Category: Press Release

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Japan’s approach for recycling and disposing of soil and radioactive waste from decontamination activities after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident as currently planned is consistent with IAEA Safety Standards, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report released today says.

The findings, presented by the IAEA to Japan’s Minister of the Environment Shintaro Ito today, were the result of a sixteen-month safety review. The IAEA assessed the approach of the Ministry of Environment Japan (MOEJ) to date for the managed recycling and the final disposal of removed soil and radioactive waste against the IAEA Safety Standards. These safety standards serve as a global reference for protecting people and the environment and contribute to a harmonized high level of safety worldwide.

“We appreciate the enormity of the challenge facing Japan in dealing with the aftermath of the 2011 FDNPS accident and we commend the country for requesting our impartial and technical review of its plans,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.  “The recycling and disposal of the soil further contributes to the reconstruction of areas affected by the accident.”

About 13 million cubic meters of soil and about 300,000 cubic meters of ash from incineration of organic material was removed as part of decontamination activities in Fukushima Prefecture and stored at an Interim Storage Facility (ISF) covering an area of 16 square kilometres, spanning across the Okuma Town and Futaba Town.

The management of removed soil—enough to fill 11 Tokyo Domes—is governed by a Japanese law which permits the government to repurpose the soil both within and outside of Fukushima Prefecture and for final disposal of the remaining soil to take place outside of the Fukushima Prefecture by 2045.

Japan plans to recycle roughly 75% of the removed soil – the soil which has low levels of radioactivity – by using it, if demonstrated safe, for civil engineering structures including embankments for roads, railways, seawalls, waste treatment sites, coastal protection, agricultural land, and land reclamation. The remaining soil which cannot be recycled will be disposed of permanently and Japan intends to confirm the site selection and disposal process in 2025.

“The IAEA is confident that as the Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ) continues to explore solutions in line with our recommendations, its evolving strategy for recycling and final disposal of removed soil and waste will remain consistent with IAEA Safety Standards,” said Director General Grossi.

In response to Japan’s request in October 2022 for a safety review, an IAEA team – comprised of five IAEA staff and six international experts from Belgium, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US – conducted three international expert missions in May 2023, October 2023 and February 2024. The IAEA’s review included providing advice and support to Japan from both technical, including safety aspects, and social viewpoints. 

The team of experts recognised the many technical and social challenges facing the MOEJ if it is to implement the managed recycling of removed soil and secure final disposal outside Fukushima Prefecture by 2045.

“The IAEA found the MOEJ’s proactive approach to managing removed soil and waste arising from decontamination activities reflects a commitment to ensuring safety, protecting public health and promoting environmental sustainability in Fukushima Prefecture and beyond,” said Director General Grossi. “The IAEA is committed to engaging with Japan on the managed recycling and the final disposal of removed soil and waste through future follow-up assessments of the MOEJ’s approach.”

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts today completed a review of long term operational safety of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in South Africa.

The Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO) follow-up review mission was requested by the plant’s operator, Eskom. Koeberg Units one and two started commercial operation in 1984 and 1985, respectively. Koeberg’s Unit 1 received a license to continue operating until 2044 in July this year, and Eskom is planning to extend operation of Unit 2 until 2045.

Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant is located approximately 30 kilometers north of Cape Town, South Africa, and provides around 5 per cent of the country’s electricity, playing a vital role in reducing reliance on coal. It is the only commercially operating nuclear power station on the African continent. Koeberg is equipped with two pressurized water reactors with a combined capacity of 1934 MW(e), making it a key component of South Africa’s energy infrastructure.

During the 3 to 6 September mission, the SALTO team’s review focused on aspects essential to the safe Long Term Operation (LTO) of both units. The mission reviewed Koeberg NPP’s response to recommendations and suggestions made during an IAEA SALTO mission in 2022, which built upon an initial IAEA pre-SALTO mission held at the plant in 2019.

“The team observed that the plant is addressing the SALTO team’s suggestions and recommendations from the 2022 review,” said team leader and IAEA Nuclear Safety Officer Bryce Lehman. “Based on its efforts, the plant has made significant improvements in ageing management and resolved most of the issues identified in 2022. The plant is on track to complete the remaining items in a reasonable timeframe.”

