The International Atomic Energy Agency says it is accelerating its efforts to support nuclear facility operators through the exchange of knowledge via the International Reporting System for Operating Experience and the newly-established COVID-19 Operational Experience Network.

A review of the management of treated water stored at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan has been carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency. It says the two options under consideration for disposing of this water - discharge into the sea and via vapour release - are both technically feasible.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is dispatching a first batch of equipment to more than 40 countries to enable them to use a nuclear-derived technique to rapidly detect the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This emergency assistance is part of the IAEA's response to requests for support from around 90 Member States in controlling an increasing number of infections worldwide.

A planned emergency exercise coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency went ahead last week with the participation of 35 countries and two Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization. The three-day exercise - from 24 to 26 March - was conducted while the responders in many Member States and in the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre worked remotely to support measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is launching a three-year Coordinated Research Project focused on the economics of small modular reactors (SMRs). The project will provide Member States with an economic appraisal framework for the development and deployment of such reactors.

The safety of smart digital devices used in nuclear power plants - some of which were not initially designed for nuclear-related purposes - was discussed last month at a meeting in Vienna organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The objective of the meeting was to establish guidance on the selection and evaluation of smart devices to be used in systems important to the safety of power plants.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has produced new guidance to countries planning to adopt nuclear power. In a document titled 'Initiating Nuclear Power Programmes: Responsibilities and Capabilities of Owners and Operators', the IAEA provides advice on establishing and developing a nuclear power plant.s owner/operator.

The International Atomic Energy Agency will provide diagnostic kits, equipment and training in nuclear-derived detection techniques to countries asking for assistance in tackling the worldwide spread of the novel coronavirus causing COVID-19. Fourteen countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean have requested assistance with the diagnostic technique, known as Real-Time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Iran has tripled its stockpile of enriched uranium to 1,020.9 kg over the past three months and failed to provide International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors access to two undeclared sites, various news agencies reported yesterday.

France's support to the International Atomic Energy Agency's technical cooperation programme "goes a long way" in helping African countries get access to nuclear technology and expertise in the areas of food and agriculture and cancer care, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian yesterday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has held its International School of Nuclear and Radiological Leadership for Safety in Japan for the first time. The school aims to give mid-level nuclear professionals a thorough theoretical and practical understanding of the role of leadership in strengthening nuclear safety in practice, building expertise they can draw on throughout their career.

Japan has made a "systematic and meticulous" effort in decommissioning the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said after visiting the plant yesterday. The IAEA is ready to provide further support, he said, for the disposal of contaminated water stored on the site.