IAEA completes modernisation of its laboratories

The IAEA Seibersdorf facility, which opened in 1962, houses eight nuclear applications laboratories working in food and agriculture, human health, environmental monitoring and assessment, as well as two safeguards analytical laboratories for nuclear verification.

The IAEA and its member states launched an initiative in 2014 - known as the Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories (Renual) - to modernise the laboratories to maintain their capacities to respond effectively to these demands in years to come.

Recognising the importance of all the laboratories in helping member states address a range of existing and emerging development challenges, in September 2020 IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced his intention to complete the modernisation of the Seibersdorf laboratories. The final phase of the modernisation initiative, called Renual2, was to construct a new building to house the three laboratories that had not yet been modernised in Renual's earlier phase. A groundbreaking ceremony for the new building was held in October 2022.

A ceremony was held on Wednesday to mark the inauguration of the new Curie-Meitner Nuclear Applications Centre, which will house the Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory, the Terrestrial Environment and Radiochemistry Laboratory, and the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory.

Alongside the new Curie-Meitner Centre, Renual2 also brings new state-of-the-art greenhouses essential to developing climate-smart agriculture and improved water resource management and a fully refurbished space for the dosimetry laboratory to support cancer control and ensure patients receive safe radiation doses.

"This achievement is more than a renovation; it's the result of vision, commitment and partnership," Grossi said. "The new Curie-Meitner Centre enables our scientists and partners from around the world to work together, innovate and deliver tangible solutions that improve health, food security and environmental protection."

The completion of Renual2 was made possible through the support of the IAEA's Member States and partners. A total of 52 Member States contributed extrabudgetary resources, alongside in-kind and institutional support from governments and organisations.

The inauguration of the Curie-Meitner Centre follows the opening on 17 September of the new IAEA Visitor Centre, also in Seibersdorf - a first-of-its-kind space where visitors can experience the agency's mission and discover how nuclear science and technology is addressing global challenges.