Category: Press Release

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

‘Good To Know’, a new educational videos series explaining how nuclear science can help solve global issues, is being launched today on Discovery Channel, as part of a new partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The films will air in over 30 countries, reaching 44 million households across the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa region. 

This first tranche of five short films, made by the IAEA video team in conjunction with the Warner Bros. Discovery editorial team, will explain in simple terms how radiation can safely be used to solve some of the world’s most pressing global challenges. These include:

• Microplastics in the ocean (filmed in Monaco/Global)
• The growing cancer burden (filmed in India)
• Food insecurity (filmed in Austria/Global)
• Water scarcity in the face of climate change (filmed in Austria/Costa Rica)
• Industrial contamination (filmed in Czech Republic)

Each of these films is around one minute long and will play as part of Discovery’s ‘Good To Know’, a new educational videos series about the benefits of nuclear science and technology, both on television and online. 

Future films to be included in the series will continue to investigate how nuclear science can help development, particularly in the light of climate change, such as by measuring how coastal regions sequester carbon, or how the oceans are becoming more acidic, or how pest insects can be controlled without chemicals. The films will also highlight more details on key IAEA programmes to battle plastic pollution, drought and hunger.

The films are made in conjunction with the IAEA’s twelve nuclear sciences and applications laboratories, a unique feature in the United Nations. The laboratories develop and share nuclear techniques with countries around the world. Watch a three-minute film about the labs here.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: “People may know us as the nuclear watchdog, helping enhance safety, security and safeguards in places like Fukushima, Iran, Ukraine. But not enough people know of the amazing potential nuclear science has to make tangible differences in people’s lives – helping farmers grow better crops, cancer patients get better treatment, governments understand and protect key natural areas. As the terrible effects of climate change become more obvious to people around the world, it is important for the public to also know there is hope. Science, as always, offers solutions to many of our main challenges.”

Najat Mokhtar, Head of IAEA Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, agreed: “I am delighted to see ours labs’ the vital research being shared on the respected Discovery Channel. Science is a vital force for good in the world, and nuclear science offers so many incredible innovations to help countries meet their development goals.”

Jamie Cooke, Executive Vice President and Managing Director Central Europe, Middle East and Turkey said: “We are thrilled that our viewers will now get the opportunity to learn more about how nuclear science is being used in innovative ways to improve our lives and advance the environmental sustainability agenda. We consider it our duty to leverage the voice, storytelling strength and expertise we have, to cast light and tell the right stories that will positively impact our communities and viewers. It’s part of our Social Good Strategy, and we want to use our media for good.”

About the International Atomic Energy Agency

Widely known as the world’s “Atoms for Peace and Development” organization within the United Nations family, the IAEA is the international centre for cooperation in the nuclear field. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. For more information, visit IAEA.org.

About Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of branded content across television, film, streaming and gaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, TNT Sports, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff reported hearing loud blasts near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) today, coinciding with reports of a drone attack on the plant’s training center, marking yet another threat to nuclear safety at Europe’s largest NPP, according to Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) team stationed at ZNPP reported hearing two loud explosions coming from outside the perimeter of the site at approximately 12:45 and 15:45. For now, the IAEA has not yet been able to confirm any impact. The IAEA team also reported hearing machine gun fire coming from the site on multiple occasions.

The IAEA is aware of reports of an alleged attack by a drone at the ZNPP training center today, just outside of the site’s perimeter. Reports state that there were no casualties and no impact on any NPP equipment.

The ISAMZ team has reported that the intensity of military activities in the vicinity of Europe’s largest NPP – including multiple explosions at various distances from the site – has increased over the last 24 hours. “An attack on any nuclear power plant is completely unacceptable,” Director General Grossi stated. “In light of the increased military activity at ZNPP, I once again call for maximum restraint to avert the clear danger to its safety, and for the strict adherence to the five concrete principles established by the IAEA at the United Nations Security Council to protect the facility and the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety during an armed conflict also defined by the IAEA”.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is assessing observations and information collected from its recent missions to Ukraine’s electrical substations, conducted in the aftermath of attacks on the nation’s energy infrastructure, as part of the Agency’s ongoing commitment to monitoring nuclear safety and security, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

Recent assaults on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including a major attack on 25 December that caused some reactor units at the country’s three operational plants to once again reduce their operating power for several hours, have reduced the stability of Ukraine’s electrical grid. All affected reactor units subsequently returned to nominal full power.

