Category: Press Release

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has joined forces with Siemens Healthineers to strengthen cancer diagnosis and treatment capacity in low- and middle-income countries, harnessing each other’s technical expertise in new ways to combat the rising global burden of this disease that kills millions of people every year.  

On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and Siemens Healthineers CEO Bernd Montag signed a practical arrangement agreement to support low- and middle-income countries in establishing and strengthening safe and effective radiation medicine for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

The agreement will be carried out under the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative and is part of the ambition of Siemens Healthineers and its Varian oncology business to increase access to quality healthcare for everyone, no matter where they live. Both initiatives seek to further the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3, whose aims include reducing by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030.

“I’m very encouraged by the progress we are already seeing under the IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative and the considerable interest it is attracting, with leading companies such as Siemens Healthineers cooperating with us to address a growing global cancer burden,” Director General Grossi said. “I’m very grateful for their support, which will help save lives.”

Siemens Healthineers and its Varian oncology business have a decades-long history of cooperation with the IAEA, which works to tackle a cancer care gap in many countries where people often die of the disease because they lack access to potentially life-saving nuclear medicine, diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy infrastructure.

“With our product and service portfolio spanning screening, diagnosis and therapy, Siemens Healthineers is uniquely positioned to support along the entire cancer pathway. This makes us a strong partner in expanding quality healthcare for everyone, everywhere,” Siemens Healthineers CEO Bernd Montag said.

This cooperation represents a continued significant shift in how the IAEA works with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors. It goes beyond providing equipment and includes broader strategies on early detection and treatment of cancer.

Included in the scope of the agreement, the parties intend to cooperate in raising awareness about the importance of radiation medicine in diagnosing and treating cancer. It also calls for collaboration in the areas of education, training research and knowledge sharing.

Rays of Hope builds on the IAEA’s six decades of experience and expertise in nuclear science to diagnose and treat different types of tumours. It aims to mobilize financial resources and partners and to galvanize political will to step up the fight against a scourge killing many who could have been successfully treated with modern medical technology.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Japan signed an agreement today setting out the full scope of the Agency’s comprehensive and continuous safety review of the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS), paving the way for decades of independent monitoring, sampling and analysis at the site and at sea.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on the side-lines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, nearly four weeks after the discharge of the water treated through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) began. The IAEA has been reviewing the safety of Japan’s plan on how to handle the treated water since it was first announced in 2021 and today’s agreement focuses on the Agency’s long-term activities during the discharge itself.

It identifies five main areas of the IAEA’s safety review work: 1) monitoring and assessment, focused on the protection of people and the environment; 2) the IAEA’s presence in Japan and at the FDNPS, including for conducting onsite analysis; 3) regular Agency review missions; 4) corroboration of Japan’s source and environmental monitoring based on independent sampling and analysis; and 5) outreach and awareness activities, including sharing key information with the public.

These activities will enable the IAEA to check that the relevant international safety standards are constantly applied during the discharge, backed up with real-time and other monitoring data on the Agency’s website. In July, Director General Grossi established an IAEA office at the FDNPS.

“Today’s agreement sets the broad parameters for the IAEA’s permanent presence at the site to implement the monitoring, corroboration and assessment activities that are indispensable for transparency and for building confidence – both in Japan and abroad – that the discharge will neither harm people nor the environment,” Director General Grossi said.

“We will stay and carry out our technical work until the last drop of the treated water has been safely discharged into the sea,” he said. “Through its independent and scientific work, the IAEA will be able to provide assurances to people around the world that the discharge will cause no harm.”

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) – Fukushima Daiichi’s operator – on 24 August started discharging the ALPS treated water stored at the site. To bring the tritium levels below operational limits, the water is also diluted before it is discharged.

The Agency’s two year detailed safety review of Japan’s plan had previously concluded that the approach and activities for the discharge are consistent with relevant international safety standards and would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

Earlier this month, the IAEA’s first independent sampling and analysis of seawater near FDNPS since the discharge started also confirmed that the tritium levels were below Japan’s operational limits.

