Nuclear Security News and Member Updates Roundup, January 2024 

Dear Friend,

Happy New Year to our readers and best wishes for your efforts in strengthening nuclear security norms and practices in 2024. The newsletter this month brings examples of the importance of nuclear security, culture, and governance, from concerns over alleged issues at the UK’s Sellafield site to the ongoing tensions at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant over mines and maintenance, as well as a meaty list of research publications, workshops, conferences, mentorship and other opportunities to kick off the new year.

Best wishes,

Christina

Director, International Nuclear Security Forum

Join the conversation on Twitter: @INS_Forum

Updates

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Nuclear Security News

Impact: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine

• IAEA Welcomes Action on Back-Up Power at Zaporizhzhia: “The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says a new system to ensure an immediate supply of back-up electricity if the main external line fails is a significant safety development – but has also outlined a list of areas of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant its experts want to inspect. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said that frequent external power cuts – there have been eight since August 2022 – remained a ‘source of serious concern for safety and security’ because electricity is required to cool its reactors and other essential functions. The plant, on the frontline of Russian and Ukrainian forces, has just the one remaining 750 kV line, with one 330 kV back-up power line. But since mid-2023, the IAEA says, the back-up line has needed manual intervention to become operational. The IAEA says that work has now been carried out at the plant on back-up electrical transformers which, Grossi said: ‘Means that if the main power supply through the 750 kV switchyard is lost, the back-up line will automatically be able to provide electricity to the plant without manual, and hence delayed, intervention, provided it remains operational.’”
• Inspectors Denied Access to Parts of Ukraine Nuclear Plant -IAEA: “The head of the U.N. nuclear power watchdog said…his inspectors had been denied access to parts of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and had yet to receive 2024 maintenance plans for the facility. The plant was seized by Russia in the days following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side has accused the other of shelling around the station, Europe’s largest, though its six reactors now produce no electricity. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said inspectors at the plant had for two weeks had no access to the main halls of reactors one, two and six. ‘This is the first time that IAEA experts have not been granted access to a reactor hall of a unit that was in cold shutdown,’ Grossi said in a statement on the IAEA website. ‘This is where the reactor core and spent fuel are located. The team will continue to request this access.’ Inspectors had also been restricted in their access to turbine halls at the plant which is situated in southeastern Ukraine, he said.”
• Update 207 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine: “Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) lost its immediate back-up power supply to the reactor units for several hours this week, in the latest incident underlining persistent nuclear safety and security risks at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said…[The] failure of two of the ZNPP’s back-up power electrical transformers showed the continuing vulnerability in the availability of external power, which the plant needs to cool its six reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions…During the past week, the IAEA experts discussed the plant’s maintenance activities with the ZNPP and were shown its high-level 2024 maintenance plan for such work, which is vital for nuclear safety and security…The IAEA team did not receive a copy of the maintenance plan for a detailed review. However, based on discussions and information provided to the team, the IAEA concludes that the ZNPP will not be implementing a comprehensive maintenance plan during 2024…The IAEA team has continued to conduct walkdowns at the site, including to all six main control rooms yesterday, where the experts were able to observe staffing levels but could not ask questions about their qualifications and experience. After being granted access to the reactor hall of unit 6 earlier this week, the IAEA experts are still seeking access to the other reactor halls, as well as to parts of all six turbine halls that they have not yet been able to visit, as well as to some of the reactor rooftops. Such access is needed to monitor nuclear safety and security as well as adherence to the five concrete principles for the protection of the ZNPP, Director General Grossi said…Mines along the perimeter of the ZNPP, in a buffer zone between the facility’s internal and external fences, which were previously identified by the IAEA team and were removed in November 2023, are now back in place. This is a restricted area inaccessible to operational plant personnel. Director General Grossi reiterated that the presence of mines is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards.”
• Mines ‘Back in Place’ at Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant: IAEA: “Land mines once again surround the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is in Russian hands, the UN nuclear watchdog said…Europe’s largest nuclear facility fell to Russian forces shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of planning an incident at the site. “Mines along the perimeter of the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant)…are now back in place,” said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a statement. The mines, previously identified by agency experts on site, had been removed in November, but are now back, which is “inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards,” the statement added. They are in ‘a restricted area inaccessible to operational plant personnel’ in a buffer zone between the facility’s internal and external fences, it added.”
• IAEA Stresses Importance of Maintenance at Zaporizhzhia: “In the most recent update at the situation at Ukraine’s six unit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which has been under Russian military control since early March 2022, the IAEA said that its team at the site had discussed maintenance activities with those running it and were shown the high-level maintenance plan for such work: ‘The ZNPP informed the IAEA team that the priority is to perform maintenance on the site’s safety systems as well as important activities not conducted last year. The annual maintenance plan includes the safety systems, diesel generators, unit transformers and the 750 kV electrical switchyard.’ It added: ‘The IAEA team did not receive a copy of the maintenance plan for a detailed review. However, based on discussions and information provided to the team, the IAEA concludes that the ZNPP will not be implementing a comprehensive maintenance plan during 2024.’​ Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said: ‘A well-established maintenance plan and its timely implementation are essential to ensure plant safety and security. This maintenance needs to be performed to ensure nuclear safety, especially in the current situation where the six reactors have been shut down for an extended period. It is important that the IAEA has a thorough understanding of the maintenance plans to be able to fully assess nuclear safety at the ZNPP. We will continue to monitor the maintenance situation closely.’”

