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.

IAEA: Gunfire, drone attack at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

May 22, 2025, 3:00PMNuclear News
An undated photo of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. (Photo: Ralf 1969)

The International Atomic Energy Agency team at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) reported hearing gunfire near the site this morning while a drone hit the plant’s training center.

In a news release today, IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said this is the third drone to target the training center, located just outside the site perimeter, so far this year. He called for an immediate end to drones being flown over or near nuclear facilities.

IAEA starts its “SMR School” with workshop in Kenya

May 20, 2025, 9:30AMNuclear News
Participants listen to a speaker at the IAEA SMR School in Nairobi, Kenya. (Photo: IAEA)

An initiative to educate government, regulatory, and industry representatives around the world about small modular reactors has been launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency, with the first such “SMR School” workshop, which was hosted by the government of Kenya in the capital city of Nairobi from on May 5–9.

Fusion Energy Week begins today

May 5, 2025, 3:01PMNuclear News

Excitement around fusion has only grown this year since the French magnetic confinement fusion tokamak known as WEST maintained a plasma for 1,337 seconds in February, toppling the 1,006-second record set by China’s EAST a few weeks prior. Investment, legislation, and new research are riding this new surge of attention, but fusion development has a long history.

IAEA Director General meets with key nuclear leaders in D.C.

April 30, 2025, 12:43PMNuclear News
On his recent trip to Washington, D.C., IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi (right) met with Energy Secretary Chris Wright. (Photo: IAEA/D. Candano)

International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for the first time since Trump took office in January. In his three-day visit to the capital, Grossi spoke with key nuclear leaders from around the world and in the federal government, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair David Wright, on topics including nuclear power, safety, security, funding, and nonproliferation.

IAEA to help monitor plastic pollution in the Galapagos Islands

April 29, 2025, 9:33AMNuclear News
Plastic pollution from overseas washes up on San Cristobal Island, part of the Galapagos Islands archipelago, in 2019. (Photo: F. Oberhaensli/IAEA)

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced that its Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution (NUTEC Plastics) initiative has partnered with Ecuador’s Oceanographic Institute of the Navy (INOCAR) and Polytechnic School of the Coast (ESPOL) to build microplastic monitoring and analytical capacity to address the growing threat of marine microplastic pollution in the Galapagos Islands.

Ghana takes another step in nuclear partnership with U.S., China

April 17, 2025, 7:12AMNuclear News

Leaders in Ghana announced recently that the country has a “framework agreement” with U.S.-based companies NuScale and Regnum Technology Group.

The announcement made by Stephen Yamoah, executive director of Nuclear Power Ghana, was reported by the Ghana News Agency on March 31. He also said Japanese firms will be working in partnership with NuScale and Regnum on the small modular reactors while the China National Nuclear Corporation will construct a large reactor.

Waste Management 2025: Building a new era of nuclear

April 8, 2025, 3:00PMRadwaste Solutions

While attendance at the 2025 Waste Management Conference was noticeably down this year due to the ongoing federal retrenchment, the conference, held March 9-13 in Phoenix, Ariz., still drew a healthy and diverse crowd of people working on the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, both domestically and internationally.