Scientific Analysis for Development and Peace
By Polina Povarich, David Cardenas-Mazurkiewicz and Sasha Henriques, IAEA Division of Public Information
For decades the IAEA´s laboratories at Seibersdorf in Austria and in Monaco have been undertaking groundbreaking work on the application of nuclear techniques in the areas of agriculture, climate change and water pollution; applications that directly contribute to economic growth in developing Member States.
These laboratories also play a crucial role in the verification of countries´ declared nuclear activity and, by the same token, to build confidence that no undeclared activity is underway.
The laboratories support various Agency programmes under both the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications and the Department of Safeguards.
Safeguards
The Agency laboratories analyze samples taken during inspections of more than 900 nuclear facilities around the world. These are the analytical centres of the Agency – where the exact composition of nuclear samples (isotopic signature) are measured.
The laboratories are also involved in training safeguard inspectors, developing and maintaining replicate analytical laboratories on-site and in the field, as well as developing methods for the analysis of radioactive material.
Now, the Environmental Sample Laboratory, where technicians evaluate environmental samples collected from the field, is being extended, thereby enabling the Agency to scrutinise samples more accurately.
"Extending the Environmental Sample Laboratory will significantly enhance the Agency´s analytical capabilities for its safeguards work," says Gabriele Voigt, Director of the Office of Safeguards Analytical Laboratories.
Nuclear Sciences and Applications (NA)
The work undertaken in these laboratories has a direct impact on many people living in IAEA Member States, in particular those in developing countries – whether it is villagers in Bangladesh who now have drinking water that is safe from naturally-occurring arsenic because of the advances made in the Isotope Hydrology laboratory; or farmers in Mexico and Chile whose crops are protected from the Medfly´s destructive foraging thanks to progress made in sterile insect technique by the Insect Pest Control laboratory.
The work of the Food and Agriculture Organization/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory, the Instrumentation Laboratory, the Environment Laboratories, and the Isotope Hydrology Laboratory, together with their subsidiary units, cover a wide range of issues, such as plant breeding to develop drought and salt-resistant crops with better yield, improving our understanding of climate change and ocean acidification, tracking and reducing environmental pollution, as well as enhancing food safety, natural resource management, animal production and health, and insect pest control.
IAEA experts at the laboratories train scientists, provide countries with technical advice so they can use nuclear technology more effectively, as well as develop and modify nuclear instruments and adapt existing technologies to fit their needs.
The Agency laboratories have been reorganised recently so as to streamline their administration and enhance the ability of their management to deliver optimum results.
"The IAEA´s programmes will benefit tremendously from the recent reorganisation. Each group of labs in conjunction with their counterparts at headquarters will now be able to react more quickly and give greater focus to the many requests for support from our Member States," says Qu Liang, Director of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.
Background
The IAEA´s laboratories in Seibersdorf and Monaco, specialize in radiometrics, radioecology and marine environmental studies; developing and adapting agricultural technologies using radioisotopes and nuclear techniques; and ensuring that medical facilities like cancer treatment centres consistently provide the right radiation dose to patients.
The laboratories that work in the area of safeguards in Seibersdorf consist of the Environmental Sample Laboratory (ESL), which analyzes environmental swipe samples to detect undeclared activities, and the Nuclear Material Laboratory (NML), which analyzes nuclear material samples from safeguarded fuel cycle facilities to verify the declared quantities of fissile elements at those installations.
The Mass Spectrometry and Radiometry Teams are part of the ESL, and support both environmental and nuclear material sample analysis and the NML includes an IAEA On-Site Laboratory at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Japan which provides rapid analysis of spent nuclear fuel and plutonium samples from that facility.