Category: Press Release

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today opened the doors to its newly created Visitors Centre located in its laboratory facility in Seibersdorf, Austria, a first-of-its-kind space where visitors can experience the Agency’s mission and discover how nuclear science and technology is addressing global challenges.

At the inauguration ceremony held today in the presence of IAEA Member State Ambassadors and representatives from Austrian academia, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and Ambassador of Austria to the United Nations in Vienna Gabriela Sellner, officially unveiled the centre.

“This centre brings the Agency’s mission of ‘Atoms for Peace and Development’ to life for the public,” said Director General Grossi. “This new milestone for the IAEA highlights how nuclear technology drives progress in energy, medicine, food security, and industry, as well as the Agency’s role in reducing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation.”

Located less than an hour’s drive from Vienna, the IAEA Visitor Centre offers an immersive experience that highlights the Agency’s scientific and technical mandate, exploring the application of nuclear for health, food and agriculture, water, ocean protection, cultural heritage, energy and industry.

The centre features 33 interactive exhibits with physical and digital displays that highlight the pioneering scientific work carried out at the IAEA’s laboratories in Seibersdorf, Vienna, and in Monaco. First opened in 1962 in Seibersdorf, just five years after the IAEA’s founding, the IAEA research laboratories are unique within the United Nations system and include five joint Laboratories supporting the work of FAO-IAEA Joint Centre.  They serve as hubs for applied research and development, technical and analytical services, capacity-building and the advancement of innovative nuclear technologies.

“This new state-of-the-art Visitor Centre will bring the IAEA’s work to life,” Ambassador Sellner underlined today, during the opening event. “It shows how nuclear science helps tackle global challenges — from health to food and agriculture, to protecting our oceans and water. It also reflects the IAEA’s commitment to sharing knowledge and engaging with the public on the peaceful uses of nuclear science. Austria is proud to host the IAEA and its Laboratories.”

Touring the centre for the first time, the Director General described it as a dynamic and accessible experience of the IAEA’s mission for a wide range of visitors, from researchers and scientists to high school and university students with a keen interest in science and global cooperation.

“Today is more than the inauguration of a facility – it is the beginning of a new chapter in science outreach and education,” Director General Grossi added.

The centre was funded by the United States, and during today’s inauguration ceremony, Director General Grossi emphasized that it stands as a testament to international partnership and collaboration. Lucy Chang, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the United States, and Marlene Zeidler-Beck, Member of the Landtag of Lower Austria, also spoke at the opening. More details, including registration information, are available on the IAEA Visitor Centre website.

Guided tours can extend beyond the centre itself. Depending on availability, groups may also visit the laboratories on site that focus on plant breeding, food safety, pest control, dosimetry, safeguards, nuclear security and more.

“Whether you’re a student, researcher, journalist, or someone interested in partnering with the IAEA, I invite you to explore and be inspired by the transformative power of science. Through the Agency’s global impact, we show how nuclear innovations are improving lives across every continent.”

B-roll of today’s event and footage of all speakers remarks will be available here.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The IAEA team based at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) reported hearing shelling close to the site today and saw black smoke rising from three locations nearby, in the latest incident highlighting continuous nuclear safety risks during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The team was informed by the ZNPP that multiple artillery shells had struck an area outside the ZNPP site parameter around 400 metres from the plant’s off-site diesel fuel storage facility, also known as the diesel fuel farm. This incident is believed to have sparked fires in the affected vegetation, which are under control.

This information was in line with the team’s own observations of sporadic shelling being heard for about two hours from 1:26pm local time, including three rounds close to the site at around 2:30pm. Gunfire was also heard. Smoke from locations outside the site was later observed by the team from the ZNPP’s main administrative building. The team was not yet able to visit the area of the reported shelling but will request it tomorrow morning provided the security situation allows it.

While there were no reports of casualties or equipment damage, the incident once again underlined the constant dangers to nuclear safety and security, Director General Grossi said.

“As I told the IAEA’s General Conference yesterday, military action still endangers the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. What was once virtually unimaginable – shelling or other military activity taking place close to major nuclear facilities – has become a regular occurrence during this horrific war. I’ve repeatedly called for maximum military restraint near nuclear power plants and I do so again today. This must stop before it is too late”, Director General Grossi said.

In his statement to the General Conference, the annual gathering of the IAEA’s Member States, Director General Grossi also said that the Agency’s teams deployed at Ukraine’s other nuclear sites – Chornobyl and the Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyy NPPs – have all reported “a significant increase in military activities in recent weeks”.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The discharge of treated water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) is proceeding in line with international safety standards, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Task Force confirmed today in its fourth report since the water discharge began in August 2023. The monitoring programmes carried out for the ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System) treated water are also consistent with the relevant international safety standards and guidance, the report states.

