Category: Press Release

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed both by the Russian Federation and Ukraine about the assassination last week of an individual in the city where most staff of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) live, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

The person, identified as Mr Korotkyi, reportedly died in a car bomb explosion on Friday morning in Enerhodar, which is located a few kilometres from the ZNPP. In a letter to the IAEA, Russia affirmed he was “one of the key staff members responsible for ensuring nuclear security” at the plant. Ukraine told the IAEA he was not a ZNPP staff member anymore.

The IAEA is also aware of a public statement issued the same day by Ukraine’s military intelligence indicating that this person’s alleged actions after Russia took control of the ZNPP in March 2022 were the reason he was targeted. In addition, the country’s military intelligence posted an image of a destroyed car, and suggested others may also face “retribution”.

In follow-up communication with the IAEA, Ukraine said it “does not attack civilians”. Ukraine did not confirm or deny any responsibility for the attack.

In a letter to the IAEA, the Russian Federation said Mr Korotkyi was “head of the permits bureau” at the ZNPP and called the attack a “horrific crime” committed by Ukraine.

Director General Grossi reiterated that while the IAEA does not have forensic capabilities or authorities to investigate the incident, maintaining nuclear safety and security remains of paramount importance to prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict. With this vital objective, the IAEA in March 2022 established seven indispensable pillars for nuclear safety and security that have been supported by all IAEA Member States.

Pillar 3 states that “the operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure”.

“Any targeting of employees of nuclear power plants would constitute a blatant violation of this pillar fundamental for overall nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said.

“In addition, any statements indicating further retaliatory measures – potentially affecting staff of the Zaporizhzhya NPP – would be unacceptable and contrary to the safety pillars established by the IAEA,” he said. “Any such threats deny staff who are not responsible for the overarching political and military situation the minimum standards of working conditions to do their jobs properly.”

Director General Grossi once again called for maximum restraint during the conflict and said any action targeting staff at the ZNPP – in order to address issues related to its status – has a direct impact on nuclear safety and security and must cease.

“The only way to avert the threat of a nuclear accident with transboundary radiological consequences during this war is to fully respect and adhere to the seven indispensable pillars for nuclear safety and security as well as the five concrete principles for the protection of the Zaporizhzhya NPP,” he said.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

A team of scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will return to Japan next week to conduct marine sampling near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). This mission is part of the Agency’s extensive monitoring and assessment activities that support its ongoing safety review of the ALPS treated water discharges.

The IAEA conducts interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) based on marine environment samples to verify the radiological data used by Japan in planning and implementing the water discharges. The ILCs also facilitate assessments of the application of relevant international safety standards in establishing and implementing monitoring programmes to accurately evaluate public exposure by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) – operator of the plant – and the Government of Japan.

From 7 to 18 October, the IAEA team will observe the collection of seawater, marine sediment, fish and seaweed samples from coastal waters in the vicinity of the FDNPS. The mission will also include sampling at a local fish market and monitoring the preparation of samples for delivery to participating laboratories.

International experts from the Third Institute of Oceanography, China, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, and the Spiez Laboratory, Switzerland—all members of the IAEA’s Analytical Laboratories for the Measurement of Environmental Radioactivity (ALMERA) network – will participate in the mission to provide independent corroboration of Japan’s environmental monitoring capabilities.

After collection, the samples will be sent to all participating laboratories for analysis for a range of radionuclides. The results of analyses from the IAEA Laboratories in Monaco and Vienna, the ALMERA member laboratories as well as the participating Japanese laboratories, will be submitted to the IAEA for evaluation, with a focus on identifying any statistically significant differences.

The results of the analyses of the samples can also be compared with those from previous ILCs to assess any changes in radionuclide levels in the marine environment since the discharge of ALPS-treated water began in August last year.

The findings will be publicly released to ensure transparency by September 2025.

This mission is part of the IAEA’s extensive monitoring and assessment activities for the safety review of ALPS-treated water. In the series of ILCs, the Agency has already published several reports evaluating TEPCO’s capabilities for accurately measuring the radionuclides in the treated water stored on site, and another analyzing radionuclides in seawater, sediment, fish, and seaweed samples collected in November 2022.

