must be a secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites.”

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Maintenance of several of the reactor safety systems is being conducted at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), an essential part of wider efforts to prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) said today.

In its regular reporting on the situation at the ZNPP, the IAEA has previously identified “ensuring adequate and timely preventative maintenance of all structures, systems, and components important to safety” as one of several challenges the plant is facing during the conflict, presenting a potential risk to long-term nuclear safety and security.

Earlier this month, the IAEA expert team stationed at the ZNPP was informed that two safety trains – one in reactor unit 4 and the other in unit 5 – were placed under maintenance for work on their water regulation valves. The work is now complete and the two safety trains are back to standby mode. This week, another two safety trains – in units 5 and 6 – were also taken out of service for planned maintenance.

Each of the six reactors at the ZNPP has three separate, independent safety systems, called “safety trains”. These redundant systems are designed to ensure nuclear safety. Normally, these safety trains remain on standby but are ready to activate whenever needed to maintain the reactor’s safety. The six reactors of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP) are all in cold shutdown mode, but still require operational safety systems.

“In addition to the many day-to-day challenges the plant is experiencing – including frequent power outages and combat activities nearby – the plant must also carry out essential work to make sure its safety systems are fully functional at all times,” Director General Grossi said.

The IAEA team has continued to conduct walkdowns across the site as part of their activities to monitor – and report on – nuclear safety and security, which remains precarious.

Over the past two weeks, the team members visited the turbine halls of units 1 to 4, but were again denied access to the western parts of these structures. In addition, they were not able to visit the off-site central warehouse and diesel fuel storage, with the plant citing security concerns, as has also happened previously. Diesel fuel is important for the upcoming winter season as well as for the plant’s emergency diesel generators.

The IAEA team has continued to hear explosions daily, although no damage to the plant was reported. The IAEA is aware of a media report that a resident in the nearby town of Enerhodar, where most plant staff live, was killed in a military strike. The IAEA does not have information on whether this individual was a ZNPP staff member or not.

The IAEA teams present at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including air raid alarms for several days over the past week.

On 7 November, Ukraine’s national regulator informed the IAEA that the Central Storage Facility for Spent Fuel – located within the Exclusion Zone of the Chornobyl NPP – had lost off-site power for about two hours and relied on emergency diesel generators for electricity during this time. The facility, owned by Energoatom, is used for long-term dry storage of Ukraine’s spent fuel.

Four days later, Ukraine’s operating nuclear power reactors – two units at the Rivne NPP, both units at the Khmelnytskyy NPP and all three units of the South Ukraine NPP – temporarily reduced their power output as a preventive measure as a result of the conflict.

Ukraine’s regulator also informed the IAEA that many drones had been observed in the vicinity of the Khmelnytskyy and the South Ukraine NPPs over the past few weeks.

The IAEA has continued to deliver on its comprehensive assistance programme to support nuclear safety and security. In recent days, three deliveries took place, bringing the total to 76 during the conflict. The South Ukraine NPP, the Slavutych city hospital and the medical unit of the Chornobyl site received vital medical equipment and supplies to improve their diagnostic and treatment capabilities. The funding was provided by Norway and the United States.