The team – comprising two experts from the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and two IAEA staff members – said the plant had:

• Updated the LTO programme ensuring that all long-term operation activities are systematically planned, executed on schedule, and aligned with safety and operational standards.
• Completed the revalidation of environmental qualification for qualified cables ensuring that nuclear facility cables remain capable of safely performing under specific environmental conditions over time, despite aging or wear.
• Completed the revalidation of the Time Limited Ageing Analysis (TLAAs) for concrete structures, including the containment TLAA.

The team noted that the plant needs to continue its work to ensure that:

• The plant programmes supporting LTO are fully implemented for the LTO period.
• The containment monitoring system is fully refurbished and remains fully functional during the LTO period.

Plant management expressed a determination to maintain the level of preparedness for safe LTO and to further cooperate with the IAEA in this area.

“For us, this is an integral part of the IAEA’s supporting service to ensure safe operation of the Koeberg reactors during the LTO period for the next 20 years. The IAEA SALTO missions, and technical cooperation, helped to improve our continued focus on safe operation,” said Keith Featherstone, Chief Nuclear Officer, Nuclear Operating Unit, Eskom. “Eskom has worked diligently to demonstrate and ensure the safe operation of the Koeberg plant today and into the future and together with the IAEA carried out four review missions and several technical support discussions. We appreciate the IAEA’s support and the independent review against international safety standards. We will continue to collaborate in the future as part of our drive to continuously improve,” he added.

The team provided a draft report to the plant management and to the South African National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) at the end of the mission. They will have an opportunity to make factual comments on the draft. A final report will be submitted to the plant management, the NNR and the South African Government within three months.

Background

General information about SALTO missions can be found on the IAEA Website. A SALTO peer review is a comprehensive safety review addressing strategy and key elements for the safe long term operation of nuclear power plants. They complement OSART missions, which are designed as a review of programmes and activities essential to operational safety. Neither SALTO nor OSART reviews are regulatory inspections, nor are they design reviews or substitutes for an exhaustive assessment of a plant’s overall safety status.

LTO of nuclear power plants is defined as operation beyond an established time frame determined by the license term, the original plant design, relevant standards, or national regulations. As stated in IAEA safety standards, to maintain a plant’s fitness for service, consideration should be given to life limiting processes and features of systems, structures, and components (SSC), as well as to reasonably practicable safety upgrades to enhance the safety of the plant to a level approaching that of modern plants.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi examined a cooling tower at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) this week to assess the damage it suffered in a major fire last month, the latest incident underlining persistent nuclear safety and security dangers at the site during the military conflict.

The visit to one of the ZNPP’s two cooling towers took place during the Director General’s fifth mission to the sprawling industrial site in southern Ukraine, and two years after he first crossed the frontline to establish a continued presence of IAEA staff at the plant and help prevent a nuclear accident there.

Inside the cooling tower, he saw significant damage on the interior walls, debris and blackened surfaces after ascending about 15 metres up into the massive concrete structure located more than one kilometre away from the six reactors, which are all in cold shutdown and do not currently need the cooling towers to remove residual heat.

While the fire that erupted in the evening of 11 August – belching thick black smoke – did not endanger nuclear safety, it underlined the constant risks the ZNPP is continuing to face in the third year of the armed conflict, with shelling, artillery strikes, drone attacks and other military activities regularly heard in the vicinity of the site.

“It is clear that the cooling tower was damaged by the fire, and it may need to be demolished,” Director General Grossi said. “We will continue to closely look into this matter to try to establish what happened and what the consequences will be. Today was an important step in this work as we were able to see for ourselves the full extent of the damage.”

“Coming a few months after the site was struck by a series of drone attacks, it is yet another incident showing the paramount importance of the IAEA presence at the site for as long as this devastating war goes on. The IAEA will continue to play its indispensable role in helping to avert the threat of a nuclear accident,” he said.

During Wednesday’s mission, he also saw first-hand how the plant is continuing to manage the aftermath of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in June last year.  In visiting a pumping station of one of the six reactor units, he was able to assess the availability of cooling water in the ZNPP cooling pond, which has now dropped by just over 2 metres since mid-2023. While the water that provides cooling to the six shutdown reactors and other essential nuclear safety services is provided by the 11 groundwater wells, the cooling pond would be a primary water resource in case the wells became unavailable.

In addition, Director General Grossi toured a storage facility located in one of the ZNPP’s special buildings, containing fresh nuclear fuel.

As a key part of his visit, Director General Grossi accompanied a new team of IAEA staff to the site to replace colleagues who had been monitoring the situation at the plant for the past several weeks. It is the 23rd IAEA team at the ZNPP since September 2022.

