Category: IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today that a process had been set in motion to help restore external electricity to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), following frequent contacts with both sides in recent weeks to address the site’s latest loss of off-site power during the military conflict.

Since the ZNPP last month once again lost all access to the grid, Director General Grossi has been engaging with the Russian Federation and Ukraine on concrete proposals aimed at enabling the plant to receive the off-site power it needs to cool its six shutdown reactors and its spent fuel. 

The focus has been on creating the necessary security conditions for repairs to be carried out on the damaged sections of the 750 kilovolt (kV) Dniprovska and the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1 power lines, located on opposite sides of the frontline near the ZNPP. 

“Following intensive consultations, the process leading to the re-establishment of off-site power – through the Dniprovska and Ferosplavna-1 lines – has started,” Director General Grossi said.

“While it will still take some time before the grid connection of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant has been restored, the two sides have engaged with us in a constructive way to achieve this important objective for the sake of nuclear safety and security. No one stands to gain from a further deterioration in this regard,” he said.

For the tenth time during the conflict, the ZNPP lost its connection to the grid on 23 September when its last remaining 750 kV power line was cut, almost five months after the last 330 kV back-up line was also disconnected. Both sides blamed the damage on military activities.

For more than two weeks, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP) has therefore been forced to rely on emergency diesel generators (EDGs) to power its cooling pumps, further challenging an already precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the site.

At the ZNPP, seven EDGs are currently operating and another 13 are on standby. The plant continues to alternate them to produce the electricity it requires, including also for the reactor safety systems.

Based on regularly received nuclear safety data, the IAEA team at the site continues to confirm that there has been no temperature increase within the coolant in the reactors or the spent fuel pools – indicating that the fuel continues to be cooled effectively.

Earlier this week, the team conducted a walkdown to observe the status of the EDGs that were in standby mode at the time. The team also confirmed that the essential service sprinkler ponds – which provide cooling to the reactors and the spent fuel pools – were operating as usual. Radiation levels at the site also remain normal, the team reported.

The team continues to report military activities at various distances from the site. On Tuesday evening, the team members heard five explosions one after the other, occurring close to the site and shaking windows in their building.

The IAEA teams based at the other nuclear sites in Ukraine – Khmelnitskyy, Rivne, South Ukraine and Chornobyl – also report military activities on most days. 

On 4 October, the team at the Khmelnitskyy NPP was informed that 16 drones were recorded near the site, the closest 5.5km away from the site. The following day, three drones were detected at the same distance north of the South Ukraine NPP.

The Chornobyl site still has no access to the 330 kV power line that was disconnected last week, reportedly due to military strikes on an electrical substation approximately 40km away, near the town of Slavutych. 

Under the IAEA’s comprehensive assistance programme for nuclear safety and security, the Khmelnitskyy NPP this week received radiation survey meters that were procured with funding from the Czech Republic and Japan. It was the 159th delivery of equipment so far, with the value of all deliveries during the conflict now totaling 20 million euros.

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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 Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) in Armenia.

During the ten-day Safety Aspects of Long Term Operation (SALTO) mission that ended on 9 October, the team reviewed the plant’s preparedness, organization and programmes for safe long term operation (LTO), which built upon a previous SALTO mission held at the plant in 2018 and a follow-up mission held in 2021. The review mission was requested by the ANPP and focused on aspects essential to the safe LTO of ANPP Unit 2, which is a pressurized-water reactor that went into commercial operation in 1980. ANPP Unit 1 was permanently shut down in 1989. In October 2021, the Armenian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ANRA) issued a permit for Unit 2 to operate until September 2026. ANPP has requested permission from ANRA to operate for an additional 10 years, until September 2036.

The mission was conducted by a ten-person team consisting of experts from Argentina, the Netherlands, Romania, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as two IAEA staff members and two observers from Hungary and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). During the review, the SALTO team held in-depth discussions with staff from the ANPP and conducted several site walkdowns.