During its fourth mission to Japan from 26 to 30 May 2025, the Task Force observed the ALPS treated water discharge facilities at the FDNPS and met with government and municipal officials, as well as representatives from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) – operator of the plant – in Tokyo.

The Task Force report reaffirmed the findings of its safety review outlined in the IAEA Comprehensive Report. It highlighted that the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has maintained regulatory oversight of the ALPS treated water through its monitoring programmes and its onsite presence. Additionally, the Task Force confirmed that the water discharge equipment and facilities are operating in accordance with relevant international safety standards.

The Task Force noted the importance of the IAEA’s ongoing corroboration activities and the IAEA onsite independent testing and analyses in providing a comprehensive, transparent and independent verification of the accuracy and reliability of the data reported by TEPCO and the Government of Japan.

The IAEA’s extensive monitoring and assessment activities for the safety review of ALPS treated water include a series of Inter Laboratory Comparisons (ILCs) which have already confirmed TEPCO’s capabilities for accurately measuring the radionuclides in the treated water stored on site, and the capabilities of Japan’s laboratories for accurate measuring of the radionuclides in seawater, sediment, fish and seaweed samples.

Additionally, IAEA experts stationed at the Agency’s office at FDNPS conduct regular independent on-site analyses of the batches of treated water. The IAEA has earlier confirmed that the tritium concentrations in the 15 batches of ALPS treated water were far below operational limits.

Read the latest report for more information. All reports, as well as additional information such as frequently asked questions, can be found on the IAEA’s Fukushima Daiichi ALPS Treated Water Discharge web page.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Independent sampling and analysis conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that the tritium concentration in the 15th batch of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated water, which Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began discharging today from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), is far below Japan’s operational limit.

As part of its ongoing safety review, the IAEA collected and analyzed samples onsite at FDNPS of the diluted water that was being prepared for discharge as part of this latest batch. The results confirmed that the tritium concentration is far below the operational limit of 1,500 becquerels per litre and is in line with international safety standards.

Japan started to discharge the ALPS-treated water in August 2023 and will release it in a series of batches over the next decades. The treated water is diluted with seawater prior to discharge. Approximately 109,000 cubic meters of water has been released in the first 14 batches. The IAEA has confirmed that the tritium concentrations in this 15th batch were far below the international safety standards and 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 timelines, are available on the IAEA website.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

IAEA teams in Ukraine reported hearing explosions and other indications of intense military activity overnight, further heightening concerns about the dangers to nuclear safety and security during the armed conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

Coinciding with reports of widespread attacks in the country’s west, IAEA team members deployed at two of Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) – Khmelnytskyy and Rivne – heard drones as well as bursts of gunfire while in their accommodations in the cities of Netishyn and Varash, both located just a few kilometres from the two respective plants.

While there were no reports of any direct impact on nuclear safety and security at the two sites, Director General Grossi stressed that any military activity in the vicinity of an NPP could put it at risk and should cease immediately.

“I’m deeply concerned about last night’s events. According to our teams on the ground, these were unusually large-scale military activities close to these two nuclear power plants, which should never happen. Once again, I reiterate my call for maximum military restraint near such facilities. A severe nuclear accident would be in no one’s interest and must be avoided at all cost,” he said.

Following up this morning, the IAEA team at the Khmelnytskyy NPP was informed that the plant overnight detected nine drones flying as close as three kilometres from the site, while the Rivne NPP said it observed 13 such unmanned aerial vehicles in its surveillance area. This comes a week after the team at Rivne previously heard military activity from their hotel, which until now has been rare.

Director General Grossi said such military activity in the proximity of NPPs posed a threat to the Seven Indispensable Pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict that he outlined in March 2022, especially Pillar 1 on the physical integrity of nuclear facilities and Pillar 3 regarding the safety of operating staff.

“The world’s attention has – rightly – been very much focused on the extremely challenging situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) located on the frontline. However, the nuclear safety and security situation remains extremely vulnerable also at the four other sites where we have teams, as demonstrated all too clearly last night,” he said.

Earlier this week, Director General Grossi briefed the IAEA Board of Governors on the nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine, highlighting continued risks during the conflict.

“The safety situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant remains precarious, with six of the Seven Pillars compromised,” he told the Board in his introductory statement on Monday. “Ongoing military activity, including attacks very close to the ZNPP site, are deeply concerning, adding stress and risk.”

This was also underlined by the IAEA team members deployed at the ZNPP, reporting hearing military activities on most days over the past week. They also visited a reactor unit to observe safety-related maintenance activities as well as the 750 kilovolt (kV) switchyard. However, they were not granted access to the site’s diesel fuel storage to confirm the diesel volumes available there, with the ZNPP citing security concerns.

At the Chornobyl site, Director General Grossi informed the Board that three of the Seven Pillars remain compromised following February’s drone strike on the New Safe Confinement (NSC). Despite challenges caused by the military conflict, the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs continue to operate, supplying electricity to the national grid.