International Architecture

• Strengthening Nuclear Law in Member States in Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean Regions: “During the fourth quarter of 2023, the IAEA conducted several legislative assistance missions to countries to support them in strengthening their national nuclear legal frameworks and joining the relevant international legal instruments…The IAEA conducted a legislative assistance mission in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan…This mission aimed at strengthening the understanding of the relevant international legal instruments and the elements of a comprehensive national nuclear legal framework. Consisting of awareness meetings and a national workshop on international and national nuclear law, the mission enabled more than 20 officials to familiarize themselves with the four branches of nuclear law: safety, security, safeguards and civil liability for nuclear damage. ‘Turkmenistan joined the IAEA in 2016 and recently became party to Early Notification and Assistance Conventions. It is essential and time sensitive for us to know more about the other international legal instruments adopted under the IAEA auspices, as well as what should be the way forward to develop an up-to-date and commensurate national legal framework to benefit more from nuclear technology,’ said Сharyyev Dayanch, Head of International Cooperation Division, Civil Defense and Rescue Operations Directorate, Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan…The IAEA legislative assistance mission to Bogota, Colombia…provided an opportunity to assist the country in preparing a new comprehensive nuclear law for the safe, secure and peaceful uses of nuclear technology. A national workshop on nuclear law gathered more than 30 participants from the public, private and civil society sectors. In addition, the mission included a series of awareness-raising meetings on nuclear law aimed at parliamentarians and government officials. These included meetings with representatives of the House of Representatives and the Executive Branch of the Government, among which were the ministries of mining, environment, science and technology, commerce, justice, foreign affairs and health, as well as other relevant Government entities.”