The team noted the progress in measures taken by the operator to ensure safe LTO. “The plant has clearly made progress since previous missions and has done a lot to address the previous SALTO findings,” said team leader and IAEA Nuclear Safety Officer Bryce Lehman, who noted that many ageing management and LTO activities were in alignment with IAEA safety standards. “We encourage the plant to continue implementing the remaining activities for LTO and to address the review findings,” he added.

The team identified good performances that will be shared with the nuclear industry globally, including:

• Continuously improving organizational practices, adopting international best practices and experience from the first LTO period to improve the approach and documentation for the upcoming second LTO period;
• Conducting periodic reviews of the seismic qualification programme, considering the latest knowledge and international operating experience; and
• Implementing a comprehensive modernization process performed by the staff of the plant.

The team also provided suggestions and recommendations to further improve safe LTO, for example, the plant should:

• Update the existing plant programmes to fully address ageing management for the upcoming second LTO period.
• Complete the qualification programme for equipment in harsh environments and fully implement it for LTO.
• Effectively implement the ageing management programmes for civil structures.

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

“We appreciate the IAEA’s support in ageing management and preparation for our second LTO period,” said Artur Grigoryan, the ANPP Chief Engineer. “It is very important for us to get an external review of our ageing management activities. The competencies and experience of the IAEA team will help us identify areas for improvement. The results of this mission will help us improve our activities for safe LTO and further align our activities with IAEA safety standards.”

The team provided a draft report to the plant management and to the ANRA at the end of the mission. The plant management and ANRA will have an opportunity to make factual comments on the draft. A final report will be submitted to the plant management, ANRA and the Armenian 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, as well as to reasonably practicable safety upgrades to enhance the safety of the plant.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) yesterday inaugurated the new Curie-Meitner Nuclear Applications Centre at its laboratory site in Seibersdorf, marking the successful completion of the ReNuAL2 (Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories) lab project. This project aimed to modernize the Agency’s nuclear science and applications laboratories and strengthen scientific support to Member States in applying nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes.

The new Curie-Meitner Nuclear Applications Centre – named after nuclear pioneers Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Lise Meitner – provides modern facilities for three of the IAEA’S eight nuclear science and applications laboratories in Seibersdorf. The Terrestrial Environment and Radiochemistry Laboratory provides support in managing radioactive, industrial, and environmental pollutants. The Plant Breeding and Genetics laboratory, one of five laboratories that make up the Joint FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories at Seibersdorf, develops high-yield, resistant crops and the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation laboratory helps countries to use a range of analytic nuclear techniques.  

At yesterday’s inauguration ceremony – attended by high level dignitaries and government representatives from 33 countries – IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the renewal of the laboratories represents a crucial investment in advancing nuclear applications. 

“This achievement is more than a renovation; it’s the result of vision, commitment and partnership,” Director General Grossi said. “The new Curie-Meitner Centre enables our scientists and partners from around the world to work together, innovate and deliver tangible solutions that improve health, food security and environmental protection.”

The completion of ReNuAL2 was made possible through the strong support of the IAEA’s Member States and partners. A total of 52 Member States contributed extrabudgetary resources, alongside in-kind and institutional support from governments and organizations. Their collective commitment and partnership have been instrumental in transforming the Seibersdorf laboratories into a modern complex equipped to meet the evolving needs of countries in applying nuclear science and technology.

Mareike Wörrle, Minister Counsellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and Co-Chair of the Friends of ReNuAL, said, “We are proud of the applied scientific work carried out at the laboratories in Seibersdorf. Serving the people is what unites us, working together to overcome the challenges we all face.” 

The IAEA’s nuclear application laboratories in Seibersdorf, roughly one hour outside of Vienna, were first built in 1959 to support the IAEA’s work in delivering to Member States the benefits of peaceful nuclear technologies through training, services, and applied research. 

