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A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today completed a nuclear defense project at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPS) in Japan, which was completed at the request of the country’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). . . The nine-day project, conducted from March 25 to April 2, 2024, aimed to assess the strengthening of physical coverage measures at KKNPS, Japan’s largest nuclear facility with seven reactors, and provide additional recommendations, if necessary, to the facility’s operator.
A physical ion formula includes people, procedures, and apparatus designed to provide defense-in-depth to confront threats and oppose unauthorized removal of nuclear curtains and sabotage of nuclear curtains or facilities.
The five-person team assessed and observed physical covering measures contrary to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, as amended, and applicable IAEA nuclear safety guidance documents. They visited KKNPS in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, and met with representatives of the facility. operator, TEPCO. The team included experts from Finland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as a member of IAEA.
The team observed the facility’s management’s commitment to nuclear safety and learned about the continuous innovations in various spaces of the KKNPS physical coverage formula since 2018, when the IAEA conducted a follow-up project to the International Physical Protection Advisory Service (IPPAS) in Japan. Adding an on-site scale to KKNPS. La majority of innovations have been completed and some that require significant resources and time are being implemented or planned. The team provided recommendations and advice to TEPCO for additional innovations.
“Critical infrastructure, such as nuclear facilities, require powerful physical coverage measures, as a component of a national nuclear safety regime supported by a legislative and regulatory framework and a culture of nuclear safety,” said Elena Buglova, Director of the IAEA’s Division for Nuclear Affairs. Security. ” The IAEA’s specialized missions aim to assist requesting States in building and further strengthening their national nuclear security regimes by adding physical cover against theft, sabotage or unauthorized use of nuclear and other radioactive materials. “
“The findings provided through the experts of the qualified project team are very vital and will be further used to strengthen the nuclear defense of our plant in accordance with the IAEA’s foreign standards. As per the recommendation given through IAEA experts, TEPCO is committed to frequently improving its defense measures by building a strong defense culture to help this existing defense improvement effort and prevent it from declining again in the future. We will also further strengthen measures to prevent insider threats and continue to improve our efforts to improve physical coverage. system, adding intrusion detection. This specialized project also provided us with the perfect opportunity to be informed about the most productive foreign internships. We will continue to improve to become a factory that our local region can accept as true and feel safe,” said Takeyuki Inagaki, KKNPS Superintendent, TEPCO.
The team submitted its draft findings report to TEPCO. The final report will be ready in the coming weeks.
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KKNPS hosts seven boiling water reactors with a total gross electrical capacity of 8,212 MW(e). It is located between the city of Kashiwazaki and the village of Kariwa, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, Niigata Prefecture. Since 2012, the plant has been out of service, after the reversal of fate at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011 led to the shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan.
In 2014, Japan accepted the 2005 amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPFMN). The CPFMN establishes legal responsibilities for Parties in relation to physical ions from nuclear curtains used for non-violent purposes. The amendment strengthens the original CPFMN by building the legal responsibility of states with respect to nuclear facilities and equipment used, stored and transported for non-violent purposes at the national level.
The duty of nuclear safety within a State rests exclusively with the State. The IAEA provides nuclear safety support, at the request of Member States, through peer review projects and advisory services, guidance documents, e-learning courses, educational courses and workshops. The IAEA conducted an IPPAS project in Japan in 2015 and an IPPAS follow-up project in 2018.