Before the Director General arrived at the ZNPP, Europe’s largest NPP, he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, agreeing to expand the IAEA’s assistance to Ukraine by assessing vital energy infrastructure that has increasingly been targeted in missile attacks, with potentially severe implications for nuclear safety and security.

Further underlining the high risks at the ZNPP, the IAEA team stationed at the plant reported that its only remaining 330 kilovolt (kV) backup power line was disconnected on Monday evening, leaving it reliant on a single 750 kV line. Before, the war it had four 750 kV and six 330 kV power lines available. The line was reconnected today, after nearly three days.

Shortly after the disconnection occurred, the IAEA team observed dark smoke in an area close to where the power line was reportedly disconnected, about 3 kilometres away, but it was not immediately clear if these events were linked. The ZNPP said it believed the power line cut was caused by military activities.

The team has continued to conduct walkdowns across the site over the past week, for example visiting the 750 kV open switchyard where they observed ongoing maintenance work, as well as the water sprinkler ponds which receive water from 11 groundwater wells dug after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed. The team confirmed that there is sufficient water available to cool the ZNPP’s shutdown reactors.

Elsewhere in Ukraine, the IAEA teams stationed at the Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site reported that these sites have not yet restored connection to all of their off-site power lines following the widespread military activities on 26 August, targeting electrical substations that are important for nuclear safety. The teams also reported air raid alarms on most days over the past week.

At the Khmelnytskyy NPP, the IAEA team heard drones and gunfire in the early hours of Wednesday morning and were told to shelter. The KNPP and the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) reported to the IAEA that drones had flown a few kilometres away from the plant. The team at this site rotated on Wednesday.

The IAEA signed an agreement this week with France and Ukraine’s Energoatom regarding support to Ukraine’s NPPs. Ukraine will receive the necessary spare parts for emergency diesel generators at the South Ukraine NPP.  In case of a loss of off-site power, the NPPs rely on such equipment to provide power for continued safe and secure operation. Their maintenance and functionality, including the availability of spare parts, is essential to ensure proper functioning and prevent a nuclear accident due to loss of off-site power. Such assistance was also delivered to Ukraine in 2023.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will further expand its assistance to Ukraine by taking a more proactive stance to protect the status of vital energy infrastructure to ensure it does not impact nuclear safety. This follows a number of missile attacks that have either directly caused the disconnection of several nuclear power reactors, or led to dangerous instability of the national grid, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said after meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv today.

An IAEA expert team will soon travel to some of the damaged Ukrainian sub-stations – electrical switchyards forming the backbone of the grid – that have been identified as essential for nuclear safety. They will assess the situation at these sites and report back to headquarters for possible follow-up actions.

“The safety of operating nuclear power plants is dependent on a stable and reliable connection to the electricity grid. As a result of the war, the situation is becoming increasingly vulnerable and potentially even dangerous in this regard. I agreed with President Zelensky that the IAEA will widen its determined activities to help prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict and look closer at this important aspect of nuclear safety and security,” Director General Grossi said.

“Our experts will apply the Agency’s nuclear industrial safety and critical infrastructure protection expertise to assess these sub-stations,” he added.

The IAEA already has specialist teams stationed at all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants (NPPs) to help maintain nuclear safety and security during the military conflict. The sub-stations essential for nuclear safety are located in different parts of the country, making the evaluation of these facilities also relevant.

Increased pressure on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the past six months have caused instability in the grid, posing serious problems for Ukraine’s NPPs. Access to reliable supplies of off-site power forms part of the Seven Indispensable Pillars for maintaining nuclear safety and security during an armed conflict outlined by Director General Grossi in March 2022.

On 26 August, widespread strikes targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure caused major fluctuations in the power supply and led to the temporary shutdown or disconnection of reactor units at the Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs, one of which has still not returned to full operation. The off-site power situation at the Khmelnytskyy NPP and Chornobyl site was also affected.

The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), located on the frontline of the conflict, has suffered eight complete loss of power events during the conflict, forcing it to temporarily rely on diesel generators. Just this week, the plant on Monday evening lost its connection to its sole remaining 330 kilovolt (kV) back-up power line, leaving it dependent on one single 750 kV line.

Director General Grossi will later this week travel to the ZNPP for the fifth time during the conflict, but he also underlined the nuclear safety and security risks at Ukraine’s other sites.

