Category: IAEA

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Scientists and experts will convene next week at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Scientific Forum, #ScientificForum, to discuss the role of nuclear science and technology in the sustainable management of one of the world’s most vital resources: water.

Water is fundamental to life, economic development, food security and environmental sustainability. The Forum will showcase innovative ways of using nuclear sciences, not only to better understand the origin, amount, distribution and quality of our shared water resources, but also to deliver practical solutions. The Forum aims to foster partnerships and mobilize resources to support the adoption of nuclear methods that will contribute to global water sustainability.

The two-day event, themed Atoms for Water, will take place on the margins of the IAEA General Conference. It begins at 09:30 CEST, Tuesday, 16 September, in Board Room D of the C Building of the Vienna International Centre (VIC). The event will be live streamed.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will open the Forum at 09:30 CEST on 16 September, along with high-level officials. More information, including the list of speakers and detailed programme, are available online.

Discussions at the Forum will centre around four technical sessions: Strengthening Water Resilience and Global Sustainability; Quality Unknown — the Invisible Water Crisis; Climate and Hydrological Variability; and The Role of the IAEA.

The Forum will feature an Atoms for Water exhibit, including the IAEA Bottled Water Project, by the Coffee Corner in the C Building, 4th floor. Water: Reflections of the Next Generation, an exhibit of children’s art and their interpretations of water, will also be on display by the Coffee Corner.

For those interested in interviewing speakers, please send detailed requests to the IAEA Press Office.

Accreditation

Journalists with permanent credentials to the VIC or journalists who have already obtained accreditation for the IAEA’s General Conference need no additional credentials.

Journalists without accreditation must send copies of their passport and press ID to the IAEA Press Office by 14:00 CET on Monday, 15 September. 

We encourage those journalists who do not yet have permanent accreditation to request it at UNIS Vienna. 

Please plan your arrival to allow sufficient time to pass through the VIC security check. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Mr Grossi thanked Member States, IAEA staff and others for supporting the Agency’s nuclear safety and security work in Ukraine and spoke of the ongoing precariousness of the situation. 

“Three years ago, the IAEA took a historic step when we decided, in the midst of a war that risked the safety of many nuclear power plants, that the correct thing to do was to act and not just talk.” 

The IAEA has since deployed 217 missions involving 176 staff, ensuring a presence at all nuclear power stations, including the Chornobyl site, and has provided the international community with updates on the situation in Ukraine.  

The Agency continues to prioritize equipment delivery to support nuclear safety and security in Ukraine through contributions by 30 donor states and the EU with the delivery of 150 shipments, including of nuclear safety gear, medical supplies, and isotopic-technique equipment. 

The safety situation at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the Chornobyl sites remain precarious, he noted.  

At Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant for example, only one off-site power line remains, posing serious safety risk, and a long-term solution still needs to be found regarding the level of water in the cooling pond. Ongoing military activity, including attacks very close to the ZNPP site, are deeply concerning, adding stress and risk. 

At the Ukraine Recovery Conference, held in Rome at the beginning of July, the Director General signed an agreement with Ukraine to support identifying, designing, implementing, and testing the necessary repair activities on the Chornobyl New Safe Confinement. 

To avoid further degradation at the site over the winter months, temporary repairs are planned for autumn, pending approval and funding. 

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Building on Pakistan’s cooperation with the FAO and IAEA to produce new and improved plant varieties, the assessment mission highlighted opportunities to integrate advanced technologies such as genetic engineering, speed breeding and biotechnology into mutation breeding programmes for priority crops in Pakistan.

“[Pakistan has] used mutation breeding to create pest-resistant and drought-tolerant crops like chickpea, rice and cotton, we have employed nuclear techniques to improve soil fertility, we’ve reclaimed barren land, optimized fertilizer use for better yields and reduced costs, to give a few examples,” said  Muhammad Yussouf Saleem, Director General and Chief Scientist of the Agri- & Biotech Division of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and the national focal point in Pakistan for Atoms4Food. “The initiative will further expand our cooperation by engaging new partners and breaking silos across sectors with a whole value-chain approach.” 

Revitalizing Pakistan’s seed system will also help capitalize on the improved plant varieties developed with FAO and IAEA support. The mission team recommended that national institutions and stakeholders across the value chain be trained to scale up the distribution and use of improved seeds, making sure they reach farmers and translate into growing yields.

Soil degradation and inefficient use of water and nutrients further limit crop production — however, decades of cooperation with IAEA has supported Pakistan’s the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture & Biology in transforming salt-affected soils into productive farmland.

The Atoms4Food assessment mission found further potential to optimize and broaden the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices in the country. This includes capacity building in efficient nutrient and water use practices, to enhance soil fertility and health, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of fertilization.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

With nearly one in eight people around the world living with obesity in 2022, the disease has more than doubled among adults and quadrupled among adolescents over the past three decades. This complex and chronic condition of excessive body fat increases the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Yet despite its surge in industrialized populations, obesity is seldom seen in traditional and farming communities — a contrast commonly attributed to greater physical activity.  

At its root, obesity stems from an imbalance between calories consumed and the energy the body burns. Public health experts often point to two culprits — overeating and insurfficient physical activity. Yet the exact role each factor plays remain debated, since lower activity levels do not always translate into less energy expended over the course of a day. 

The lack of diverse, reliable data on calorie intake, energy expenditure and body composition has further complicated research. Past studies have tried to address the debate, but most focused on nonindustrial populations, lacked body fat measurements, or relied on limited information from country-level consumption data and surveys.   

To close this gap, 68 researchers turned to the IAEA’s Doubly Labelled Water (DLW) Database — a global collection of energy expenditure measurements that have been collected via the DLW stable isotope technique. With datapoints spanning 45 different countries, the database has previously been used by scientists to conduct groundbreaking research on human energy metabolism, develop a predictive equation to assess self-reporting and inform ongoing revisions of human energy requirements.  

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

Mokhtar considers her greatest achievement to be the tangible impacts she has helped to drive, including advancements in global nutrition security, capacity-building programs in STEM, and seeing women she mentored through the MSCF Programme leading laboratories.

“When I visit Member States and see students applying these methods or meet women directing projects that once had no place for them — that’s when I know our work matters,” she said, her voice warm with conviction.

Her ability to take risks and be open to new experiences informs her advice to young scientists: “The unknown isn’t a barrier — it’s where the meaningful work begins. Had I stayed within expected boundaries, I’d never have discovered how nuclear science could address the malnutrition challenges I cared about.”

Mokhtar’s vision for the future mirrors her own journey — creating systems that outlast individual involvement. She champions sustainable training programmes that empower countries to adapt nuclear technologies to their evolving needs, and advocates fiercely for initiatives like the Lise Meitner Programme that dismantle barriers for women in STEM. “Real progress, comes when we stop creating single opportunities and start building ecosystems of access,” she concluded.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –