Kiev, 25 July: The third unit of the Rivne nuclear power plant was automatically disconnected from the Ukrainian power network and shut down on Thursday [24 July], the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
The ministry explained the shutdown with the insufficient level of water in the steam generator's cooler. The radiation is normal, the ministry said.
Accident investigators will today begin their investigation into the cause of an explosion at a company which makes centrifuges for the Urenco uranium factory in Almelo.
No-one was hurt in the blast, which the fire brigade describes as a ‘chemicals incident’.
PARIS (Reuters) - Around 100 staff at a nuclear power plant in southern France were contaminated with a low dose of radiation on Wednesday, power firm EDF said, the latest incident there after a case of uranium spillage two weeks ago.
EDF said in a statement that sensors detected a rise in the level of radiation while maintenance work was being carried out at the Tricastin site's reactor number four, which had been shut since July 12.
Centrica on Wednesday fulfilled its long-standing vow to take control of Belgian power company SPE, frustrating Gaz de France’s plans to sell its stake to EDF.
The UK energy group exercised a pre-emption right over GDF’s 25.5 per cent stake in SPE for €515m (£407m) in cash, with another €105m later. The deal is expected to be completed in September.
PARIS (AP) — Electricite de France says 15 workers were exposed to radioactive contamination while carrying out maintenance at a nuclear plant in the French Alps.
France's nuclear industry is under increased scrutiny following uranium leaks earlier this month. France depends on nuclear power for the majority of its electricity.
The 35 year old reactor at the Kola Nuclear Power Plant last week got the authorities’ blessing for another ten years of service.
The reactor is the oldest of the four reactors at the Kola NPP, Russia’s northernmost nuclear power plant. According to Rosatom, the company which is running all of Russia's nine NPPs, the reactor will now produce power until year 2018.
he French nuclear giant Areva yesterday confirmed there was a radioactive leak from a broken pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in south-eastern France, a week after a uranium spill at another of its plants polluted the local water supply.
The latest incident comes as an embarrassment to the French government as it struggles to contain environmentalists' anger and reassure residents near its nuclear plants that they are safe.
The credibility of the nuclear industry was shaken last night after the estimated cost of cleaning up Britain's atomic waste was raised by a further £10bn.
The latest clean-up estimate from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) suggests the commonly accepted figure of £73bn should rise to £83bn. But the agency insisted that £10bn of income from generating and fuel reprocessing plants should also be taken into account.
The French government on Thursday ordered an investigation into the water table around all of France’s 58 nuclear reactors in an effort to dispel fears raised by a leak from a treatment plant run by Areva in southern France.
Jean-Louis Borloo, ecology minister, has asked an independent committee to carry out the probe to stem mounting public concern over nuclear waste management after a low-grade leak at the Socatri treatment plant at Tricastin focused public attention on a still unexplained, older contamination of the water table.
Two reactors for CZK 80 billion or for 353 billion?
Temelín - Czech energy giant ČEZ wants to expand the Temelín nuclear power plant with building two new reactors by 2013 but has not published the costs of the project yet.
"The costs of the Temelín expansion may be published only after the contract is signed," explains ČEZ´s web site. Ministry of Environment has already received a study on the impact the two new reactors will have on the environment. The ministry was asked by ČEZ to evaluate this question. "Expanding the Temelín power plant will meet the growing demand for energy in the Czech Republic and will create a sufficient reserve," claims ČEZ. Now, a public discussion on the issue is expected to emerge.