Additionally, IAEA experts stationed at the Agency’s office at FDNPS conduct regular independent on-site analyses of the batches of treated water. In September this year, the Agency confirmed that the tritium level in the ninth batch of ALPS treated water was far below Japan’s operational limit. The IAEA has earlier confirmed that the tritium concentrations in the previous eight batches, totalling approximately 64 500 cubic meters of water, were also far below operational limits.

Next week’s mission will also provide samples for the Agency’s ILC project initiated in 2014 to support the quality assurance of broader marine environmental monitoring by Japanese laboratories. The results for this segment of the work will be released in June 2025.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost the connection to its only remaining back-up power line for 36 hours this week, underlining the fragility of the electricity supplies it needs to cool its six reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

Tuesday morning’s disconnection of the 330 kilovolt (kV) power line once again left the ZNPP entirely dependent on its sole 750 kV line. Before the military conflict, it had four 750 kV and six 330 kV lines available, highlighting how nuclear safety and security has been severely degraded since February 2022. It was not immediately clear what caused the latest incident, but the line was restored on Wednesday evening.

The ZNPP has suffered repeated partial or complete power outages since the conflict began, representing one of the most difficult challenges for maintaining nuclear safety and security during the conflict. In total, it has lost all external power eight times, forcing it to temporarily rely on emergency diesel generators for electricity.

“The off-site power situation remains a deep source of concern. This week’s loss of the 330kV power line shows that the situation is not improving in this regard, on the contrary,” Director General Grossi said.

A day before the 330 kV line was disconnected, the IAEA team stationed at the ZNPP visited the Raduga electrical substation in the city of Enerhodar, where most plant staff live, after receiving information of an alleged artillery strike on Sunday. The team confirmed that one of the two transformers at the substation was destroyed by the shelling and that the other transformer was unavailable since June due to damage sustained on one of its power lines. The substation had been used to provide back-up power to the city of Enerhodar and to the industrial area near the ZNPP.

In addition, the ZNPP informed the IAEA team that the same shelling had damaged another power line nearby, connecting the plant to the 150 kV open switchyard of the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant. The damage limits the availability of potential back-up power supplies to the ZNPP. Repair on the line is ongoing.

Earlier today, the team that has been at the site for the past several weeks was replaced by another group of IAEA staff. It is the 24th such team stationed at the ZNPP since Director General Grossi established an Agency presence at the site, located on the frontline, to help prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict.

During the past week, the IAEA team that has now rotated out continued to hear explosions on most days, including several blasts close to the site, although no damage to the plant was reported.

The team conducted regular walkdowns across the ZNPP, including to the 750 kV open switchyard, the main control rooms of all reactor units and some of the site’s waterworks facilities.

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

At the Khmelnytskyy NPP, reactor unit 1 has been reconnected to the grid after completion of a refuelling outage that began in July. The site now also has all of its off-site power lines available, after a 750 kV line was reconnected, following disruptions caused by attacks on Ukraine’s grid in late August.

Ukraine’s nuclear safety regulator informed the IAEA that on two occasions late last month – the nights of 27 and 29 September – ten and thirteen drones, respectively, flew through the area of the South Ukraine NPP, one of them directly above the site. Today, the regulator added that five drones flew through the same area early on 1 October, including one above the site.

The IAEA has continued to deliver on its comprehensive programme of assistance to help Ukraine maintain nuclear safety and security.

During the conflict, Ukraine has seen a rising incidence of rabies. In recent weeks, the IAEA has therefore facilitated deliveries of rabies vaccines to hospitals near the NPP sites, enhancing their capacity to provide plant staff with life-saving treatment for rabies.

In addition, ten gamma spectrometers were delivered to local public health centres of the Ministry of Health located in ten cities across Ukraine. The equipment will enhance their radioanalytical capabilities, particularly in view of the risk for a radiological or nuclear emergency during the conflict.

It brings to 69 the total number of deliveries of equipment and supplies since the start of the conflict, worth 12 million euro.

These latest deliveries were supported with funding provided by Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea and the United States.