Today’s agreement – which formalizes some activities that are already being implemented – comes just over two years after the IAEA and Japan signed the Terms of Reference for the IAEA’s assistance to Japan in reviewing the safety aspects of the handling of the ALPS treated water, and the Agency’s establishment of a Task Force for this purpose.

“As today’s Memorandum of Cooperation demonstrates, the IAEA’s work is far from over. In some respects, with last month’s start of the discharge, it is only now beginning,” Director General Grossi said.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran), informed me of its decision to withdraw the designation of several experienced Agency inspectors assigned to conduct verification activities in Iran under the NPT Safeguards Agreement. This follows a previous recent withdrawal of the designation of another experienced Agency inspector for Iran. 

These inspectors are among the most experienced Agency experts with unique knowledge in enrichment technology. They have conducted essential verification work at the enrichment facilities in Iran which are under Agency safeguards.

With today’s decision, Iran has effectively removed about one third of the core group of the Agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran.

This measure, while formally permitted by the NPT Safeguards Agreement, has been exercised by Iran in a manner that affects in a direct and severe way the ability of the IAEA to conduct effectively its inspections in Iran.

I strongly condemn this disproportionate and unprecedented unilateral measure which affects the normal planning and conduct of Agency verification activities in Iran and openly contradicts the cooperation that should exist between the Agency and Iran.

This profoundly regrettable decision by Iran is another step in the wrong direction and constitutes an unnecessary blow to an already strained relationship between the IAEA and Iran in the implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement.

Without effective cooperation, confidence and trust will continue to be elusive and the Agency will not be in a position to discharge effectively its verification mandate in Iran and provide credible assurances that nuclear material and activities in Iran are for peaceful purposes.

Our experience demonstrates that shutting out Agency inspectors affects our essential verification mandate and is not the way of working in a cooperative manner.

I call upon the Iranian Government to reconsider its decision and to return to a path of cooperation with the Agency. I also call upon the highest authorities of Iran to engage with me at the earliest opportunity to correct course and work with the Agency for the complete clarification of the outstanding safeguards issues.

Rafael Mariano Grossi

Director General of the IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been drilling more wells at the site as part of efforts to find new sources of cooling water after the destruction of the downstream Kakhovka dam more than three months ago, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

Since last week, the ZNPP has built another two groundwater wells to supply the sprinkler ponds that cool the six reactors and spent fuel, bringing the total of new wells to nine.

Together they pump around 200 cubic metres of water per hour into the sprinkler ponds, representing almost all the cooling needs of the six shutdown reactors. The remainder of the water comes from the drainage system and clean water that is periodically discharged from the plant’s chemical water treatment facility. The IAEA has been informed that the water supply situation will be assessed after a tenth well has been constructed to see if more will be needed.

“Following the loss of the Kakhovka reservoir, actions have been taken to stabilise the site’s water resources, which are currently sufficient for several months of its cooling requirements in the current conditions,” Director General Grossi said.

“However, the challenges the site has been facing in this regard are further adding to the generally precarious nuclear safety and security situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, especially as our experts are reporting about further indications of increased military activities in the region,” he said.

Underlining the potential dangers for nuclear safety and security during the conflict in Ukraine, the IAEA experts have continued to hear numerous explosions some distance away from the ZNPP, which is located by the frontline.

They were also informed by the ZNPP about further drone attacks, on 11 September, in the nearby city of Enerhodar where many staff live with their families, causing minor damage to two buildings. The ZNPP informed the IAEA experts that there were no casualties reported at that time.

“No action should be taken that could imperil nuclear safety and security at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in any way. We remain determined to do everything we can to help prevent a nuclear accident during this tragic war. The risks continue to be all too real,” Director General Grossi said.  