“The heightened vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is deeply concerning for nuclear safety at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, as we saw last week when several reactors stopped operating because of damage to the energy infrastructure elsewhere in the country,” Director General Grossi said.

“Ensuring that the sub-stations can operate normally for safety related purposes is also of paramount importance for energy security in Ukraine, as the country to a large extent relies on the nuclear power plants for much of its electricity generation,” he said.

In Kyiv, Director General Grossi also agreed with President Zelensky that the IAEA will provide technical support and nuclear safety advice for Ukraine’s plans to purchase equipment from the interrupted Bulgarian project in Belene for the Khmelnytskyy NPP. This will help Ukraine ensure that this ongoing project continues in accordance with safety standards.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will next week travel to Ukraine to hold high-level talks and assess developments at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), where nuclear safety and security remains precarious.

It will be the fifth time that the Director General crosses the frontline to access the ZNPP after he established a permanent IAEA presence at the site two years ago, on 1 September 2022, to monitor nuclear safety and security. It is the tenth time he is in Ukraine since the conflict began in February 2022.

“The IAEA acts promptly and decisively whenever and wherever there are threats to nuclear safety and security. Our pro-active presence is of paramount importance to help stabilize the situation.  My message has been loud and clear throughout this tragic war: a nuclear accident must be avoided at all costs, and a nuclear power plant must never be attacked. The consequences could be disastrous, and no one stands to benefit from it. I remain determined to do everything in my power to protect nuclear safety and security as long as the fighting continues,” he said.

At the ZNPP, the IAEA team stationed at the site has continued to hear explosions and other indications of military activities, at times near the plant itself. Due to reported drone threats in the area, the team was told to shelter indoors on 20 August and had to reschedule their planned walkdown on 26 August.

Since the Director General last went to the ZNPP site in February, it has been hit by drone strikes, experienced loss of power lines and, earlier this month, a fire caused significant damage to one of its two cooling towers.

“Two years after I launched our mission at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, it is needed more than ever. As these recent deeply concerning incidents make all too clear, the nuclear safety and security situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant remains extremely challenging. Our teams there and elsewhere in Ukraine are carrying out indispensable work on behalf of the wider international community in very difficult circumstances,” he said.

Over the past week, the IAEA team at the ZNPP has continued to conduct regular walkdowns across the site as part of their on-going nuclear safety and security assessment.

Among other activities, they went to the turbine halls of reactor units 5 and 6 but were again not allowed to access the western parts of the buildings, as was also the case when they visited the turbine halls of units 3 and 4 in mid-August, and unit 2 earlier in the month.

The IAEA team is also continuing to closely monitor the cooling water situation at the site. Following the destruction of the downstream Kakhovka dam last year, the ZNPP dug 11 new wells in order to obtain the water needed for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety functions.

As the ZNPP’s six reactors are all in cold shutdown, the water that these wells provide is sufficient for the site’s current needs, even though one of them was temporarily out of operation earlier this month.

The team has also been informed that the ZNPP is finalizing the implementation of a revised emergency response plan and is scheduling two exercises in the coming months, which the IAEA staff will request to observe.

Widespread attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, leading to instability in the national grid, is presenting a persistent nuclear safety risk at Ukraine’s other nuclear power plants (NPPs). Such attacks earlier this week led to the temporary shutdown or disconnection of some reactor units at the Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs. The off-site power situation at the Khmelnytskyy NPP and Chornobyl site was also affected. Although no complete loss of off-site power event was experienced at any of these sites, the safety of operating NPPs is heavily dependent on a stable and reliable connection to the electricity grid.

“While none of the plants lost all their access to the national electricity grid – which has happened repeatedly at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant over the past two years – I’m increasingly concerned about the growing vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and the potential impact this is having on the safety of all Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants,” Director General Grossi said.

The team at the Chornobyl site rotated late last week.

The IAEA has continued to deliver technical support and assistance to Ukraine to help with maintaining nuclear safety and security during the armed conflict. In the past few weeks, the Agency arranged three new deliveries. The Chornobyl site received mattresses that are intended to improve the living conditions for its staff. The Khmelnytskyy NPP received one spectrometer intended to improve its analytical capabilities, as well as an individual monitoring system with related accessories to enhance its capabilities for monitoring occupational exposures. The deliveries were supported with funding from the European Union, Japan and Norway.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Given the serious situation, I am personally leading the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in the Russian Federation.

The safety and security of all nuclear power plants is of central and fundamental concern to the IAEA.

Since new developments and increased levels of military activity in the vicinity of the KNPP, I have been closely following developments on the ground, especially with respect to the plant. It is important that when the Agency is called upon to fulfil its mandate to ensure that nuclear is used in a peaceful manner, we are present.  

It is also important that when the international community needs an independent assessment of the safety and security of a nuclear facility, we will be there. The only way in which the IAEA can validate the information is when we have an opportunity to independently assess what is happening.

I reiterate that the safety and security of nuclear facilities must, under no circumstances, be endangered. This is an evolving situation, and it is vital when I arrive at the plant tomorrow that I see first-hand the situation and discuss modalities for further activities as may be needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the KNPP.

It is imperative that the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety during an armed conflict and the five concrete principles – established to protect the Zaporizhzhya NPP but applicable to any nuclear power plant – be respected.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost connection to its only remaining off-site back-up power line yesterday, leaving it once again precariously reliant on a single power source, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today.

The IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) was informed by the ZNPP that the plant’s 330 kilovolt (kV) Ferosplavna 1 back-up power line was disconnected yesterday due to a short-circuit at approximately 16:00. The ZNPP confirmed that the Ukraine dispatcher had put the line under maintenance and that it was re-connected at 15:30 today.

The ISAMZ team was informed by the ZNPP that the cause of the short-circuit or the possible damage to the line is unknown. The team has confirmed that the line has been restored.

The latest outage follows reports of military activity in the region and beyond. The IAEA team have reported hearing explosions near the ZNPP over the past 24 hours.

“This all too often occurrence whereby Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is once again forced to rely on only one external source of electricity to maintain its essential nuclear safety and security functions underlines the vulnerability of this major facility,” Director General Grossi said. “This is not sustainable and it is essential that strengthened efforts be taken now to uphold the five concrete principles for protecting the facility.”

During the outage, the ZNPP was connected to its only remaining 750 kV Dniprovska line. Before the conflict, the ZNPP had four 750 kV and six 330 kV power lines available.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed by the Russian Federation today that the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

The drone fragments were reported to have been located roughly 100 metres from the plant’s spent fuel nuclear storage facility.  The IAEA was informed that the drone was suppressed in the early morning of 22 August.

In this context, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed his intention to personally assess the situation at the site during his visit next week.

During his visit, Director General Grossi will assess the situation on site and discuss modalities for further activities as may be needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.

“Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security. My visit to KNPP next week will provide us with timely access to independently assess the situation,” Director General Grossi said.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The nuclear safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit the road around the plant site perimeter today, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

“Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides and for strict observance of the five concrete principles established for the protection of the plant,” said Director General Grossi.

Earlier today, the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) team was informed by ZNPP that an explosive carried by a drone detonated just outside of the plant’s protected area. The impact site was close to the essential cooling water sprinkler ponds and about 100 metres from the Dniprovska power line, the only remaining 750 kilovolt (kV) line providing a power supply to ZNPP.

The team immediately visited the area and reported that the damage seemed to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload. There were no casualties and no impact on any NPP equipment. However, there was impact to the road between the two main gates of ZNPP.

The ISAMZ team has reported that military activity in the area – including very close to the plant – has been intense for the last week. The team has heard frequent explosions, repetitive heavy machine gun and rifle fire and artillery at various distances from the plant. There is no sign of the military activity in the vicinity of ZNPP abating, despite Director General Grossi’s repeated calls for restraint.

On 10 August ZNPP informed the IAEA team that artillery struck the local power and water substation in the nearby city Enerhodar, home to most ZNPP staff. The attack caused the failure of two transformers, leading to a citywide power outage. As a result, water had to be supplied using diesel generators. On 11 August the IAEA team was informed by ZNPP that power has been restored in the city.

A significant fire at one of the ZNPP cooling towers earlier this week resulted in considerable damage, although there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety.

Also this week, IAEA teams maintaining the Agency’s continued presence at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs as well as at the Chornobyl site reported frequent air raid alarms and drone attacks.

“Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack, and neither are they supposed to, just as with any other energy facility in the world,” said Director General Grossi. “This latest attack highlights the vulnerability of such facilities in conflict zones and the need to continue monitoring the fragile situation.”

Additionally, this week Director General Grossi continued discussions on the recent events in the territory of the Russian Federation, including the proximity of military action to an important and operating nuclear power plant. Director General Grossi has expressed his readiness to assess the situation, including by making a visit to the plant.