“It is a model of how science and innovation can be harnessed to support our member countries in addressing global challenges in the transformation of agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable,” FAO Director General Qu Dongyu said. “The FAO is committed to our long partnership with the IAEA and the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, letting the people benefit from innovation. This is a critical partnership. We are better together, leading deliverables in the UN family, serving our Member States.”

Alongside the new Curie-Meitner Centre, ReNuAL2 also brings new state-of-the-art greenhouses essential to developing climate-smart agriculture and improved water resource management and a fully refurbished space for the dosimetry laboratory to support cancer control and ensure patients receive safe radiation doses.

“The successful completion of ReNuAL2 is a milestone for the Agency,” said Lunga Bengu, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of South Africa to the United Nations, Vienna. “It is a privilege to thank all the Member States for their contributions and tireless efforts in meeting the challenges and making significant advances in the peaceful uses of nuclear science and applications for all.”

Yesterday’s inauguration follows the recent opening on 17 September of the new IAEA Visitor Centre also in Seibersdorf, Austria, a first-of-its-kind space where visitors can experience the Agency’s mission and discover how nuclear science and technology is addressing global challenges. 

“I have been two times here in the last two weeks,” said Gabriela Sellner, Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations in Vienna. “This is a testament to the striving work of the IAEA in Seibersdorf. Austria is very proud to host IAEA laboratories since 1962.”

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

The IAEA inaugurated the new Curie-Meitner Nuclear Applications Centre at its laboratory site in Seibersdorf on 7 October 2025, marking a major milestone in the modernization of its laboratories. This new facility completes the ReNuAL (Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories) initiative, which began in 2014 to upgrade the Seibersdorf laboratories and strengthen the Agency’s scientific capacity to support countries in applying nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts this week said the Institute for Nuclear Research (ICN) – the operator of the TRIGA MARK II research reactor in Pitesti, Romania – had continued to improve safety of the reactor by strengthening maintenance, implementing refurbishment and modernization of systems and components, and ensuring safety of experiments. The team also found the need for further safety improvements to the reactor’s organizational structure, ageing management, and operating rules and procedures.

The seven-day Integrated Safety Assessment of Research Reactors (INSARR) mission was requested by ICN and the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN), Romania’s nuclear regulatory authority. The mission team comprised four experts from Argentina, Canada, France and the Netherlands, as well as two IAEA officials. 

The team visited the reactor and its associated facilities and met with ICN staff and CNCAN officials. The mission, which concluded on 7 October, covered the organizational and management arrangements in place and reviewed technical areas, including safety analysis, operation and maintenance programmes, ageing management, radiation protection, safety of reactor experiments and modifications, and emergency planning.

The reactor is used for radioisotope production, fuels and materials testing, research, and education and training. Since it became operational in 1980, the TRIGA MARK II reactor in Pitesti went through major modifications and refurbishments, including core fuel conversion from high enrichment uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) in 2006, modernization of the instrumentation and control system in 2009, and refurbishment of cooling systems in 2019. 

The reactor has undergone three IAEA INSARR missions in 1992, 2002 and 2011 and is currently permitted to operate until the end of 2027. By then, the ongoing periodic safety review of the reactor is planned to be completed, after which a decision may be taken to permit reactor operation till 2035. 

“By regularly requesting INSARR missions, ICN has already shown commitment to continued safety improvement,” said Amgad Shokr, mission team leader and Head of the IAEA’s Research Reactor Safety Section. “In addition to the identification and implementation of measures addressing the implications of the long operating period of the reactor, the ongoing periodic safety review is another opportunity for ICN to align its procedures and practices with the IAEA safety standards.”

The INSARR team observed that the management system, as well as activities and procedures related to maintenance, operational radiation protection, modifications and experiments, and emergency planning, were implemented in line with the IAEA safety standards. 

