Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is a stark example of the new wave of risks that nuclear facilities can face. [...] Weeks after Russia began assaulting Ukrainian nuclear facilities in 2022, the IAEA hosted the Conference of the Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM). [...] 17 “Communication dated April 1, 2022 received from the Delegation of the European Union to the International Organizations in Vienna concerning a Joint Statement to the Conference of the Parties to the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material,” IAEA Doc. [...] For example, when the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with nuclear operations around the world18 the IAEA created the Nuclear Power Plant Operating Experience (OPEX) Network, which allowed nuclear operators to share information on COVID-19 risk mitigation and the impact of the pandemic on plant performance. [...] In response to the crisis in Ukraine, the IAEA has undertaken an unprecedented effort to avoid a nuclear disaster—going so far as to send teams of IAEA employees to nuclear facilities in the middle of a hot war.
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