Tag: IAEA

UN watchdog says fighting poses serious risk to Russian nuclear plant

KURCHATOV, Russia (Reuters) -The head of the U.N.’s nuclear agency on Tuesday warned of the risk of a serious accident at a Russian nuclear plant because of fighting nearby between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Rafael Grossi, director general at the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke after visiting the plant in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces broke across the border three weeks ago and Russia is battling to eject them. “The danger or possibility […]

IAEA says ‘no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites’

VIENNA, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – There has been no damage to Iranian nuclear sites following explosions Friday in the centre of Iran that have been described as Israeli revenge attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. “IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites,” the Vienna-based agency said on X, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation. The agency called for “extreme restraint from everybody” and added that […]

Ticking time bomb: IAEA warns Ukraine nuclear plant dangerously close to accident

UNITED NATIONS, United States, April 15, 2024 (AFP) – The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is dangerously close to suffering an accident because of recent attacks on it, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency warned Monday. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the attacks over the last week, but it is “impossible” at the moment to prove who is behind them, said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi. […]

IAEA says last month’s Fukushima leak ‘minor incident’

TOKYO, March 14, 2024 (AFP) – A leak last month at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant was “a minor incident” unrelated to the release of treated wastewater, International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said on Thursday. Plant operator TEPCO reported the leak in early February at a part of the site that processes radioactive water. It said no sign of contamination had been detected outside the plant, which suffered a devastating meltdown in 2011. Grossi, […]

IAEA chief to hold talks with Putin about Ukraine nuclear plant

VIENNA, March 5, 2024 (AFP) – UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi will head to Russia Tuesday for a fresh round of talks with President Vladimir Putin to discuss “the future operational status” of Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Europe’s largest nuclear plant has been at the centre of fighting since it was captured by Russian forces in March 2022, with both Moscow and Kyiv frequently accusing each other of compromising its safety. Grossi last […]

UN access at Ukraine nuclear plant curbed for safety: Russia

MOSCOW, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Russia confirmed Friday it had blocked the UN’s nuclear watchdog from accessing parts of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant, but said it was for safety reasons. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been on the ground monitoring the plant since September 2022, six months after it was captured by Moscow’s forces. Responding to an IAEA statement saying their team had been blocked from reactor halls, Renat Karchaa, […]

Fukushima water release plan clears last regulatory hurdle in Japan

TOKYO, July 7, 2023 (AFP) – Plans to discharge treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant cleared their last regulatory hurdle in Japan on Friday, as China said it would ban some food imports over the move. South Korea meanwhile said Tokyo’s plan to dilute the treated water and release it into the sea over several decades met or exceeded international standards. Some 1.33 million cubic metres of groundwater, rainwater and water used for cooling […]

Impact of Fukushima water release on South Korea ‘negligible’: Seoul

Japan’s plan to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant would have “negligible consequences” for South Korea, Seoul said Friday, as it tried to assuage rising public concern. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) this week gave the green light for a decades-long project to discharge accumulated water from the plant, which was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami that hit the eastern coast of Japan in 2011. But the plan has encountered widespread […]

IAEA chief in Japan ahead of Fukushima water release

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Japan on Tuesday to present a review of Tokyo’s plans to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head will meet Japan’s prime minister and foreign minister in Tokyo on Tuesday before heading to Fukushima on Wednesday to visit the devastated plant. Several of the nuclear facility’s reactors went into meltdown after cooling […]

UN nuclear chief encouraged by Russia, Ukraine support of ‘principles’

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Tuesday he was encouraged by the reaction of Ukraine and Russia to “concrete principles” laid out by the body to prevent catastrophe at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, located in Ukraine’s southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, has been a concern since Russian forces seized it over a year ago during Moscow’s war on its neighbor. It […]

IAEA says Ukraine nuclear plant cut from main power line

Vienna, Austria (AFP) The global atomic energy watchdog said on Saturday that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had been disconnected from its last remaining main power line to the grid and is now relying on a reserve line. “Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has once again lost the connection to its last remaining main external power line, but the facility is continuing to supply electricity to the grid through a reserve line, the International […]

Zaporizhzhia mission ‘hardest in history of IAEA’: Ukraine FM

  Stockholm, Sweden (AFP) The UN atomic watchdog’s mission to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine will be the agency’s hardest to date, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned Monday. “This mission will be the hardest in the history of the IAEA, given the active combat activities undertaken by the Russian Federation on the ground and also the very blatant way that Russia is trying to legitimise its presence,” Kuleba said during a visit […]