During its eight-day mission from 16 – 23 December, IAEA experts gathered technical information about seven electrical substations critical to the safe operation of Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, and South Ukraine nuclear power plants (NPPs). A reliable and stable grid connection is essential to transfer the electricity generated by the operating NPPs and to receive off-site power, which is required for maintaining nuclear safety. The Zaporizhzhya NPP (ZNPP) and the Chornobyl site also depend on reliable and stable off-site power to maintain nuclear safety.

The IAEA team that visited the substations documented the damage and gathered critical evidence highlighting the electricity grid’s vulnerabilities as a result of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. During the mission, the team met with experts from Ukraine’s grid operator, nuclear plant operators, and nuclear regulator. Drawing on information from this mission and two previous substation assessments, the IAEA is working to identify and deliver targeted technical assistance to help prevent a nuclear accident.

“These attacks impact grid stability and jeopardise the reliability of the off-site power supply, creating risks to nuclear safety,” said Director General Grossi. “Our ongoing missions to the substations and our presence at five nuclear power plant sites are essential for monitoring nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, particularly the reliable and stable provision of off-site power to the plants.”

The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) has continued to carry out walkdowns and follow maintenance activities to monitor the status of nuclear safety and security systems and equipment at the plant.

In another instance highlighting the precarious external power situation, the IAEA team stationed at the ZNPP, were informed that the plant’s last remaining 330 kV back-up power line was recently disconnected two times for maintenance from 20 – 22 December and from 24 – 25 December. Before the military conflict, Europe’s largest NPP was connected to four 750 kV and six 330 kV off-site power lines.

The IAEA team was informed that unit 4’s circulation pump used to maintain the movement and cleanliness of water in the ZNPP cooling pond was switched off on 18 December to maintain a level of water in the cooling pond. The ZNPP confirmed that water from the 11 groundwater wells is sufficiently feeding the sprinkler ponds which provide cooling to the six reactor units in their current cold shutdown states. The six reactor units at the ZNPP have not operated at power for more than two years. 

The IAEA team was informed that planned maintenance activities were completed last week on safety trains in unit 2 and 6, as well as on one of the common emergency diesel generators. Additionally, diesel steam generators were operated between 12 – 30 December to treat roughly 800 cubic metres of liquid waste.

The team at the ZNPP continues to report hearing military activity in the vicinity of the plant. The ISAMZ team reported hearing explosions over the past days at various distances from Ukraine’s largest NPP. No damage was reported to the ZNPP.

Separately, the IAEA teams at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site also continue to report air raid alarms, and the Khmelnytskyy team were required to shelter several times in the past week.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) informed the IAEA that the subcritical neutron source facility at the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology lost off-site power on the morning of 25 December, as a result of military activities. The facility, which remains shutdown, received power from its emergency diesel generator until off-site power was restored approximately five hours later.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team is in Ukraine this week to assess the nuclear safety impact of recent attacks on its increasingly fragile energy infrastructure, travelling to seven electrical substations on which the country’s nuclear power plants (NPPs) depend to safely generate electricity, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

NPPs need reliable connections to the grid both to deliver the electricity they produce and to receive off-site power for reactor cooling. But repeated attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including the substations, have weakened its electrical grid and reduced its ability to provide stable off-site power to the NPPs, potentially endangering nuclear safety.

Based on the IAEA’s safety standards, the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security that Director General Grossi outlined early during the military conflict stressed that “there must be secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites”.

“The IAEA’s safety standards stress that it is of paramount importance to ensure the availability of a stable off-site power supply system. In addition, fundamental safety principles state that all efforts must be made to prevent nuclear accidents. A reliable transmission system is a significant contributor to defence in depth for nuclear safety,” Director General Grossi said today.

For the third time during the military conflict, the IAEA sent a team of specialists to substations that have been identified as essential for maintaining nuclear safety at the three sites that are currently producing power – the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs – and the Zaporizhzhya NPP and the Chornobyl site, which do not.

The substations function as key nodes in the energy transmission and distribution network and are located at various distances away from these sites in different parts of Ukraine.

The previous IAEA missions to assess the situation at substations in Ukraine, conducted in September and October, documented extensive damage, and also gathered important evidence regarding the vulnerability of the electricity grid.

