ReNuAL News Brief: May 2017Issue No. 8

Rapid Progress on the New Insect Pest Control Laboratory

Extensive progress has been made on the construction of the new Insect Pest Control Laboratory (IPCL) building since it began in July 2016. Its foundation and superstructure are complete and work on the waterproofing and insulation of the building is ongoing.

The interior of the building is beginning to take its final shape with the layout of the individual rooms throughout the building already clearly visible. The foundations for the integrated insect greenhouse have also been constructed.

Construction of the building remains on schedule and on budget, with completion planned for the first quarter of 2018. The construction of the IPCL’s structure and the interior outfitting of three of the building’s four laboratory units are funded within the €31 million budget for ReNuAL. The outfitting of the final laboratory unit and construction of the greenhouse are funded as part of ReNuAL+, the follow-up initiative to ReNuAL.

Key Milestone Reached with Start of Flexible Modular Laboratory At the end of April 2017, the next major component of the IAEA’s modernization efforts for the Nuclear Applications (NA) laboratories in Seibersdorf switched into high gear with the start of excavation works for the second new laboratory building— the Flexible Modular Laboratory (FML). Initial ground engineering works were completed in 2016, and a substantial redesign of the building to further maximize cost efficiencies in its construction and subsequent operation was completed in April 2017.

The simplification of its design will shorten construction time and the building can be completed on schedule and on budget. Over the next few months the area for the foundations will be excavated and the foundation piles will be put into place. The installation of the remaining site infrastructure began in May 2017 to ensure its completion in parallel with the completion of the IPCL and FML.

The FML will house three laboratories managed jointly by the IAEA and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): the Food

Renovation of the Nuclear Applications Laboratories

The new Insect Pest Control Laboratory in May 2017

FML excavation works begin in April 2017

and Environmental Protection Laboratory (FEPL); the Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition Laboratory (SWMCNL); and the Animal Production and Health Laboratory (APHL). Construction of the first two laboratories is fully funded within the budget for ReNuAL, while further extrabudgetary funds under ReNuAL+ are currently being sought for the construction of the APHL.

Completing the Modernization: ReNuAL Plus (ReNuAL+)During the March 2017 meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors, the Secretariat presented a document to the Board that provided a progress update on ReNuAL and a proposed plan for ReNuAL+, which will complete the modernization of the NA laboratories in Seibersdorf. ReNuAL+ will provide for the further enhancements the laboratories require that cannot be accommodated within ReNuAL’s €31 million budget. These include:

ReNuAL+ has a current budget of €26 million. To date €5 million in extrabudgetary funds has been raised, the most recent contributions since the end of October 2016 being from Germany (€1 000 000), Indonesia (€10 000), Kazakhstan (US $40 000), Turkey (€30 000), the United States of America (€1 000 000), and the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology in Poland, one of the IAEA’s Collaborating Centres (€10 000).

The completion of the IPCL and greenhouse and the DOL bunker are already fully funded, with work on the bunker planned to begin in June 2017. The Government of Austria, through its Agency for Health and Food Safety, has provided the APHL with full access to a newly-constructed BSL3 facility to address the need for these capabilities.

The current priority for ReNuAL+ is to raise funds for construction of the APHL to complete the FML. The estimated cost for construction of the APHL is €6.7 million, and an additional €5.7 million in extrabudgetary funds are now urgently required to reach this target. Of this amount, a further €1.0 million is needed by June 2017 to allow for construction of the shell of the APHL to proceed on schedule with the other two FML laboratories, and the remaining €4.7 million is needed by September 2017 for the interior outfitting to proceed on schedule. Delays in obtaining these funds will result in cost increases.

ReNuAL is an initiative to modernize aging laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria that are managed by the IAEA’s Department of Nuclear Science and Applications. These laboratories strengthen Member States’ capacities to use nuclear and related techniques in food and agriculture, human health, the environment, and scientific instrumentation. For further information on ReNuAL, please go to the new ReNuAL webpage: https://www.iaea.org/about/organizational-structure/department-of-nuclear-sciences-and-applications/seibersdorf-laboratories/renual Email: nuclearapplications@iaea.org

Outfitting of the final IPCL unit and construction of a new insect greenhouse for the IPCL;

A linear accelerator and a new bunker to house it for the Dosimetry Laboratory (DOL);

Biosafety level 3 capabilities (BSL3) to support the APHL’s work on transboundary animal diseases;

Construction of the APHL as the third laboratory of the FML;

Enhanced capacities through targeted refurbishment of the laboratories that will remain in the existing laboratory buildings: the DOL, the Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory, the Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory and the Terrestrial Environment Laboratory;

Additional urgently needed equipment.

Australia AustriaCanadaChinaFranceGermanyIndiaIndonesiaIsraelJapanKazakhstanRepublic of KoreaKuwaitMalaysiaMongolia

New ZealandNorwayOmanPakistanPhilippines QatarRussian FederationSaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaSpainSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUSAAFRA

* Includes in-kind contributions

CONTRIBUTORS TO DATE*

The final rendering of the FML

Nuclear Science and Instrumentation LaboratoryDivision of Physical and Chemical Sciences

International Atomic Energy Agency Telephone No.: (+43)-1-2600-0 Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100 Telefax No.: (+43)-1-26007 1400 Vienna, Austria Email: official.mail@iaea.org