Disease-resistant cauliflower created through nuclear science

October 9, 2025, 9:30AMNuclear News
Arvin Boolell (facing), Mauritius’s minister of agro-industry, food security, blue economy, and fisheries, is nearly obscured by the Local Cream cauliflower he is inspecting with scientists.

International Atomic Energy Agency researchers have helped scientists on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius to develop a variety of cauliflower that is resistant to black rot disease. The cauliflower was developed through innovative radiation-induced plant-breeding techniques employed by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.

IAEA to work with WM Symposia on nuclear waste management

September 24, 2025, 7:01AMRadwaste Solutions
WM Symposia’s Greg Meyer (left) with Mikhail Chudakov from the IAEA. (Photo: WM Symposia)

WM Symposia, which hosts the annual Waste Management Conference in Phoenix, Ariz., announced it has signed a practical arrangement with the International Atomic Energy Agency aimed at strengthening international collaboration in the safe management of radioactive waste, decommissioning, and environmental remediation.

All-European team leads lead-cooled EAGLES reactor project

September 19, 2025, 9:30AMNuclear News
IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi (center right) attends the signing of an agreement by representatives of the EAGLES Consortium and the nuclear regulators of Belgium, Italy, and Romania. (Photo: IAEA)

The nuclear regulators of Belgium, Italy, and Romania signed on this week to the first “prelicensing” project under the IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI) during the opening day of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 69th General Conference, pledging to work with the EAGLES Consortium to clarify regulatory requirements for a lead-cooled reactor ahead of formal licensing.

Blue Wave recognized with IAEA innovation award

September 19, 2025, 7:02AMNuclear News
Mike Goff (center left), the DOE’s acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy, poses with this year’s ISOP Innovation Award winners. From left, Jim Tusar, Constellation; Pete Mrvos, Blue Waves; Jonathan Nistor, Blue Wave; Aaron Phillippe, Southern Nuclear; and Jeremy Barnhart, Constellation. (Photo: Blue Wave)

The International Atomic Energy Agency presented its 2025 Global ISOP Innovation Award for AI to Blue Wave AI Labs, Constellation, and the Southern Company subsidiary Southern Nuclear for the companies’ collaborative work on Blue Wave's ThermalLimits.ai. The technology is an AI application that provides accuracy in online thermal limit forecasting for boiling water reactors.

IAEA again raises global nuclear power projections

September 16, 2025, 3:00PMNuclear News

Noting recent momentum behind nuclear power, the International Atomic Energy Agency has revised up its projections for the expansion of nuclear power, estimating that global nuclear operational capacity will more than double by 2050—reaching 2.6 times the 2024 level—with small modular reactors expected to play a pivotal role in this high-case scenario.

IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi announced the new projections, contained in the annual report Energy, Electricity, and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050 at the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna.

In the report’s high-case scenario, nuclear electrical generating capacity is projected to increase to from 377 GW at the end of 2024 to 992 GW by 2050. In a low-case scenario, capacity rises 50 percent, compared with 2024, to 561 GW. SMRs are projected to account for 24 percent of the new capacity added in the high case and for 5 percent in the low case.

IAEA report confirms safety of discharged Fukushima water

September 16, 2025, 7:01AMRadwaste Solutions
IAEA personnel check a sample of Fukushima’s ALPS-treated water. (Photo: TEPCO)

An International Atomic Energy Agency task force has confirmed that the discharge of treated water from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is proceeding in line with international safety standards. The task force’s findings were published in the agency’s fourth report since Tokyo Electric Power Company began discharging Fukushima’s treated and diluted water in August 2023.

More information can be found on the IAEA’s Fukushima Daiichi ALPS Treated Water Discharge web page.

Applications open to women for IAEA fellowship program

September 9, 2025, 9:28AMNuclear News
IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Program fellows and Lise Meitner Program participants at a 2024 event. (Photo: IAEA)

The application period for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Program (MSCFP) has opened. Women interested in studying nuclear-related subjects at the master’s degree level should apply by October 31, 2025.

More information on how to apply can be found here.

ANS's webinar on security in floating and offshore nuclear power

September 4, 2025, 7:01AMNuclear News

The American Nuclear Society’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy Division (NNPD) held a webinar recently exploring the security aspects of floating and offshore nuclear power.