At the ZNPP, the IAEA experts have continued to conduct walkdowns of specific areas at the site and meet with staff there.

They have not observed the presence of any new mines or explosives but confirmed the continued presence of mines in the buffer zone between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers. The IAEA continues to request access to the rooftops of reactor units 1, 2, 5 and 6, and to all six turbine halls, one after the other.

Over the past week, the experts visited the isolation gate at the large cooling pond and confirmed the integrity of the gate and observed the reinforcements that had been made on the side of the Kakhovka reservoir following the dam’s collapse in early June.

The IAEA team also went to the main control room of unit 4, the reactor hall of unit 3, the turbine hall of unit 2 and a liquid waste treatment facility.

The six reactor units remain in shutdown, with units 1 to 5 in cold shutdown and unit 6 in hot shutdown to generate steam for various nuclear safety functions. For example, the steam from unit 6 is used in the liquid waste treatment facility that the IAEA experts visited this week.

During the visit and through discussions with ZNPP staff, the IAEA experts were informed that the inventory of liquid waste on site varies, due to the routine generation of waste together with the subsequent treatment of the waste. Currently, there is liquid waste to be treated, after which the site will also treat more such waste resulting from the regeneration of ion exchange resins, which are essential for maintaining the purity of the water, including that needed for the cooling of the spent fuel.

As previously stated, the IAEA experts have strongly been encouraging the ZNPP to investigate all possible options to install an external boiler to generate the steam required, which would enable the plant to bring all units into a cold shutdown state. Also as reported earlier, the Ukraine national regulator – SNRIU – has issued regulatory orders to limit the operation of all six units to a cold shutdown state.

At Ukraine’s three other nuclear power plants and the Chornobyl site, the IAEA teams based at these facilities reported no new nuclear safety and security issues over the past week. A rotation of IAEA experts was successfully conducted at the Chornobyl site earlier this week.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission found Poland’s nuclear regulatory framework to be in line with IAEA safety standards and said its regulatory body is competent and prepared for the launch of the country’s nuclear power programme. The team also said the government must take robust measures to ensure the regulatory body is independent and properly resourced.

The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) team today concluded a mission to Poland, conducted at the request of the Government of Poland and hosted by the Państwowa Agencja Atomistyki (PAA), the main regulatory body. Using IAEA safety standards and international good practices, IRRS missions are designed to strengthen the effectiveness of the national regulatory infrastructure for nuclear and radiation safety, while recognizing the responsibility of each country.

The 12-day mission – taking place from 4 to 15 September – reviewed Poland’s governmental, legal and regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety against IAEA safety standards. It was the second IRRS mission to Poland, following one held in 2013.

Construction of Poland’s first nuclear power plant is planned to begin in 2026 at Lubiatowo-Kopalino in the province of Pomerania. As set out in Polish Nuclear Power Programme, there will be up to six reactors in two or three locations in the country with total generation capacity of 6 to 9 GWe. All units are expected to be online by 2040.

Poland currently operates a single research reactor, MARIA, has a research reactor, EWA, under decommissioning and two spent fuel storage facilities, all located in Otwock, near Warsaw. Industry, medicine and research applications of radioactive sources are widely used. The National Radioactive Waste Repository, located in the town of Rozan, is a near-surface repository for radioactive waste and sealed radioactive sources disposal operated by Radioactive Waste Management Plant (ZUOP).

The mission team consisted of 15 senior regulatory experts from 14 countries, as well as four IAEA staff members and one observer from the European Commission. The team met with the PAA and also held meetings with the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Military Preventive Medicine Centre of the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, the State Regional Sanitary Inspection in Warsaw and the National Centre for Radiation Protection in Health Care. The experts also observed regulatory inspections and oversight activities at the MARIA Research Reactor operated by the National Center for Nuclear Research, the Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology medical facility and the EWA research reactor under decommissioning, operated by ZUOP. These visits included discussions with management and staff of the facilities.

