(Photo: IAEA)
To support Ukraine's efforts to manage flood damage resulting from the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023, the IAEA provided training in non-destructive testing for civil engineering (NDT-CE) for Ukrainian experts through the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to the Kherson Oblast (ISAMKO).
Held at the IAEA Non-Destructive Testing Service Centre in Seibersdorf, Austria, in July 2026, the course focused on advanced NDT techniques for infrastructure inspection, structural diagnostics, safety assessment and asset integrity evaluation. It aimed to strengthen participants' competencies in internationally recognized NDT-CE methods for post-disaster infrastructure assessment and rehabilitation planning.
In the aftermath of large-scale disasters, assessing structural integrity and residual load-bearing capacity is essential to ensuring the safety, serviceability and rehabilitation of affected infrastructure. NDT techniques play a critical role in this process by enabling engineers to identify internal defects, material degradation, corrosion and structural weaknesses without causing further damage to already compromised structures.
Assistance for Kherson Oblast
The destruction of Ukraine's Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023 caused severe downstream flooding and extensive damage to civil infrastructure, including residential buildings, public facilities, transportation networks, hydraulic structures and industrial installations. The disaster affected approximately 80 settlements in Kherson Oblast and disrupted access to safe drinking water for up to one million people.
The programme builds on IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi's visit to Ukraine and meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shortly after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.
Soon after, the IAEA launched the ISAMKO programme to support Ukrainian efforts to manage the impacts of the flooding in Kherson Oblast. The programme procures equipment and supplies, and provides technical support, expert advice and capacity building in civil structure integrity assessment, drinking water safety, human and animal health, environmental monitoring, and food and agriculture.
Inaugural Training at the IAEA NDT Centre
The five-day course for nine Ukrainian experts was the first training programme conducted at the IAEA NDT Service Centre. Launched in 2024, the centre is equipped with concrete test specimens, specialised equipment, training materials, operational procedures and specialised expertise to support capacity building and disaster emergency response.
"The inaugural course for Ukrainian professionals demonstrates the centre's role as a hub for capacity building and international cooperation in the application of NDT technologies in civil engineering," said Hannah Affum, an industrial technologist in the IAEA's Radiochemistry and Radiation Technology Section.
The course covered key NDT-CE techniques, including rebound hammer testing, ultrasonic pulse velocity testing, infra-red thermography, reinforcement detection using profometers and ground penetrating radar, post-disaster inspection methodologies, as well as case studies on structural diagnostics and infrastructure assessment. IAEA staff and two invited NDT experts with experience in infrastructure assessment and post-damage inspection guided the participants through hands-on exercises using state-of-the-art equipment.
"In addition to gaining new skills, the training will expand our capability in achieving more accurate interpretation of results," said Viktoriia Zozulynets, a participant from the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture. "I will implement the know-how I got here in studying the structure of concrete, in teaching my students of civil engineering, and when inspecting buildings."
"As teachers and professors, we are preparing the next generation of experts who will work on civil structures, who are greatly needed in our country," said Vitalii Tsykh from the Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas. In his view, the course was a first step toward greater effectiveness at NDT. "The next step would be to acquire the modern equipment that we used here," he added.
"This course is not just about learning new inspection techniques," said Rabih Ayache, IAEA ISAMKO Coordinator. "It is about empowering Ukrainian experts with specific knowledge and practical skills needed to assess critical infrastructure safely and confidently. Through ISAMKO, we are assisting them in building their capacity that will directly contribute to Ukraine's long-term recovery and resilience."
The training course for Ukrainian experts was the first of its kind held at the IAEA NDT Service Centre. (Photo: S. Liu/IAEA)
Assisting in Disaster Management Through NDT
The IAEA's longstanding NDT programme supports countries in developing national NDT capabilities by providing training, certification, technical guidance and support for the establishment of NDT service centres.
NDT techniques have proven essential in assessing infrastructure safety in the wake of disasters. The IAEA has sent expert missions to assist in the evaluation of buildings and civil structures, for example to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa in 2025, after earthquakes in Myanmar in 2025 and in Türkiye, Syria and Ecuador in 2023 and to Lebanon after the 2020 explosion in the port of Beirut.
In 2025, the IAEA published the first-ever Guidelines on Training Syllabi in NDT for Civil Engineering to promote global uniformity and harmonization of NDT-related training programmes for civil engineers.
The IAEA recently launched a five-year coordinated research project to explore how artificial intelligence can be integrated with advanced NDT techniques to deliver real-time, data-driven insights for infrastructure assessment.