“During this week’s visits to seven substations, the IAEA’s team is observing and collecting information on the impact on nuclear safety as a result of the latest attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, including those on 28 November. The growing instability of the grid is a major challenge for nuclear safety and the IAEA is taking action to help address this precarious situation,” Director General Grossi said. 

“We will analyse the data that our experts are gathering this week, follow up with technical advice to Ukraine and also identify what additional assistance we can offer to help prevent a nuclear accident during the war,” he said.

The IAEA team is also meeting experts from Ukraine’s grid operator, national nuclear plant operator and nuclear regulator during this week’s mission.

A few days after they reduced electricity output for a third time in less than a month due to renewed attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, most of its nine operational nuclear reactors are once again generating electricity at full power, demonstrating the operators’ resilience in difficult circumstances. As of today, two units are still operating with reduced power due to the reduced grid capacity.

In what has become a frequent occurrence, the IAEA teams at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site all reported air raid alarms over the past week.

The team at the Khmelnytskyy site was required to shelter on Monday morning due to the presence of drones in the area, the closest 900 metres away. In addition, the Ukrainian regulator informed the IAEA that cruise missiles were recorded 3.7 kilometres from the same site last Friday.

At Ukraine’s largest NPP, Zaporizhzhya, the IAEA team reported hearing explosions on most days over the past week at various distances from the site. No damage to the plant, whose six reactors are in cold shutdown, was reported.

The IAEA team based at the Zaporizhzhya NPP (ZNPP) has continued to observe the availability of off-site and on-site power. However, a planned visit to the ZNPP 750 kilovolt (kV) open switchyard today was cancelled by the plant, citing security reasons.

The ZNPP informed the team that newly arrived mobile diesel generators would be used in case of a station blackout, with a total loss of off-site power and inability of the site’s 20 emergency diesel generators to provide enough power to maintain nuclear safety.

Separately this week, as part of its comprehensive programme of assistance in support of nuclear safety and security, the IAEA arranged two new deliveries to Ukraine, bringing the total number of deliveries to 91 since the start of the armed conflict.

The Rivne NPP received medical equipment and supplies such as oximeters, defibrillators, electrocardiographs and similar equipment and the Netishyn hospital received digital X-ray devices. The deliveries were supported with funding from Norway.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Most of Ukraine’s operating nuclear power reactors once again reduced their electricity output early this morning following renewed attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, further underlining persistent risks to nuclear safety during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

For the third time in less than a month, several units of the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine nuclear power plants (NPPs) lowered their power levels during widespread military activities in the country, while air raid alarms sounded at the three sites, Director General Grossi said.

One of the IAEA teams deployed in Ukraine was forced to shelter and reported hearing explosive detonations at mid-distance. Additionally, the team at the South Ukraine NPP was informed that military objects were observed flying approximately 300 metres from the site. 

“Our teams deployed in Ukraine have witnessed how the growing instability of Ukraine’s power infrastructure, as a result of frequent military attacks in recent months, is impacting the ability to safely operate the country’s nuclear power plants,” Director General Grossi said.

Ukraine’s operating NPPs have a total of nine reactors, of which five decreased output this morning following instructions from the operator of the national grid, including one unit that was temporarily disconnected from the grid. Two other units were already operating below nominal full capacity following military strikes on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure in late November.

Three of the affected units subsequently returned to nominal full capacity.

There were no reports of direct damage to the NPPs because of today’s attacks and disruption to the electrical grid. While there were no reports of any additional power lines being disconnected, some lines remain disconnected following the previous attacks on 28 November.

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 electrical infrastructure means that attacks can cause significant fluctuations in the grid, which can affect the availability of safety systems, reducing defence in depth and impacting the nuclear safety of the reactors. The availability and stability of off-site power continues to be one of the main challenges for nuclear safety and security throughout the armed conflict.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains committed to maintaining a presence at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to help prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict, despite this week’s drone attack on one of its armoured vehicles during a regular rotation of IAEA teams stationed at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

The 26th team of IAEA staff sent to the ZNPP since the mission was established more than two years ago began their work to monitor and assess nuclear safety and security at the plant immediately after arriving on Tuesday, replacing colleagues who had been there for the past several weeks.

