The delegation of SSE Chornobyl NPP, headed by Director General Serhii Tarakanov, represents the plant at the 70th IAEA General Conference, which began on September 14 in Vienna. This year the conference has set a record for the number of registered participants: 3,664 people.

As part of the conference, the Chornobyl NPP management will hold a series of bilateral meetings with the key international partners in the field of mitigating the consequences of the Chornobyl NPP accident, including representatives of Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and other countries.

During the opening ceremony, which took place at the Vienna International Centre, the IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi highlighted the work of the nuclear safety experts who are at the forefront of efforts to prevent a nuclear accident in Ukraine in the full-scale war conditions, in particular, the specialists who permanently stay at the ChNPP.

During the event, the Chornobyl NPP Director General Serhii Tarakanov also introduced Rafael Grossi to the exhibition stand of the State Agency of Ukraine on the Exclusion Zone Management, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl accident.

The General Conference is the IAEA principal policymaking body and has been held every September since the Agency establishment in 1957. The conference participants consider issues related to the peaceful use of nuclear technologies, from power generation and cancer treatment to food security, water resource management, nuclear safety and security, as well as inspection and monitoring.

One of the key agenda issues of this year conference is the situation in Ukraine. The participants will pay particular attention to nuclear safety culture. In 2026, the anniversaries of the Chornobyl NPP and Japanese Fukushima Daiichi NPP accidents will be commemorated: 40 years have passed since the Chornobyl accident and 15 years have passed since Fukushima Daiichi accident. In this context, during the conference participants will discuss why the developed safety culture remains a fundamental condition for the safe operation of nuclear facilities worldwide. The participants will also consider key changes in the field of safety culture, new challenges and opportunities for the nuclear sector, as well as further steps in connection with the IAEA update of the regulatory requirements regarding safety culture.

The 70th regular session of the IAEA General Conference will continue until September 18. Around 4,000 participants are expected to attend the event within a week.