Category: Nuclear Weapons

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukrainian firefighters have gained full control over the situation at the Chornobyl site following last month’s drone strike that caused extensive damage to the large confinement structure covering the reactor destroyed in the 1986 accident, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The drone attack in the early hours of 14 February pierced a big hole through the roof of the New Safe Confinement (NSC) and set off fires within its structure that continued to smoulder for more than two weeks.

Working around the clock to contain the aftermath of the drone strike, Ukrainian emergency personnel have gradually managed to extinguish all the smouldering, with no new fires detected for around ten days. Last Friday the site was able to downgrade the event from an “emergency” to a “controlled situation”.

From the time of the drone strike, the IAEA team based at the site has had unrestricted access to observe and assess the status of the NSC.

This arch-shaped structure has multiple functions: to protect the environment from any potential release of radioactive material into the atmosphere, to prevent any degradation of the old shelter structure beneath it from external factors and to facilitate dismantling activities.  

As a result of the drone strike, however, the confinement function of the NSC has been compromised. The fires and smouldering resulted in extensive damage, including to the northern side and to a lesser extent to the southern side of its roof, according to an initial site evaluation shared with the IAEA team based at the site. The NSC will require extensive repair efforts.

The Chornobyl site has continued to perform additional radiation monitoring over the past several weeks, reporting the results to the IAEA team, which has also carried out its own independent monitoring. To date, all radiation monitoring results have shown that there has not been any increase in radiation at the site.

“The Ukrainian emergency services have worked very hard for several weeks in challenging circumstances, at times in freezing weather conditions. Their admirable efforts have been rewarded and the emergency situation is now under control, which is very good news,” Director General Grossi said.

“Nevertheless, I remain extremely concerned about the drone strike that took place a month ago. It posed a serious threat to nuclear safety and badly damaged the site’s New Safe Confinement, which was built at a huge expense for the international community. The challenging task ahead is to repair the structure and restore its confinement functionality. Attacking nuclear facilities is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Further underlining constant nuclear safety risks during the conflict, the IAEA staff at the Chornobyl site have continued to report multiple air raid alarms over the past week.

In addition, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) informed the IAEA that the Chornobyl site recorded drone flights in the area during the night of 8 March.

The precarious nuclear safety and security situation was also evident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), with the IAEA team there hearing explosions on most days at different distances from the site.

The team continued to monitor nuclear safety and security, including the site’s ongoing maintenance activities. At the 750 kilovolt (kV) open switchyard, maintenance began in February on a circuit breaker for one of the site’s three 750 kV power lines that have remained disconnected due to the conflict. This week, maintenance commenced on the main transformer of reactor unit 5 and on the circuit breaker linking it to the open switchyard.

During a site walkdown, the IAEA experts measured the water levels at the plant’s 12 sprinkler ponds, confirming they hold sufficient water to cool the six reactors in their current shutdown status.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA teams based at the country’s three operating nuclear power plants (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.

Over the past week, the IAEA has carried out rotations at the Rivne, South Ukraine and Chornobyl sites, with new Agency teams replacing colleagues based there for the past several weeks.

Separately, the IAEA has continued with its comprehensive programme of nuclear safety and security assistance to Ukraine, with two new deliveries of equipment bringing the total number since the start of the armed conflict to 113. The South Ukraine NPP received spare parts for an industrial automation system as well as telecommunication testing equipment, while the medical unit at Chornobyl received medical supplies. The deliveries were supported with funds from Ireland, France and Sweden.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have confirmed that the tritium concentration in the 11th batch of diluted ALPS treated water, which the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began discharging on 12 March, is far below Japan’s operational limit.

As for the previous ten batches, IAEA experts stationed at the Agency’s office at the site of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) conducted an independent on-site analysis of samples from the treated water. The IAEA confirmed that the tritium concentration in the diluted water is far below the operational limit of 1500 becquerels per litre and is in line with international safety standards.

In line with Japan’s plans, the ALPS-treated water is being released from FDNPS in a series of batches over the next decades, following the start of the discharge in August 2023. The IAEA confirmed that the tritium concentrations in the previous ten batches, totalling approximately 78.200 cubic meters of water, were also far below operational limits.

In a comprehensive report issued on 4 July 2023 before the discharge began, the IAEA’s safety review found that Japan’s plan for handling the treated water was consistent with international safety standards and that the release as planned would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.

Reports on sampling, independent analysis, data evaluation, as well as timeline, are available on the IAEA website.

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.