Moderator Shikha Prasad, CEO of Srijan LLC and immediate past chair of the NNPD, began the discussion by recapping the recent exponential growth in the field and its future economic potential before introducing the presenters, each of whom spoke about the work they and their organizations are doing to advance the field.

Below are brief summaries of each speaker’s presentation. To see their thoughts and the ensuing Q&A, click here.

IAEA meeting focuses on nuclear science and food safety

August 26, 2025, 9:30AMNuclear News
IAEA deputy director general Najat Mokhtar (second from right) delivers welcoming remarks at the joint IAEA/WHO/FAO food safety meeting. (Photo: S. Ramirez/IAEA)

A recent three-day meeting organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency drew representatives from 14 countries to discuss links between foodborne contaminants like mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticide residues, and microplastics, as well as such health issues as impaired growth, gut health, hormone regulation, nutrient absorption, chronic diseases, and malnutrition.

IAEA program for women in nuclear visits Canada

August 18, 2025, 12:40PMNuclear News
Participants and experts from the 2025 LMP cohort during their visit to Canada. (Photo: McMaster University).

A cohort of women working in the nuclear community visited Canada recently as part of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Lise Meitner Program (LMP) to boost their career development. During the third and final leg of the 2025 LMP, the women took part in two weeks of training focused on research reactors.

IAEA program uses radioisotopes to protect rhinos

August 11, 2025, 3:00PMNuclear News
The Rhisotope Project team inserts radioactive isotopes into a rhino’s horn. (Source: Martin Klinenboeck/IAEA)

After two years of testing, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, have begun officially implementing the Rhisotope Project, an innovative effort to combat rhino poaching and trafficking by leveraging nuclear technology.

What’s in your Dubai chocolate? Nuclear scientists test pistachios for toxins

August 11, 2025, 12:00PMNuclear News
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Alexas_Fotos

For the uninitiated, Dubai chocolate is a candy bar filled with pistachio and tahini cream and crispy pastry recently popularized by social media influencers. While it’s easy to dismiss as a viral craze now past its peak, the nutty green confection has spiked global pistachio demand, and growers and processors are ramping up production. That means more pistachios need to be tested for aflatoxins—a byproduct of a common crop mold.

IAEA launches infographic design contest on nuclear preparedness and response

July 21, 2025, 7:03AMNuclear News

The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched an infographic design contest for young professionals aged 18 to 35 to raise awareness about emergency preparedness and response (EPR) in nuclear and radiological contexts.

Contest guidelines and terms can be found here.

Drones detect natural gamma radiation to measure agricultural soil health

July 8, 2025, 9:30AMNuclear News
A drone-borne GRS system assesses soil properties in an agricultural field. (Photo: M. Casling/IAEA)

The International Atomic Energy Agency has initiated a coordinated research project that will combine an “innovative, non-invasive, and scalable nuclear technique”—gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS)—with drones and satellite imagery to gather and analyze data that can reveal the quality of soil on agricultural lands around the world.

World Bank, IAEA partner to fund nuclear energy

June 30, 2025, 3:06PMNuclear News

The World Bank and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement last week to cooperate on the construction and financing of advanced nuclear projects in developing countries, marking the first partnership since the bank ended its ban on funding for nuclear energy projects.

IAEA reports on safety status of Iran’s nuclear facilities

June 18, 2025, 9:31AMNuclear News
The IAEA director general prepares to deliver his update. (Photo: Dean Calma/IAEA)

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has shared his concerns about the Iran-Israel conflict with the agency’s board of directors.

“Military escalation threatens lives, increases the chance of a radiological release with serious consequences for people and the environment and delays indispensable work towards a diplomatic solution for the long-term assurance that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon,” Grossi said on June 16. “Consistent with the objectives of the IAEA and its statute, I call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation.”

Zaporizhzhia ‘extremely fragile’ relying on single off-site power line, IAEA warns

June 3, 2025, 3:00PMNuclear News
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. (Photo: Energoatom)

Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has just one remaining power line for essential nuclear safety and security functions, compared with its original 10 functional lines before the military conflict with Russia, warned Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.