Weapons, Materials, and Facilities

• Sellafield Nuclear Safety and Security Director to Leave: “The top director responsible for safety and security at Sellafield is to leave the vast nuclear waste dump in north-west England, it has emerged. Mark Neate, the Sellafield environment, safety and security director, is to leave the organization later this year. Neate reports directly to Euan Hutton, the interim chief executive of Sellafield, the nuclear waste and decommissioning site in Cumbria, which is also the world’s largest store of plutonium. Multiple safety and cybersecurity failings, as well as claims of a ‘toxic’ working culture, were revealed in Nuclear Leaks, a year-long Guardian investigation into Sellafield, last month. The energy secretary, Claire Coutinho, said the reports were ‘deeply concerning’ and wrote to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the state-owned body which ultimately runs Sellafield, demanding a ‘full explanation’. In his response last month, the NDA chief executive, David Peattie, said there had been ‘necessary changes to the leadership, governance, and risk management of cyber’ and responsibility for its cyber function had been moved. A new head of cybersecurity was due to take up the role this month, which Peattie said would ensure ‘sustained focus and leadership on this matter’.”
• Japan’s Hokuriku Elec Reports Second Oil Leak From Shika Nuclear Plant: “Japan’s Hokuriku Electric Power…reported a second oil leak at its Shika nuclear power station which was shaken by a powerful earthquake on New Year’s Day. External radiation levels were not affected, the company said. The magnitude 7.6 quake, which killed more than 200 people in the Hokuriku region, shook the idled Shika power station, which is located around 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the quake’s epicenter. After a first oil leak detected on Sunday, a film of oil was detected on Wednesday in several gutters surrounding the main transformer of the No.2 reactor, the company said. Also, an oil slick measuring about 100 meters by 30 meters was found floating on the sea in front of the power station, near the area where the first slick was observed. Hokuriku Electric said it had placed oil absorption mats in the gutters and on oil fences in the coastal areas, and closed the drainage gate for rainwater after the latest leak. The gate was opened on Tuesday because no additional oil was detected during monitoring patrols conducted three times a day. ‘We regret that we should have been more careful in our decision,’ Masayuki Nunotani, general manager of Hokuriku Electric’s nuclear energy division, told reporters. The utility believes the second oil leak originated from a transformer during the Jan. 1 quake, but said it was still analyzing further details.”
• Fukushima Nuclear Plant Operator in Japan Says It Has No New Safety Concerns After Jan. 1 Quake: “The operator of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan said…it has no new safety worries and envisions no changes to the plant’s decommissioning plans even after a deadly earthquake on Jan. 1 caused minor damage to another idled nuclear plant, rekindling concerns and prompting a regulatory body to order a close examination. The magnitude 7.6 quake on New Year’s Day and dozens of strong aftershocks in Japan’s north-central region have left 222 people dead and 22 unaccounted for. The main quake also caused a small tsunami. Two reactors at the Shika nuclear power plant on the western coast of the quake-struck Noto peninsula survived. But its operator, Hokuriku Electric Power Co., later reported temporary power outages due to damage to transformers, the spilling of radioactive water from spent fuel cooling pools and cracks on the ground, but no radiation leaked outside. ‘At the moment, we believe there won’t be any change to our (Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning) plan because of the Noto quake,’ said Akira Ono, the head of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ decommissioning unit for Fukushima Daiichi. He said TEPCO’s assessment confirmed the integrity of all Fukushima Daiichi reactor buildings even in the potential case of a quake 1.5 times as powerful as the one that struck in March 2011.”
• Steam, Water Leaks Found at Japan’s Takahama Nuclear Reactor: Media: “A leak of steam from a pipe has been found at a reactor at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan’s Fukui prefecture as well as increased amounts of leaking cooling water at another spot, local media reported…There were no radiation leaks, and nobody was injured. The seaside plant was reducing power output to determine the causes, the public broadcaster NHK said, citing the operator Kansai Electric Power Company. Steam was found leaking from the pipe that connects to a pump at No. 1 reactor of the Takahama plant…the report said. A worker carrying out inspections at the turbine building of the reactor found the leak and stopped the pump which sends cooling water to power generation equipment, it added. Kansai Electric also said that workers found the leaking of more cooling water than usual…at another pump. The Fukui prefectural government said there were no changes in the measurements at radiation monitoring posts in areas surrounding the plant facing the Sea of Japan.”
• Djibouti Steps Up Plans for its First National Cancer Centre: “Plans are well underway to build a national cancer centre in Djibouti – the first of its kind in a country that currently has no access to radiotherapy, a life-saving treatment estimated to help in approximately 50 per cent of all cancer cases. Djibouti’s Ministry of Health invited experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to  conduct a comprehensive cancer assessment imPACT Review in the country in October 2023. ‘Introducing radiotherapy is a top priority for our government,’ said Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh, Minister of Health for Djibouti, ‘as it will reduce unnecessary deaths from cancer and enable our citizens to avoid having to travel abroad to receive the life-saving treatment they deserve.’”

Security Culture

• NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Frank Rose and Associate Administrator for Defense Nuclear Security Lew Monroe View State-Of-The-Art Tech to Counter Unauthorized Drones: “NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Frank Rose and Associate Administrator for Defense National Security Lew Monroe visited the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)…During these visits, they viewed potential enhancements to counter unauthorized drones and uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) that enter these and other NNSA sites. ‘It is clear that the work done at NNSS and Sandia is keeping NNSA at the forefront of security technology,’ said Mr. Rose. ‘These capabilities are applicable across all of NNSA’s sites. We are developing the tools we need not only to counter the UAS of today but also to defend against evolving threats.’…‘The commitment to security we have seen today has been unparalleled,’ remarked Monroe as he reflected upon the day of demonstrations. ‘The synthesis of state-of-the-art technological innovation and disciplined safety protocols is how we keep our Nuclear Security Enterprise safe from unauthorized drone incursions.’”

Member Organization Announcements and Updates

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

• The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists released their 2024 Doomsday Clock Statement on January 23, 2024, and announced that it is still 90 seconds to midnight. Read more here.
• On January 20, 2024, the Bulletin announced the 2023 Rieser Award recipient, Emily Strasser for her August 2023 piece, “My Grandfather Helped Build the Bomb. ‘Oppenheimer’ Sanitized its Impacts.” Sneha Nair and Louis Reitmann received honorable mentions for their essay “Queering Nuclear Weapons: How LGBTQ+ Inclusion Strengthens Security and Reshapes Disarmament.” Read more here.

The Stimson Center

• Christina McAllister hosted a launch event for the new policy paper titled “Bias in Nuclear Security Implementation” and moderated a panel discussion with guests Viviana Moreno of WINS and Jack Brosnan of NTI. Watch the event here. Read the paper here.

International Institute for Strategic Studies

• Timothy Wright and Joseph Dempsey authored an analysis titled “North Korea’s Ballistic-Missiles Transfer to Russia: Operational Constraints Thwart Objectives” as a part of the Missile Dialogue Initiative that was published on January 17, 2024. Read more.
• IISS published an article titled “Shifting Threat Perceptions on the Korean Peninsula” in January 2024. Read more.
• Veerle Nouwens, Timothy Wright, and Euan Graham authored a research paper titled “Long-range Strike Capabilities in the Asia-Pacific: Implications for Regional Stability” that was published on January 18, 2024. Read more.
• William Alberque authored a research paper titled “Russian Military Thought and Doctrine Related to Non-strategic Nuclear Weapons: Change and Continuity” that was published on January 22, 2024. Read more.

Odesa Center for Nonproliferation

• Ali Alkis presented his PhD dissertation topic, titled ‘Nuclear Security During Armed Conflicts: Strengthening the International Framework’ at Hacettepe University, Türkiye, on 12 January 2024. It has been officially accepted by the academic committee, and the dissertation is expected to be published by the end of 2025.
• Ali Alkis will also be conducting interviews with nuclear security professionals for his dissertation. For more information or to participate, email Ali at [email protected].

Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

• The Annual Conference of the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium (EUNPDC), a major international event that gathers non-proliferation and disarmament officials and experts from around the world was held in Brussels on 4 and 5 December 2023. Mentors and mentees of the 2023-2024 edition of the Young Women and Next Generation Initiative (YWNGI) Mentorship Programme were invited to attend the Conference as well as the EUNPDC Next Generation Workshop on 4 December 2023. Read more here.
• The VCDNP and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) have partnered up to create the Next in Nuclear Fellowship, a capacity-building programme for early-career women from the Global South working on nuclear safety, security, safeguards, or the peaceful uses of nuclear technologies. The Fellowship was organised within the framework of the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy (GCNP) initiative. The Fellowship gave one young professional the opportunity to spend two weeks in Vienna and attend the 67th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and participate alongside diplomats and practitioners in the VCDNP’s flagship short course on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Read more here.

Individual Member Updates

• Artem Lazarev from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shared that the UNODC launched a virtual speaker series on the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT) and nuclear terrorism funded by the Government of Canada. The first event of the series was hosted on 19 January 2024 and focused on the topic of border management in the context of ICSANT. Read more.
• Bahram Ghiassee delivered a keynote speech at the Kromek Futures 2024 event at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London, England.

Opportunities

• CRDF Global is seeking a Senior Program Manager for the Nuclear Technologies profile under the supervision of the Director of Nonproliferation and Counterproliferation Programs. The Senior Program Manager will be  responsible for managing CRDF Global activity on one or more significant programs, has supervisory experience as well as program or project management experience, and experience managing high-impact activities. Read more.
• MELE Associates, Inc. is hiring a Nuclear Security Analyst to support the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters in the Washington, DC area. The position will provide support to post-detonation nuclear forensics, but will also focus on the national nuclear stockpile, nuclear weapons detection, nuclear accident/incident response, and other topics. Read more.
• The Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) is offering grants to support attendance at its 2024 Annual Meeting, which will be held in Portland, Oregon, July 21-25, 2024. The grants, generously supported by the NNSA Office of Radiological Security, are intended to increase diversity in the INMM community and incorporate the topic of radiological security into the INMM’s portfolio. The grants will cover annual meeting registration, travel expenses (including airfare, hotel accommodations at the Portland Marriott Downtown Hotel, per diem for meals and incidental expenses, and terminal allowances), registration for an INMM-sponsored workshop on radiological security to be held on July 19, and a full one-year membership in the INMM. Read more.  
• The Partnership for Global Security (PGS) is seeking applicants for their Research Internship. The intern will primarily focus on researching nuclear security, nuclear energy, and transnational governance issues. Current research projects that interns will support include: exploring the nexus of climate change, nuclear power growth and global security; understanding the growth of nuclear energy in the Middle East and East Asia; tracking the evolution of nuclear security policies and governance structures; using existing voluntary frameworks as a model for nuclear security governance structures; and examining cybersecurity and other potential threats prompted by new technology developments. Read more.