The team concluded that the PAA is a competent regulatory body whose staff are committed to deliver their regulatory statutory obligations effectively and to prepare to embark on a nuclear power programme in line with international safety standards.

“This is a major milestone for Poland, which has been considering a nuclear power programme for many years. The PAA’s commitment to safety, as demonstrated throughout this second IRRS mission, is essential to ensuring that any nuclear power plants built in Poland are operated safely and securely,” said Mike King, Deputy Office Director for Reactor Safety Programs and Mission Support at U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the IRRS Team Leader. “I would like to express my appreciation to the international team of experts who conducted this very thorough review.  Their findings show that the PAA is a competent regulatory body with dedicated staff who are committed to meet the highest safety standards.”

Poland’s simulation exercise of the regulatory assessment of an application for a license to build and operate a nuclear power plant, and the issuance of such a license – including participation from international experts – in 2018 and 2019 was signalled as a good practice by the IRRS team. The team said it enabled the PAA to enhance its competences for the licensing of a nuclear power programme, to identify priorities for further developing the safety infrastructure and to better prepare for several practical issues that may be encountered during licensing of the first nuclear plant in Poland.

In addition, the team identified good practices and performances conducted by Poland, including:

• The training of 300 Regional Sanitary Inspectorates staff on how to effectively inform the public on radon related issues.
• The communication strategy of the PAA to interact effectively with its interested parties, including information published on its website in relation to the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine.
• The installation of thirty additional radiation monitoring stations close to its border to improve radioactivity detection capability.

The IRRS team considers that the main challenge in Poland is to implement robust measures to ensure that the PAA is effectively independent and continues to be properly resourced. Additionally, the IRRS team said the government should:

• Ensure the availability of financial resources to enable the timely decommissioning of research reactors.
• Improve coordination and cooperation between different regulatory authorities with responsibilities for facilities and activities in Poland.
• Address the need for additional medical physicists for ensuring radiation protection of workers, patients and the public in medical treatments using radiation.
• Provide the PAA with the authority to amend licenses on its own initiative without the documented consent from the authorized party.
• The team added recommendations for the PAA including its need to establish an integrated overarching human resource plan, including the identification of financial resources to implement it.

“We would like to thank the IRRS team for their intensive work during last two weeks, the results of which will help us to further enhance the overall effectiveness of the regulatory system in Poland,” said Andrzej Głowacki, President of PAA. “The PAA has been identified as a competent regulatory body with staff committed to deliver their regulatory functions effectively. It will allow Poland to safely develop its nuclear power programme,” added the head of the Polish regulator.  “The IAEA’s recommendations and suggestions are very valuable to any country that is embarking on nuclear power, and identified areas of good practice and performance can only confirm that we are truly devoted to the development of our regulatory competences”.

The final mission report will be provided to PAA in about three months. Poland plans to make the report public.

Background

General information about IRRS missions can be found on the IAEA website. IRRS are used to advise Member States on ways to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of national regulatory frameworks for nuclear, radiation, radioactive waste and transport safety while recognizing the ultimate responsibility of each State to ensure safety in these areas.

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

Korean experts visited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Office at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) for the first time under an agreement between the IAEA and the Republic of Korea (ROK) providing for the IAEA to share information on its monitoring of the discharge of ALPS treated water.

The Korean team, comprised of experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), visited the IAEA’s office where the IAEA has a continuous presence on the site. Agency staff also held several technical meetings with the Korean experts off-site over the past two weeks as part of the IKFIM.

The IAEA-ROK Fukushima Information Mechanism (IKFIM) established a framework for the IAEA to share technical information and data on the treated water discharge and its monitoring activities at the FDNPS with ROK. This agreement underscores the IAEA’s commitment to enhancing communication with the public on the safety of the discharge of ALPS treated water, including in the region.

The Agency provided information to the Korean experts on how the Agency monitors and assesses the water discharge to ensure that the relevant international safety standards continue to be applied by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) – Fukushima Daiichi’s operator – and the Government of Japan.

