An artist’s rendering of the Hanhikivi plant. (Image: Rosatom)
Finnish energy company Fennovoima has terminated, effective immediately, its engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract with RAOS Project Oy, a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom, for the delivery of a 1,200-MWe VVER-1200 pressurized water reactor at the Hanhikivi site in Finland’s Pyhäjoki municipality.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, thanks IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi for the agency’s support, including its April 26 mission to Chernobyl. (Photo: IAEA)
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, led a mission to Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant this week to address ongoing radiological safety concerns at the shuttered site following five weeks (February 24–March 31) of Russian military occupation.
The HPS Ask the Experts and the ANS Rapid Response Taskforce are partnering to monitor the nuclear and radiological situation in war-besieged Ukraine and are ready for media inquiries.
The Health Physics Society (HPS) and the American Nuclear Society (ANS) are teaming up to better serve our memberships and the public in understanding radiation and nuclear safety issues. As part of the collaboration, the HPS Ask the Experts and the ANS Rapid Response Taskforce are partnering to monitor the radiological and nuclear situation in war-besieged Ukraine and are ready to answer media inquiries.
Attending the MOU signing on April 5 are, from left, Franc Škrabec, Numip, nuclear power program manager; Tine Ogorevc, Numip, general manager; Josefa Arcarons Coma, Westinghouse, global supply chain manager for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region; Elias Gedeon, Westinghouse, senior vice president of commercial operations; Joel Eacker, Westinghouse, vice president of new power plant projects; Mojca Lorber, Sipro Engineering, commercial manager; Metod Pirc, Elmont, general manager; and Franc Katič, Sipro Engineering, general manager. (Photo: Westinghouse)
Westinghouse’s plans for supplying AP1000 reactors to Ukraine may have been complicated by Russia’s invasion of the country, but the company is nonetheless continuing its efforts to strengthen business ties in Central and Eastern Europe. On April 5, Westinghouse signed memorandums of understanding with three companies in Slovenia.
European Nuclear Society and American Nuclear Society condemn attacks on Ukraine's nuclear facilities, denounce misinformation on nuclear safety, and reject unfounded proliferation allegations.
The European Nuclear Society (ENS) and the American Nuclear Society (ANS) issued a joint statement expressing support for their Ukrainian colleagues and the International Atomic Energy Agency in ensuring the continued safe operation of Ukraine's nuclear power plants and facilities, amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
March 30, 2022, 11:55AMANS Nuclear CafeJacopo Buongiorno, Steven Nesbit, Malcolm Grimston, Lake Barrett, Matthew L. Wald, and Andrew Whittaker The six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
On March 4, Russian forces set fire to an office building at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising fears about reactors being damaged. The attack stirred up memories of the Chernobyl accident in 1986, a reaction that longtime nuclear opponents are taking advantage of to rekindle their cause. However, the reactors operating in Ukraine today are profoundly different from the design used at Chernobyl, and are, by nature, difficult to damage.
Let’s set the record straight and explain the risks of nuclear power plants in war zones.
The Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium.
In a move motivated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sky-high energy prices hitting Europe as a result, the Belgian government last Friday announced its intention to extend the operational life of two of its nuclear power reactors, Doel-4 and Tihange-3, through 2035.
Europeans are taking resolute steps to reduce their output of climate-changing gases, but some countries are moving in the wrong direction.
Europeans are taking resolute steps to reduce their output of climate-changing gases, but some countries are moving in the wrong direction.
Many countries are adding solar and wind, which are low-carbon energy sources. Some have moved to biomass, the value of which as a climate cure is not clear. A few are adding reactors, while others are defining nuclear as dirty energy and natural gas as “clean” and are changing their generation mix accordingly.
This is the first newsletter of the ANS Rapid Response Taskforce on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Taskforce will issue updates as needed.
Energoatom, photo of Rovno (Rivne) NPP. Rivne NPP | Energoatom
External power supplies were restored to the decommissioning Chernobyl facility following repairs of damaged power lines — before being reportedly damaged again, according to Ukraine's transmission system operator Ukrenergo.
At the press conference, Grossi explained that the IAEA has stopped receiving safeguards information from certain monitoring systems installed at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, as indicated by the red dots.
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi traveled to Antalya, Turkey, on March 10 to meet with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the safety and security of Ukraine's nuclear facilities. After returning to Vienna, Grossi held a press conference at which he said that a “common denominator” had emerged from the discussions and that both sides agree that something needs to be done. “They are both ready to work and to engage with the IAEA,” he said. “So this is a very important building block.”