The INSARR team made recommendations and suggestions for further improvements, including the need for:

• Strengthening the organizational structure for reactor operation by clarifying roles and responsibilities with respect to safety, enhancing the coordination of the maintenance activities and improving the functioning of the safety committee; 

• Strengthening training and certification procedures by expanding them to cover all staff performing activities important to safety;

• Finalizing the development and implementation of a systematic ageing management programme covering all the reactor’s structures, systems and components; and 

• Strengthening the operational rules by improving their clarity and ensuring their alignment with the results of the ongoing review of the safety assessment.            

“We strive to continuously improve safety in accordance with the IAEA safety standards,” said Silviu Stanciu, Manager of the TRIGA MARK II reactor. “The INSARR mission provided us with valuable recommendations for further improvement, and we are committed to implementing them.”

The IAEA understands that the ICN will make the results of this mission publicly available and plans to request a follow-up INSARR mission in 2027.

Background 

INSARR missions are an IAEA peer review service, conducted at the request of a Member State, to assess and evaluate the safety of research reactors based on IAEA safety standards. Follow-up missions are standard components of the INSARR programme and are typically conducted within two years of the initial mission. General information about INSARR missions can be found on the IAEA Website.

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) –

The IAEA team at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) today heard multiple rounds of incoming and outgoing shelling, adding to nuclear safety risks at a time when the plant has been without off-site power for nearly two weeks, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

The shelling occurred between 14:05 and 15:30 local time, totalling about 15 rounds at near and middle distance from the site, the team reported. Some explosions triggered car alarms, the team said.

Around the same time, the ZNPP informed the IAEA team that two rounds of shelling struck around 1.25 km from the site perimeter, in the vicinity of a fire extinguisher charging station. No casualties were reported and there was no immediate information of any damages. 

While today’s shelling – a common occurrence near the ZNPP in recent years – did not have an immediate impact on nuclear safety and security, it further underlined the constant dangers facing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant during the armed conflict.

“The nuclear safety and security situation is clearly not improving. On the contrary, the risks are growing. The plant has now been without off-site power for almost two weeks, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators for the electricity it needs to cool its shutdown reactors and spent fuel. This is an extraordinarily challenging situation,” Director General Grossi said.

“I once again call for maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities during the war. I’m also continuing to engage with both the Russian Federation and Ukraine with the aim to restore off-site power to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant as soon as possible,” the Director General said.

In the tenth and longest loss of off-site power suffered by the ZNPP during the conflict, the plant lost the connection to its last remaining 750 kilovolt line on 23 September. Eight emergency diesel generators are currently operating to provide back-up electricity to the site.   

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

The IAEA profiles employees to provide insight into the variety of career paths that support the Agency’s mission of Atoms for Peace and Development and to inspire and encourage readers, particularly women, to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) or STEM-a

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost all off-site power yesterday, marking the tenth time the plant has faced a complete loss of off-site power since the start of the conflict in February 2022. The incident once again underlines the extremely fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the plant, IAEA Director General Grossi said yesterday. 

The IAEA team based at the ZNPP reported that the ZNPP confirmed the disconnection from its last remaining 750kV external main power line at 16:56 local time yesterday. This was confirmed separately by the Ukrainian regulatory body. Following this power loss, the team observed that emergency diesel generators (EDGs) started operating to supply the plant with power – the ZNPP later confirmed that all available EDGs had started. 

The ZNPP has been reliant on one single off-site power line to power the pumps used to  cool its six reactors and their spent fuel, almost five months after it lost the connection to its last 330 kV back-up power line. The ZNPP last faced a complete loss of off-site power on 4 July 2025 when the plant relied on diesel generators for almost four hours.

“It is deeply concerning that the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has once again been cut off from all external power. The site, which is located on the front line, continues to be endangered. Each loss of power poses a real risk to nuclear safety and increases the likelihood of a nuclear accident,” added Director General Grossi. 

Following the loss of power on 4 July 2025, the IAEA team based at the ZNPP site was informed that the EDG fuel tanks were replenished with enough fuel to enable operation of emergency diesel generators for approximately 20 days, in case of a loss of another off-site power event. The team is investigating the cause of yesterday’s loss of power.