Under IKFIM, information on the IAEA’s monitoring activities will be shared through written updates, virtual meetings, and ROK experts’ visits to the IAEA Fukushima office. The mechanism will provide a continuing overview of the IAEA’s monitoring activities to the Government of the ROK.

Japan’s TEPCO started discharging ALPS treated water stored at the FDNPS into the sea on 24 August. The Agency’s two year detailed safety review of the plan for discharging the treated water concluded that the approach and activities for this discharge are consistent with relevant international safety standards and would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

The IAEA continues to cooperate with all concerned states in relation to its safety review of the ALPS treated water discharge.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) first independent sampling and analysis of seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) since discharges of ALPS treated water started on 24 August confirms that the tritium levels are below Japan’s operational limit.

Agency staff present at the IAEA’s Office at the site sampled seawater from several locations within three kilometres from the site, at sea and from the coast.

The Agency’s independent sampling and measurement of the seawater from the coast shows consistency with the values reported by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) – operator of the FDNPS – as well as the Ministry of Environment of Japan. TEPCO reports daily public results on its website showing that the tritium activity concentration in the sea falls below its operational limit, that is, the limit set for operation of the ALPS discharge process that must not be exceeded. The Agency is continuing its analysis of all the seawater samples.

The IAEA’s safety review of Japan’s plan to release the treated water into the sea, carried out before the discharge started, concluded that Japan’s approach and activities to discharge ALPS-treated water are consistent with relevant international safety standards. The report noted that the controlled, gradual discharges of the treated water into the sea, as currently planned and assessed by TEPCO, would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.

The IAEA has been collecting marine samples in the waters off Fukushima over the past decade, following a request by the Japanese Government to assist it in ensuring that its sea area monitoring – conducted since the accident in 2011 – maintains a high quality, and is credible and transparent. The project is a follow-up activity to recommendations made on marine monitoring in a report by the IAEA in 2013 related to the decommissioning of the FDNPS plant.

IAEA staff sampling seawater within three kilometres from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as part of the Agency’s safety review of the ALPS treated water discharge (Photo: TEPCO)

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts based at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) have reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week, in a possible sign of increased military activity in the region that could also pose a potential threat to nuclear safety and security at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

Just over a year after the IAEA established a permanent presence at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP) to help prevent an accident there during the conflict in Ukraine, the overall situation at the facility remains highly precarious, Director General Grossi said.

Starting last Saturday, the IAEA team heard around two dozen explosions over three days, followed by several more in the last few days.  There was no damage to the plant itself.

“The reports I receive from our experts indicate that the explosions occurred some distance away from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. Nevertheless, I remain deeply concerned about the possible dangers facing the plant at this time of heightened military tension in the region,” Director General Grossi said, again stressing the importance of all parties adhering to the five concrete principles for the protection of the ZNPP.

“Whatever happens in a conflict zone wherever it may be, everybody would stand to lose from a nuclear accident, and I urge that all necessary precautions must be taken to avoid it happening,” he said.

Separately, the ZNPP informed the IAEA team that more drone strikes had taken place in the nearby city of Enerhodar – where many plant staff live with their families – in the morning of 7 September. No casualties were reported. In addition, the IAEA team was informed that the ZNPP had decided to temporarily reduce the number of personnel on the site to minimum levels over the next few days due to concerns of a higher risk of military activities in the area.

At the plant, the IAEA experts observed the continued presence of mines between the perimeter fences, but they did not see any additional ones during their walkdown activities across the site. However, they have still not been granted access to the rooftops of reactor units 1, 2, 5 and 6. The IAEA team has also been requesting a walkdown of all six turbine halls, one after the other, to be able to fully assess, at one time, whether there may be any items present that may be in contravention of the five principles. At present, this request has not been granted.

“To monitor compliance with the five principles, we must be able to have full access,” Director General Grossi said.