Separately this week, Director General Grossi travelled to Belarus, meeting President Alexander Lukashenko in the capital Minsk and visiting the country’s NPP in Ostrovets. On this occasion, the President confirmed to Director General Grossi that no action originating from Belarus would compromise nuclear safety or security at the Chornobyl NPP.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi addressed world leaders gathered at the United Nations this week and yet, even as he informed them about the ceaseless work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to help Ukraine avert a nuclear accident during the military conflict, the Agency teams stationed at the country’s nuclear power plants (NPPs) continued to report about drones and other military activities nearby.

Ahead of this year’s United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Director General Grossi spoke at the Summit of the Future about the IAEA’s mission to foster peace and development around the world, including by assisting Ukraine in ensuring nuclear safety and security during a large-scale conflict that is now well into its third year.

Noting that Ukraine used to generate more than half its electricity from nuclear power before the conflict began in February 2022, he said: “From the first months of the war, the IAEA has focused on assisting Ukraine in preventing a radiological or nuclear accident, which could have serious transborder consequences.”

The IAEA has since established support and assistance missions at all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, including the Zaporizhzhya NPP located on the frontline, as well as the Chornobyl site.  

“Following months of negotiations and consultations, on 30 May 2023 at the UN Security Council I outlined five concrete principles to help ensure nuclear safety and security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya NPP. These principles received strong support from the Members of the Council,” Director General Grossi said in Monday’s statement to the Summit.

The persistent dangers to nuclear safety and security in Ukraine were also a key topic during the Director General’s many meetings with government leaders and other senior officials in New York this week, including with new Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who voiced strong support for the IAEA’s work in the country.

Reports from the IAEA’s teams in Ukraine made clear that the nuclear safety and security situation remained precarious over the past week, with one team seeking shelter due to the presence of drones in the area, another team hearing anti-aircraft fire and a large explosion during an air raid alarm, and a third team visiting the site of an alleged drone attack.

At the ZNPP, the IAEA team heard explosions throughout the week, including several blasts close to the site, although no damage to the plant was reported.

Last Saturday, the ZNPP informed the team of an alleged drone strike that occurred on Friday afternoon on a 35/6 kilovolt (kV) substation around 300 metres away from the plant. This substation provides electricity to non-safety related facilities at the ZNPP, including a grid-water pumping station, a water management plant, and external warehouses.

Visiting the affected site the day following the alleged attack, the IAEA team observed some impact on one of the substation’s two transformers. Remains of batteries and metal pieces of the alleged drone were also observed in the area. The plant said repairs are still ongoing.

Over the past week, the IAEA team has continued to conduct walkdowns across the ZNPP site, discussing maintenance and other activities important for nuclear safety and security of the plant. However, yesterday the ZNPP informed the team that it was not allowed to conduct its planned walkdown of the external warehouses and diesel fuel storage facility due to the risk from military activities.

Ensuring adequate maintenance remains challenging during the conflict. The IAEA team was informed about the five categories of maintenance the ZNPP is implementing to ensure the reliability of the emergency diesel generators (EDGs) and about the scheduling of the maintenance frequency. The ZNPP said category 1 and 2 maintenance, the lowest categories, involving monthly visual inspections and annual maintenance, is ongoing during 2024. More advanced maintenance is planned for some EDGs in the coming years. The team was also informed on the progress of maintenance activities performed on reactor unit 6 during recent months.

Among other activities, the IAEA team visited the turbine halls of reactor units 3 and 4 and were again not allowed to access the western parts of the buildings. On Monday, the IAEA team conducted a walkdown inside the unit 5 reactor building, observing the monthly changeover between cooling pumps of the spent fuel pool as well as some of the main reactor components and safety systems rooms.

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

Over the past weekend, unit 2 at the South Ukraine NPP (SUNPP) was transferred to a cold shutdown state to repair the electrical motor of one of its main cooling pumps, which was damaged as a result of military attacks on the electrical grid outside the plant on 26 August. Following completion of the repairs, the unit returned to operation on Wednesday, and is increasing power. The plant’s connection to two off-site power lines that were disconnected following last month’s attacks was restored.

On the night of 18 September, the IAEA team at the SUNPP was required to shelter due to the reported presence of drones in the vicinity. The IAEA was subsequently informed by the plant that 22 drones flew through the area, including one over the plant, while others were observed approximately 1.5 kilometers from the plant. A further 15 drones were recorded by the SUNPP in the area near the site the following night. On the nights of 20 and 21 September, the IAEA was informed by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) that two and eight drones, respectively, flew through the area.

