Belgium

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.

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Doel restart pushed back by two months

Thursday, August 30, 2012

London, 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.

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Dominion reactor parts from company that supplied shut Belgian unit

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Dominion's four Virginia nuclear units have reactor pressure vessels made by the same manufacturer that supplied a Belgian reactor shut down because of possible vessel cracking, a Dominion spokesman said Friday.

Dominion is following developments in Belgium, but has not been notified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission of any information related to the incident, Richard Zuercher said.

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EU calls for more nuclear tests after Belgian fears

Friday, August 10, 2012

The discovery of possible cracks in a Belgian nuclear reactor should trigger urgent testing around the EU, but such decisions are for national governments to take, a European Commission spokeswoman said on Thursday.

"National authorities will conduct tests, that seems obvious," said Marlene Holzner, spokeswoman for EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger. "The European Commission can make recommendations, but it can't make them binding," she stressed.

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Belgium Reactor Monitored for Cracks

Thursday, August 9, 2012

BRUSSELS—Belgium has halted one of its seven nuclear reactors on suspicion that one of its components might be cracked, the country's atomic power regulator said Wednesday.

"We have found anomalies," said Karina De Beule, spokesman for the ACFN, the federal agency for nuclear control. The agency is "evaluating these anomalies, if they can cause cracks," Ms. De Beule said, adding that the 1,006-megawatt Doel 3 reactor will remain shut at least until the end of August.

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Leakage of radioactive water in the Belgian Tihange NPP

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Brussels. 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.

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GDF Suez pays Belgium €212 million nuclear tax for 2010

Friday, January 14, 2011

France's GDF Suez has paid the Belgian government a 2010 nuclear tax payment of Eur212 million ($276 million), a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

Through its subsidiary Electrabel, GDF Suez operates almost all of Belgium's 5.9 GW of nuclear capacity.

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Europe eyes deep disposal for nuclear waste problem

Thursday, October 28, 2010

A leaked European Commission draft report says Europe should solve the problem of handling nuclear waste by making industry pay to stash it deep underground, where it will be overseen by independent watchdogs.

"The current situation of spent fuel and radioactive waste management in EU member states is not satisfactory," says the draft, seen by Reuters Thursday.

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Belgium may extend lifetimes of nuke plants

Friday, October 2, 2009

BRUSSELS, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Belgium may extend the lifetimes of its three oldest nuclear power stations by ten years to 2025 to guard against energy shortages, newspaper De Standaard reported on Friday.
The plants, two in Doel near the northern city of Antwerp and one in Tihange in southeastern Belgium, are due to close in 2015.

But Energy Minister Paul Magnette will submit a report to the government on Friday that concludes Belgium will face energy supply problems if the plants close on schedule, De Standaard said.

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Stiff opposition to nuclear charge

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Electrabel has reacted strongly against a plan from the Belgian government to force a one-off payment of €250 million ($338 million) from nuclear power generators.

The company's parent group, GdF-Suez has told the Belgian government that it "emphatically protests" a draft of new legislation which requires nuclear operators - and nuclear operators only - to make a "contribution" of €250 million to government coffers for the 2008 financial year.

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