Three months after the downstream Kakhovka dam was destroyed – causing the depletion of the huge reservoir that the ZNPP had been relying on to cool its reactors and spent fuel – the plant continues work on expanding access to other sources of water, for example through the drilling of groundwater wells. So far, seven such wells of a planned total of 10-12 have been completed.

In recent days, the IAEA team observed – on two separate occasions – the operation of these wells supplying the sprinkler ponds, which are located next to the six reactors and used for the plant’s cooling functions.

The ZNPP has informed the IAEA team that the seven wells currently operating are accounting for just over half of the approximately 250 cubic metres of water per hour that are required to maintain the cooling water in the sprinkler ponds. This assumes all units remain in a shutdown state. The remaining volume of cooling water is currently pumped from the site’s drainage system. As a result of the new wells, the ZNPP also informed the IAEA that the height of the groundwater had only declined by a very minor level.

The IAEA team reported that the ZNPP is performing maintenance on different components and safety systems at the facility, whose six reactors remain shut down, one in hot shutdown and the others in cold shutdown.

On 4 September, a water leak was detected in a recirculation valve of the essential service water system in reactor unit 5. To repair this valve, the site had to place one safety train of unit 5 and one of unit 6 offline. After the valve was repaired, the safety train of unit 6 was returned to stand-by mode, while that of unit 5 was kept offline for maintenance work. Each reactor at the ZNPP has three separate and independent redundant systems (also called “safety trains”) that together comprise the units’ safety systems, which are normally in stand-by mode ready to activate if needed to maintain the reactor unit’s safety. One safety train alone is capable of maintaining the reactor unit’s safety.

Maintenance activities of the safety systems of unit 4 are also taking place, including of its transformer, heat exchangers and emergency diesel generators. Once they are completed, the site will conduct the final test of the steam generator that was repaired after a water leak was detected in this unit last month.

Over the past week, the IAEA team also conducted other walkdown activities within the site perimeter, including at the main control room, emergency control room and the safety systems rooms of unit 6 and the turbine hall of unit 3 where the team reported that there was no military equipment present at the time of its visit. This morning the IAEA experts visited the turbine hall of reactor unit 1 where they observed a total of fifteen vehicles, but no heavy weapons.

The ZNPP continues to receive off-site power from the last remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) power line and a single 330kV backup power line. The IAEA experts were informed by the ZNPP that the site currently does not have any information on the status of repairs of the damaged off-site power lines as they all pass through the military conflict areas.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, rotations of the IAEA experts have been conducted this week at the Khmelnitsky, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and a rotation of the team at the Chornobyl site is scheduled for next week. The IAEA teams at the four sites did not report any nuclear safety or security issues.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Today marks one year since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, visited Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) for the first time and established the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ). The permanent presence of IAEA experts at ZNPP has been essential in reducing the likelihood of a nuclear accident.

The IAEA has also provided ongoing assistance and monitoring in Ukraine since the start of the war, including missions, experts at all Ukraine’s nuclear power plants (NPPs), facilitating international financial support, and information sharing.

“As I said one year ago, having the IAEA permanently present at the ZNPP is of great value. There is no doubt that this presence was a game changer,” Director General Grossi said. “The presence of the ISAMZ team at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant on the front lines of war has been a crucial part of the IAEAs activities to monitor the situation and assist Ukraine.”

“The presence of the IAEA was essential in helping to stabilize the situation and keeping the world informed about Zaporizhzhya NPP. I am particularly proud of the courageous staff who carry out this important work, as well as those at the other Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site,” Director General Grossi added.

In order to prevent a nuclear accident that could affect people and the environment, it continues to be of paramount importance that the five basic principles for the protection of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant are respected and adhered to, Director General Grossi said.

The anniversary comes just one day after a successful tenth ISAMZ rotation, with IAEA experts once again crossing the front line as the teams departed and arrived at the plant.