The drone strike took place later the same day, targeting an official vehicle – with the IAEA logo clearly visible – that formed part of a convoy preparing to pick up the departing IAEA team at a handover point on the frontline. No one was harmed in the attack.

“This week’s attack was a stark reminder of the potential dangers our staff are facing as they carry out their important nuclear safety and security work in an active war zone. They deserve all our sincere gratitude for helping to keep the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant safe,” Director General Grossi said.

The drone used was of a model designed to explode on impact, leaving no discernible debris to be recovered for an investigation into the incident.

“Whoever did this knew exactly what was being done. It was our vehicle that was hit. There was a clear intention to intimidate us. But we will not be intimated by this brazen and deplorable attack. We will stay as long as it is needed and continue our indispensable work,” he added.

At the site, the IAEA has continued to monitor maintenance of elements of the ZNPP’s safety systems, particularly that being performed in reactor units 2 and 6.

During the past week, the ZNPP once again utilized some of its nine mobile diesel boilers to provide part of the heating for the plant and the city of Enerhodar, where most staff live, during the winter.

Separately, the IAEA team has observed three new mobile diesel generators located adjacent to the turbine buildings of three of the reactor units. The ZNPP informed the IAEA team that these new generators are in accordance with the regulations of the Russian Federation, as part of post-Fukushima Daiichi accident measures and in addition to those previously implemented by Ukraine.

These three new mobile generators are also in addition to the site’s 20 fixed emergency diesel generators that are designed to provide on-site power, in case of a total loss of off-site power, which has occurred on eight occasions since the start of the armed conflict. In late 2022, the ZNPP received seven other mobile diesel generators, which are now disconnected and not in use.

The IAEA team reported hearing explosions each day over the past week, at some distance away from the ZNPP. No damage to the ZNPP was reported to the team.

Despite the effects of the military conflict, the IAEA teams at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) and the Chornobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security at these facilities is being maintained.

All nine reactor units at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs are operating and generating electricity for the national grid. However, two units are operating below full capacity due to limitations within the electrical grid, with some off-site power lines still disconnected following recent attacks on Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure.

The teams continued to report air raid alarms throughout the week, with IAEA personnel at the Khmelnytskyy NPP having to shelter on one occasion. The team at the South Ukraine NPP was informed of multiple missiles and drones detected several kilometers from the site.

As part of its comprehensive programme of assistance in support of nuclear safety and security, the IAEA has arranged three new deliveries to Ukraine over the past week, bringing the total to 89.

The Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center and Hydrometeorological organizations of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine received video conferencing equipment while the Slavutych City Hospital close to Chornobyl and the Varash Hospital near the Rivne NPP received medical equipment such as oximeters, blood pressure monitors, defibrillators, patient monitors and glucometers. The equipment was procured with funds from Belgium and the United States. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

A drone hit and severely damaged an official vehicle of the International Atomic Energy Agency during a rotation today of IAEA teams to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), in what Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi condemned as an “unacceptable” attack on Agency staff working to prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict.

The IAEA staff, one driver and one security officer, who were in the armoured vehicle at the time of the incident at 2:05 pm local time were both unharmed, but the rear of the vehicle was destroyed.

The incident occurred approximately 8 kilometres from the frontline within Ukrainian controlled territory. The vehicle was in a convoy moving towards the handover point on the frontline to meet the IAEA team that had been stationed at the ZNPP for the past month, as part of the Agency’s efforts to help ensure nuclear safety and security at the site. Earlier in the day, the new IAEA team had been safely driven to the handover point for onward travel to the ZNPP.

“As Director General of the IAEA, I condemn in the most firm terms this attack on IAEA staff,” Director General Grossi said in a statement. “Fortunately, there were no victims, and our teams are safe. The rotation has been completed,” he said.

The driver of a second IAEA vehicle in the convoy saw the Kamikaze drone coming from behind and slamming into the targeted vehicle.

“I have said in the past that attacking a nuclear power plant is a no go. Attacking those who care for the nuclear safety and security of these plants is also absolutely unacceptable,” Director General Grossi said, reiterating his call for maximum restraint.

The IAEA has been present at the ZNPP since 1 September 2022, when Director General Grossi led the first Agency mission to the site. The new team that arrived today is the 26th overall at the ZNPP.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA