SPECIAL REPORT | GENERAL CONFERENCE


How the labs support verification activities At a side event at the General Conference participants were shown how minute traces of uranium and plutonium can be detected by the IAEA. As a powerful tool in the inspectors’ toolkit, environmental sampling supports nuclear verification activities. To collect environmental samples at a location, inspectors run cotton cloth swipes on


surfaces collecting the dust. This dust contains a huge amount of information, including whether nuclear material is present, what type it is (eg separated plutonium or highly enriched uranium), the age of the nuclear material, and the presence of other materials. As a result, it allows verification of current and past activities and for inspectors to detect activities not declared to the IAEA. “Environmental sampling and analysis enable the IAEA to assure the international community about the correctness and completeness of countries’ declarations,” said Todd Mock, safeguards information analyst, who presented at the event. “By analysing the cotton swipes that inspectors collect in the field, the IAEA can detect nuclear material at weights below one trillionth of a gram.” The swipes are shipped to the IAEA Environmental Sample Laboratory in Seibersdorf.


There the samples are screened and coded to guarantee confidentiality and anonymity. The laboratory receives and screens all samples collected and works in cooperation with 24 partner laboratories in 11 countries, which perform some of the analysis of the anonymised samples. Two types of analysis can be performed, often in parallel, in separate laboratories:


particle analysis, which is always performed, and bulk analysis. Particle analysis can examine isotopic signatures and to look into a particle’s elemental composition. This technique also indicates the enrichment status of the material, whether it has been irradiated, the production process it has been through and a particle’s age. Bulk analysis is more sensitive and allows the extraction of information about the


entire sample. It provides a comprehensive overview of the content on a swipe, and information concerning the average isotopic results. “On average, over 400 environmental samples are analysed every year,” said Mock. “To date, that equates to around 15,000 collected samples from more than 450 locations in 84 countries.” As one of the most powerful tools available in the IAEA nuclear safeguards inspection, environmental sampling has become an indispensable tool supporting the IAEA’s verification efforts. The IAEA laboratories are essential to this work. ■


Eletronuclear, Kazatomprom, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, NuScale, Rolls Royce SMR, Rosatom, SNC-Lavalin, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj, Urenco and Westinghouse Electric Company. A joint statement said: “Nuclear technologies make a


vital contribution to addressing the world’s unprecedented challenges, including climate change, poverty, equitable access to clean and affordable energy and human health.” Opening the conference on 20 September, Grossi said that despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, the IAEA had maintained its commitment to verifying that nuclear material is not diverted from peaceful uses. Grossi spoke of the “constructive discussions” he held


in Tehran in September but noted that there still were unresolved issues and reiterated “the requirement for Iran to clarify and resolve these issues without further delay.” He expressed serious concern about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear programme, and called for full compliance with its obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. The IAEA continues to maintain its enhanced readiness to play its essential role in verifying the DPRK’s nuclear programme, he said. Grossi stressed the importance of the work of the IAEA


to ensure that nuclear energy “is and must be part of the solution to climate change”. He said, “In every scientific based projection, global decarbonisation for 2050 is possible, and will be much easier, with nuclear energy”. At the end of the conference delegates adopted a


V gain experience in hydrogen storage, transportation and application at Kola. David Campbell, director of Bruce Power Centre for Next


Generation Nuclear at the Nuclear Innovation Institute in Canada, described a project to produce nuclear hydrogen using Ontario’s baseload surplus. “The centre’s study is exploring the technical feasibility for hydrogen production and the business case for a local hydrogen market,” he said. Kees Jan Steenhoek, director of government affairs at UK


nuclear fuel company Urenco, presented the preliminary conclusions on the potential role of nuclear-produced hydrogen in helping to decarbonise the UK economy. Advanced reactors capable of producing hydrogen with high-temperature heat can bring even greater efficiencies to the process and play a big role, said Felix Chow-Kambitsch of Aurora Energy Research, which carried out the study. Frame study results (above) were broadly consistent with Aurora’s results, said Francesco Ganda, an IAEA engineer. The conference saw the inaugural meeting of the


Group of Vienna, which seeks to apply nuclear energy to addressing climate change and advancing sustainable development. IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi brought together 13 industry CEOs at his own initiative to create this new high-level platform for discussion between the IAEA and industry. Founding members included the IAEA and the heads of China National Nuclear Corporation, EDF,


16 | November 2021 | www.neimagazine.com


resolution on the implementation of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) safeguards agreement between the Agency and the DPRK calling for full compliance with the NPT and UN Security Council resolutions. Further resolutions were adopted on nuclear and radiation safety and nuclear security. The conference also adopted a resolution on staffing of the Agency’s secretariat, commending the wide range of measures implemented to improve the representation of women in professional and higher categories. By the end of the conference, 80 member states had


pledged to the Technical Cooperation Fund for 2022. The total amount pledged towards the €91,075,000 million target for 2022 was €29,171,890 (2.03%). The conference elected 11 countries to serve on the 35-member IAEA Board of Governors for 2021-2022. The newly elected Board members are Burundi, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Guatemala, Ireland, the Republic of Korea, Libya, Pakistan, Slovenia and Viet Nam. ■


Above: The ReNuAL2: Building for Science, Nuclear Application Side Event at the IAEA 65th General Conference Photo credit: Dean Calma/IAEA


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