During the previous rotation on 3 August 2023, IAEA experts had been granted access to the reactor rooftops of units 3 and 4, which allowed them to verify that no mines or explosives were placed there or on the rooftops of the turbine halls. The ISAMZ team, therefore, expected similar access to the rooftops of the remaining four units during the current rotation. However, no such access was granted this time.

Director General Grossi reiterated the importance of IAEA experts being granted timely access to all areas of the ZNPP to monitor full compliance with the five basic principles.

The IAEA experts continue to hear explosions and the sounds of military activity taking place some distance away from the ZNPP. The ISAMZ team was informed by ZNPP that a drone had hit a residential building in Enerhodar on 23 August and that no casualties were reported. The IAEA experts confirmed that these events had no impact on the site. Director General Grossi said that these are yet another reminder of potential nuclear safety and security risks facing the facility during the military conflict in the country.

Unit 4 at the ZNPP has been in cold shutdown since 12 August after a water leak was identified in one of the four steam generators. The cause of the water leak has been repaired, initial tests were successfully performed, and further testing is ongoing. Unit 6 remains in hot shutdown for steam production on site. Units 1 to 5 remain in cold shutdown.

As previously reported, the Ukraine national regulator – SNRIU – has issued regulatory orders to limit the operation of all six units to a cold shutdown state.

In addition to the maintenance work that was performed on the steam generator, the site is performing other maintenance activities on the safety and electrical systems of the reactor units.

The team was informed, however, that there has been a considerable reduction in maintenance staff – currently at about one-third in comparison to before the armed conflict in Ukraine began — raising further concerns about the ability of the site to properly maintain the systems, structures and components important for nuclear safety and security at the plant. ZNPP said that new staff had been recruited, but it would take time for them to complete training and gain the necessary experience to work on the site – though they added that maintenance contractors from Rosenergoatom can attend at short notice to assist in the performance of maintenance tasks.

The ZNPP’s large cooling pond and its other main supply of water – the discharge channel of the nearby Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP) – remain intact, the IAEA experts said. The height of the ZNPP cooling pond continues to drop by about one centimetre per day while water from the ZTPP inlet channel is regularly pumped into its discharge channel to compensate for water used for cooling or lost through natural evaporation. The site continues to have sufficient cooling water available for many months.

The team continues to monitor the construction of wells close to the plant’s sprinkler ponds. There are now four wells in operation after the fourth well was drilled this week. ZNPP has informed ISAMZ that it intends to build a total of 10-12 wells around the sprinkler ponds in the coming weeks, which will then become the main source of cooling water for the six shutdown reactor units and spent fuel pools.

The IAEA team also continues to conduct regular walkdowns across the site. Over the past ten days, the experts have visited: the main control room, emergency control room and other safety-related rooms of unit 1, as well as the unit’s reactor hall, main pumps, steam generators, and safety system rooms; the main control room, emergency control room and other safety-related rooms of unit 4; the plant perimeter and two of the on-site radiation monitoring stations.

During these walkdowns, the team observed the presence of military trucks in the turbine hall of unit 1, but they did not observe any mines or explosives other than those previously reported.

In addition, the team visited the ZNPP 750 kilovolt (kV) open switchyard on 25 August and observed that all possible repairs had been completed and the yard was preparing for winter. Only one of the four 750kV off-site power lines remains connected, however, most recently on 10 August this power line was disconnected twice during the day, leaving the site to rely on off-site power from the backup 330kV line.

IAEA experts maintain a continued presence at Ukraine’s other NPPs and the Chornobyl site. The IAEA will conduct rotations at Rivne, Khmelnitsky, and South Ukraine NPPs next week.

This week the Agency delivered medical supplies to the Chornobyl NPP site bringing the total deliveries to Ukraine to 22 since the conflict began in February 2022. The medical supplies will be of benefit to the ChNPP personnel, and also to Agency staff present at the site. They were procured with funds provided by Germany.