The nuclear industry stands ready to support the IAEA’s efforts to ensure the safety and security of nuclear facilities and staff in Ukraine

This press statement is issued jointly by Canadian  Nuclear Association, FORATOM, Nuclear Energy Institute, Nuclear Industry Association, World Nuclear Association, and World Nuclear Transport Institute

We applaud and endorse the efforts of Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in establishing talks with the Foreign Ministers of Ukraine and the Russian Federation – Dmytro Kuleba and Sergei Lavrov – in Antalya, Turkey, yesterday, for the establishment of a framework to ensure the safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine.

We ask all parties to continue participating constructively in this initiative, in order to formalize concrete steps for the implementation of such a framework, and to ensure no further military attacks on nuclear facilities.  

It is especially important to ensure immediately the well-being of staff working at Chernobyl and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We commend the staff at those sites for their dedication and exemplary professionalism during these extremely difficult circumstances.

We fully support the seven pillars of the IAEA’s framework, and our associations stand ready to offer any support that may be of assistance to Director General Grossi and our Ukrainian colleagues. 

The Seven Pillars of the IAEA Framework are:

1. The physical integrity of the facilities – whether it is the reactors, fuel ponds, or radioactive waste stores – must be maintained;
2. All safety and security systems and equipment must be fully functional at all times;
3. The operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure;
4. There must be secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites;
5. There must be uninterrupted logistical supply chains and transportation to and from the sites;
6. There must be effective on-site and off-site radiation monitoring systems and emergency preparedness and response measures; and
7. There must be reliable communications with the regulator and others.