The IAEA team at the Khmelnytskyy NPP (KhNPP) reported an air raid alarm early in the morning of 22 September, during which the team heard anti-aircraft fire and a large explosion. The team was informed that a drone was detected about 3.4 kilometers from the KhNPP. In the early hours of this morning, the IAEA team was required to shelter multiple times at the site due to several air raid alarms.

The IAEA teams at the SUNPP and at the KhNPP rotated earlier this week.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, SNRIU informed the IAEA that the premises of its Eastern Nuclear and Radiation Safety Inspection regional unit, located in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, was damaged as a result of military activities. There were no casualties.

The IAEA continued this week to deliver on its comprehensive programme of assistance to help Ukraine maintain nuclear safety and security. Two quadcopter drones for performing spatial radiometric surveys were delivered to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Centre of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine aimed at enhancing their radiation monitoring capability. The delivery was supported by a contribution from Switzerland.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi this week informed the annual Member States gathering of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about its expanding efforts to help prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict in Ukraine, saying the IAEA had deployed more than 140 support and assistance missions to the country over the past two years.

“As the war in Ukraine has continued, so has our support to help maintain the safety and security of its nuclear facilities. Our assistance has grown and adapted. For example, we are taking a more proactive stance to monitoring those electrical substations that are essential in providing a stable electricity supply to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, which is critical for maintaining nuclear safety,” Director General Grossi said in Monday’s opening statement to the General Conference, attended by senior officials from the IAEA’s 178 Member States. 

Two years after the IAEA established its presence at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the nuclear safety and security situation at the site remains precarious, he told delegates, adding: “Regular explosions, drone attacks, gunfire and repeated interruptions of external power supply, among other challenges, increase the risk of a nuclear accident.”

At the ZNPP this week, the IAEA team has continued to hear explosions at various distances, including several close to the site, but no damage to the plant was reported.

Separately, the team was informed by the ZNPP that two power lines supplying the nearby city of Enerhodar had been damaged by unspecified military activities on Tuesday, prompting the use of diesel generators to operate the pumping station for tap water – including to the ZNPP – as well as other “vital” facilities in the city. The lines were re-connected later in the week and the event had no impact on nuclear safety and security at the ZNPP, which continued to receive off-site power from the last remaining 750 (kilovolt) kV and 330 kV power lines.

On Tuesday, the IAEA team observed an emergency exercise conducted by the ZNPP. The simulated exercise scenario included a loss of coolant accident in the unit 1 reactor caused by a fictitious large earthquake, followed by a loss of all off-site power and the failure of all three of the unit’s emergency diesel generators. A secondary aspect of the exercise scenario simulated a fire in the ZNPP’s training centre and injuries to two personnel, which required an evacuation of the training centre and the response of the fire brigade and ambulance.

The IAEA team, observing the exercise from the temporary emergency centre and the training centre, reported that the ZNPP noted an appropriate response of participating staff as well as equipment reliability. The ZNPP also identified opportunities for improvement, including in the communication between the exercise players related to plant data about the accident and the reporting of personnel contamination monitoring.

The IAEA staff continued to conduct walkdowns across the site, including to the pumping station of the unit 5 reactor where they discussed the operational status of the pumps considering the decline in the water level of the ZNPP cooling pond, which has fallen 2.2 metres since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in mid-2023. In the ZNPP’s current shutdown status, the cooling water provided by 11 wells dug after the dam was destroyed remains sufficient for nuclear safety and security.

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

The IAEA team at the South Ukraine NPP reported that several drones were flying at distances between 1.5 and 6 km from the plant on three separate nights over the past week. No damage to the plant or any casualties were reported. The IAEA team was required to shelter on two of these nights, including late on Wednesday when drones and gunfire were heard.

The IAEA teams deployed at Khmelnytskyy and at South Ukraine NPPs both conducted walkdowns of the on-site emergency response centres and were briefed on their current operational preparedness and needs.

Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate informed the IAEA that the subcritical Neutron Source installation, located in the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT), was shelled on 14 September 2024, but did not suffer damage. This nuclear research facility located in north-eastern Ukraine was already heavily damaged in the conflict’s first year, but without any indication of radiological release or diversion of declared nuclear material.