“The ongoing degradation of the electrical grid, including its crucial substations, increases the risk to safe operation of the plants, compromising Pillar 4 of the Seven Pillars,” the Director General said at the Board meeting.

He added: “Amid these challenges, the Agency continues to prioritize equipment delivery to support nuclear safety and security in Ukraine through contributions by 30 donor states and the EU.”

In the 153rd delivery of equipment to Ukraine since the start of the armed conflict, the State Specialized Scientific and Industrial Enterprise “ECOCENTRE” received supplies essential for ensuring continued environmental monitoring  in the Chornobyl NPP Exclusion Zone. The delivery was supported with funds from Sweden.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today led a team of international experts in conducting seawater sampling and fishery product selection near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS).

This marks the fifth mission carried out under the IAEA’s additional measures, which aim to enhance transparency and broaden international participation. These measures enable hands-on independent measurements of the concentration level of the water by third parties to ensure that the discharge of treated water – processed through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and initiated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) in August 2023 – remains consistent with international safety standards.

International experts from the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and Switzerland, alongside IAEA staff, conducted hands-on sampling of the seawater and marine samples.

The IAEA began implementing these additional measures in October of last year. In February, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi presided over the additional measures to collect seawater samples in the vicinity of FDNPS, together with international experts.

This latest mission follows the June operation, during which samples of ALPS treated water were collected ahead of the discharge of the 14th batch.

Samples collected during today’s mission will be analysed by participating laboratories including: the China Institute for Radiation Protection, the Korea Institute for Nuclear Safety, the Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory in New Zealand, Lomonosov Moscow State University in the Russian Federation, the Spiez Laboratory in Switzerland, the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco and designated laboratories in Japan.

All international laboratories involved are members of the IAEA’s Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA) network, selected for their demonstrated expertise and analytical excellence.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Nuclear safety remains highly precarious at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) three years after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) deployed its first team at the site, as the risk of a radiological accident persists for as long as the conflict continues, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

On 1 September 2022, Director General Grossi crossed the frontline to establish the IAEA’s presence at the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP). Since that time, 61 IAEA staff members have been deployed as part of 30 team rotations at the plant, many more than once.

“Their presence at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is of paramount importance. In very challenging circumstances, they are closely monitoring nuclear safety and security at the site, enabling us to inform the world about developments there in a factual and impartial manner. It is crucial that the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya stays as long as it is needed to preserve nuclear safety in these extraordinary circumstances,” Director General Grossi said.

Underlining the ever-present dangers to nuclear safety and security, the IAEA team at the ZNPP reported hearing explosions and other military activities on several days over the past week, coming from outside the site. Earlier today, the team reported hearing six explosions from very close to the site. No impact on nuclear safety and security was reported.

The extremely fragile off-site power situation and difficulties related to access to cooling water continue to be two of the most challenging areas for nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP.

For four months now, the ZNPP has been forced to rely on one single external power line for the electricity it needs to cool its six reactors in their current cold shutdown state and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions. Before the conflict, it had ten off-site power lines available.

The water level in the ZNPP cooling pond has dropped by just over 3.2 metres since the downstream Kakhovka dam was destroyed in June 2023, falling by almost 60 centimetres in the past three months alone. This recently prompted the ZNPP to build an isolation dam in the cooling pond channel that supplies water for several plant systems.

The IAEA team reports that the ZNPP is now using mobile pumps to transfer water from the main cooling pond into this cooling channel, whose current height of about 14.1 metres enables other pumps to provide cooling water to the main reactor unit transformers and other important operating systems.

“We will continue to monitor this matter very closely, as reliable access to cooling water is essential for nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said.

Last weekend, the IAEA team performed a walkdown of another vital part of the ZNPP cooling infrastructure – 12 sprinkler ponds that receive water from groundwater wells that were drilled after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. These ponds are providing water to cool the reactors and spent fuel, among other systems important to safety. The team confirmed that they are all full.

During the past week, the IAEA team also observed planned maintenance activities being performed on equipment that form part of the safety systems of reactor units 2 and 6.

The IAEA teams at Ukraine’s operating NPPs – Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine – and the Chornobyl site continue to monitor nuclear safety and security at the respective sites.

On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, all IAEA teams reported air raid alarms. The team at Rivne also heard multiple rounds of gunfire and observed unidentified flying objects from their hotel, located approximately four kilometres from the plant. The site management informed the team that eight drones had been detected within its monitoring zone. The IAEA team members at the South Ukraine NPP were informed that three drones were identified two kilometres from the site. They were also told that one of its off-site power lines had been disconnected from the grid, reportedly due to damage.

Maintenance and refuelling activities are taking place at two of Ukraine’s nine operating power reactors. 

The team at Chornobyl conducted a walkdown of the New Safe Confinement, observing that debris as a result of the drone strike in February was being removed in preparation for the installation of temporary roofing, which is expected to commence later this month.