It may well be possible that two of Belgium's nuclear reactors, Doel 3 and Tihange 2, will never be put online again. Small cracks in the nuclear vessels are turning out to be a bigger problem than initially thought. The two nuclear reactors have been offline for some time now, and this will remain the case at least until next spring. New tests dashed hopes of getting them started again during winter. And there is more. They may even never get started again, the VRT learned from several reliable sources. The latest news only adds to Belgium's imminent power supply problems for next winter.
Tihange
Will nuclear reactors Doel 3 and Tihange 2 ever get restarted?
Thursday, August 21, 2014
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Belgium Shuts Down Doel-3 And Tihange-2 After Unexpected RPV Test Results
Thursday, March 27, 201426 Mar (NucNet): The Doel-3 and Tihange-2 nuclear reactor units in Belgium were shut down today after tests related to the reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) showed “unexpected results”, Electrabel, a subsidiary of French energy company GDF Suez and operator of the stations, said.
Tests carried out at Belgium’s nuclear research reactor BR-2 in Mol consisted of accelerated irradiation of a test block with the same composition and properties as the Doel-3 and Tihange-2 RPVs.
Bomb at Tihange nuclear power plant made safe!
Thursday, February 28, 2013Wed 27/02/2013 - 16:13Workmen have unearthed a device that is believed to be a bomb dating from the Second World War on the grounds of the Belgian nuclear power plant at Tihange near the town of Huy (Wallonia).
The website L'Avenir reports that the Belgian army's bomb disposal unit, DOVO, attended the scene to make the device safe. The nuclear power plant's internal emergency plan was implemented as a precaution.
Regulator wants more info before clearing Belgian reactors
Wednesday, January 16, 2013The Belgian nuclear regulator said Tuesday it wanted more information before it could make a final decision on whether to restart two reactors, shut down last year after cracks were found in them.
The regulator, AFCN, said that it had received detailed reports on the Doel 3 and the Tihange 2 reactors from various experts and at this stage saw "no reason that they be shut down definitively."
Flaws make restart of two Belgian nuclear plants ‘hazardous’: Study
Friday, January 11, 2013Restarting two Belgian nuclear power plants which have been shut since the discovery of micro-cracks in their reactor vessels would be a hazardous move with potentially “catastrophic consequences”, according to a new study commissioned by the Green Party group in the European Parliament.
“A possible failure of the reactor due to sudden crack growth in case of local thermal stresses cannot be excluded and would have catastrophic consequences, especially in the vicinity of densely populated and high-economic activity areas,” it says.
Experts okay restart of worrisome Belgian nuclear plants
Sunday, January 6, 2013Scientific experts have greenlighted the restart of two Belgian nuclear power plants despite signs of micro-cracks in reactor vessels, the daily Le Soir said Saturday. Scientific experts have greenlighted the restart of two Belgian nuclear power plants despite signs of micro-cracks in reactor vessels, the daily Le Soir said Saturday.
Nuclear reactors back in service before the winter is out?
Tuesday, December 18, 2012Two of Belgium's nuclear reactions have been standing idle since the summer, but in a report for the government and the Belgian nuclear watchdog electricity generator Electrabel says that both Doel 3 in Flanders and Tihange 2 in Wallonia can be taken back into service forthwith.
The reactors were shut down after thousands of tiny tears were discovered in a valve linked to the reactor vessel.
Second Belgian reactor has indications of cracks
Friday, September 14, 2012(Reuters) - A second nuclear reactor in Belgium has indications of cracks in its core tank, the nuclear regulator said on Thursday, putting further strain on the country's energy supply as it heads into winter.
Preliminary results of tests being carried out at Tihange 2, a reactor operated by GDF Suez unit Electrabel, showed that there were indications of cracks on the core tank, Belgium's nuclear regulator FANC said in a statement.
Doel restart pushed back by two months
Thursday, August 30, 2012London, 29 August (Argus) — The restart of the 1,006MW Doel nuclear power unit 3 in Belgium has been pushed back by a further two months, according to French utility GDF Suez, which operates the unit through its Belgian subsidiary Electrabel.
The unit is now forecast to go back on line on 1 December, two months later than the previous forecast.
Leakage of radioactive water in the Belgian Tihange NPP
Sunday, July 15, 2012Brussels. Leakage of radioactive water was reported in the Belgian Tihange NPP RIA Novosti informed.
"The problem is solved, there is no danger of pollution", the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control announced.
Leakage of radioactive water has occurred at the pool for cooling the spent nuclear fuel from the rector of the NPP.
In 2011 there were 14 incidents in nuclear power plants in Belgium. 11 of them were qualified as technical incidents. In three cases there was a significant breach of security.