The IAEA continued to deliver on its comprehensive programme of assistance to help Ukraine maintain nuclear safety and security. With a total of 66 deliveries since the start of the armed conflict, equipment worth over €11 million has so far reached different organizations in Ukraine.

In recent weeks, the Chornobyl site received 550 beds to improve the living conditions of its staff, the third such delivery under the IAEA medical assistance programme. Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy received several shipments of equipment and supplies to help the energy sector ensure reliable power supplies to the Ukrainian NPPs. The Rivne NPP and Ukraine’s VostGok uranium mining and processing plant received equipment to help them enhance nuclear security at their facilities. These deliveries were funded by contributions from Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

In addition, the IAEA has been coordinating a series of training sessions for psychologists working at Ukrainian NPPs, drawing on local expertise to ensure sustainable mental health support is established at the national level for NPP staff. The training sessions began last month as part of the IAEA’s medical programme and are supported with funds from Japan.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The nuclear safety and security situation in Ukraine remains fragile because of the armed conflict, with IAEA staff continuing to hear the sound of military activities close to some of the sites, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

“During the third year of this tragic war, the dangers to nuclear safety and security are still all too real. We are determined to continue our efforts to help prevent a nuclear accident,” Director General Grossi said.    

At the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) this week, the IAEA team requested and was granted access to a transport workshop four kilometres from the plant following a reported drone attack there on 7 September.  They observed a hole in one roof and two trucks that were slightly impacted. The team did not see any damage relevant to nuclear safety and security.

In addition, the IAEA team conducted a walkdown of the electrical and the instrumentation and control rooms of reactor unit 4, and the turbine halls of units 1 and 2. Access to the western part of the turbine halls was once again not granted.

Earlier this week, the IAEA team held discussions with the ZNPP regarding the new emergency plan that is expected to come into effect by the end of September, and about a planned emergency exercise next week. As was the case in previous exercises at the ZNPP, the IAEA team will observe the exercise.

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

On Monday, one of the 330 kV off-site power lines at the Chornobyl site was disconnected for about 40 minutes due to a technical issue that was quickly resolved. The following day at the Rivne NPP, a 750 kV line that had been cut since the attacks in late August was reconnected.

At the South Ukraine NPP, on two occasions over the past week, 5 and 12 September, the IAEA team heard drones and gunfire and was told to shelter, highlighting persistent risks to the Ukrainian NPPs. Following last week’s incident, the plant and the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) said drones had flown close to the plant. The IAEA team did not observe any issues with respect to nuclear safety or security at the site following this event.

Yesterday, the SNRIU reported to the IAEA that drones were observed flying in the area surrounding the Khelmnytskyy NPP early in the morning.

The Agency continued delivering on its comprehensive programme of assistance to help Ukraine maintain nuclear safety and security. With a total of 63 deliveries since the start of the armed conflict, equipment worth over €11 million has so far reached different organizations in Ukraine.

Over the past week, the Chornobyl site received beds to improve the living conditions of its staff. In addition, equipment and other supplies were delivered to support the Ministry of Energy in ensuring reliable power supplies to and from the NPPs. The delivery took place following a Ministry request related to the needs of Ukrainian electricity distribution operators and included electrical wires and switches, as well as protection and control microprocessor devices for substations and switchgear. The assistance was supported with funds from France, Japan, New Zealand, and Norway.

In other developments, the IAEA has carried out its first visit to an electrical substation in Ukraine, as part of its work to assess the status of the electrical grid infrastructure essential to nuclear safety. At the visit to the Kyivska site, the IAEA team observed damage sustained earlier but also noted that, following repairs, the substation is now back to full capacity.

Reliable access to off-site power is one of the Seven Indispensable Pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict outlined by Director General Grossi two and a half years ago.

“Assessing the status of substations is a significant new element of our work in Ukraine, as the safety of operating nuclear power plants is dependent on a stable grid connection. In recent weeks and months, the situation has become increasingly precarious in this regard. As experts in nuclear safety and related infrastructure, it is important that we get a first-hand view of the status of the substations,” Director General Grossi said.

The IAEA already has teams of staff stationed at all of Ukraine’s NPPs who contribute to maintaining nuclear safety and security during the military conflict.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA